To the young women who mounted rubbish bins, vomited into paper bags, urinated in bushes and crash-tackled their friends at Flemington yesterday, I have just one thing to say: Ladies, you are an utter disgrace.

Where is your sense of dignity?

How could you consider it appropriate in any way, to behave as some of you did?

Your classless antics don’t just reflect poorly on you. They impact every single Australian woman — and how we are perceived in the eyes of the world.

The crass photos posted online are truly outrageous. They make a mockery out of the race that stops our nation.

It feels to me like the Melbourne Cup has been reduced to an orgy of inebriated fools.

media_camera It might help if you put the bottle down. (Pic: Michael Dodge/Getty Images) media_camera No. Please, no. (Pic: Scott Barbour/Getty Images)

Thanks to this drunken nonsense, we are a laughing stock.

An article with the headline “The Melbourne Cup is decadent and depraved” was posted on an American sports website, ridiculing racegoers.

“It’s not until you see these photos of the Melbourne Cup, Australia’s most drunken and depraved horse racing event, that you can really understand just how out of hand the whites can get,” author Billy Haisley wrote.

Since when is it OK to pole dance or to swig straight from the bottle at the most famous sporting event in our calendar? How could you humiliate yourself by flashing your backside — or worse, exposing your vagina to people passing by?

Why go to the effort of buying a new frock and a pair of shoes if you’re intent on trashing yourself in front of thousands?

media_camera This is never a good look. (Pic: Scott Barbour/Getty Images)

It’s shameful. It’s embarrassing. And it completely ruins what should be a stylish, happy and fun social event.

Sure, there’s just as many images to be found of boozed up blokes skylarking — but aren’t we as women better than that?

I want my daughter to aspire to role model racegoers like Julie Bishop or Jennifer Hawkins or Kate Waterhouse.

What I don’t want is for her to be exposed to women demeaning themselves in public.

Nine people were arrested yesterday. Seventy-eight were kicked out of the grounds. Five ended up in hospital.

What have we become?

media_camera Time to call it a day. (Pic: AAP Image/Joe Castro)

Let me just say that I’m all for having a good time. I love a drink and a laugh with my mates when I go to the races.

But to allow your day to degenerate to such depths is simply not good enough.

New statistics show that women are catching up with men when it comes to alcohol consumption, and in some cases, exceeding them.

It seems that was certainly the case at Flemington yesterday.

Young people know better than most that photos posted online are never going away. They are a permanent record of who you are and readily accessible to anyone — that means your family, your friends, your teachers, your bosses.

If you exposed your breasts or passed out in the public enclosure at the 2016 Melbourne Cup, you’re no doubt feeling a little worse for wear today.

But the damage you’ve done to Australian women will be much harder to repair than your hangover.

Wrecked at the races! media_camera MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - NOVEMBER 01: Racegoers enjoy the atmosphere on Melbourne Cup Day at Flemington Racecourse on November 1, 2016 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Michael Dodge/Getty Images) 1 of 26 media_camera MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - NOVEMBER 01: A racegoers walks into a rubbish bin following 2016 Melbourne Cup Day at Flemington Racecourse on November 1, 2016 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Scott Barbour/Getty Images) 2 of 26 media_camera MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - NOVEMBER 01: A racegoers falls over following 2016 Melbourne Cup Day at Flemington Racecourse on November 1, 2016 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Scott Barbour/Getty Images) 3 of 26 media_camera MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - NOVEMBER 01: Racegoers enjoy the atmosphere on Melbourne Cup Day at Flemington Racecourse on November 1, 2016 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Michael Dodge/Getty Images) 4 of 26 nav_small_close Want to see more?( 22 more photos in collection )Continue to full gallery nav_small_left nav_small_right

Originally published as Ladies, you are an utter disgrace