Paracetamol, allergies and plasters: struggling to cope on sizzling Plate day

Have you heard the one about the jockey who is allergic to horses? It's no laughing matter for apprentice Harrison Shaw, and the hottest day of the year is not helping the situation.

Shaw is not alone in trying to search out a shaded spot on Newcastle's busiest day when a crowd of 18,000 are packed in like sardines and temperatures are reaching the mid-to-high twenties.

Everywhere you turn people are doing whatever they can to keep cool. Those prepared have brought hand fans, others make do with a racecard or a Racing Post. The most popular technique is an ice-cold beverage – and that means it must be really hot here as lager is preferred to the locals' famed brown ale.