She's one of Australia's most powerful women - but this household name proves she's just like every other Aussie in summer as she has a ball on the beach

She is best known as the 'First Lady' of Australian horse racing.

But despite being one of the most powerful women in the country, Gai Waterhouse has proved that she's just like every other Aussie when it comes to enjoying summer.

The 70-year-old was seen soaking up the sun during a fun day at Sydney's Balmoral Beach on Friday.

Gai cut quite the colourful figure as she arrived to the popular beach wearing a bright patterned cover-up.

She then took the eye-catching garment off and revealed her teal coloured one piece swimsuit.

Going sun smart for her beach outing, Gai accessorised with a white Panama hat that was embellished with a striking red ribbon.

She finished her outfit with a pair of cat-eye sunglasses that featured a subtle pattern on the frames and carried a blue and white towel.

Gai was keen to kick up her heels as she worked on her tan while reclined on a large inflatable.

She could be seen grinning as she lay on the comfortable seat while relaxing on the sand.

The horse trainer playfully kicked her feet up in the air, possibly to avoid the water rushing onshore.

Gai is the daughter of legendary thoroughbred race horse trainer Tommy Smith, and there's no denying that she knows horses.

Horses trained by the racing icon over the past decade have won in excess of $194million in prize money.

She boasts a formidable record, having trained a staggering 145 Group 1 winners including a Melbourne Cup, a Caulfield Cup and seven Golden Slippers.

The Waterhouse dynasty, which includes Gai and husband Robbie and their children Tom and Kate, also boasts a property portfolio in excess of $200million, according to realestate.com.au.

The eye watering property portfolio also nets the family a staggering $400,000 annually in rental income, the publication reported.

Ahead of this year's Melbourne Cup, Gai warned young people were treating race days as nothing more than an opportunity to get on the drink with their mates.

'I think [younger people are] poorly educated and they come for the wrong thing,' she said on Melbourne radio station 3AW in October.

'They come for the party and they're not really taught about the horses or to have a bet.'

Her comments come after police arrested 24 people and ejected 30 others from the Caulfield Cup on October 19 while a host of underage drinkers were also nabbed.

Gai said that while 26,000 people mostly aged under 35 crammed in for the Caulfield Cup, the majority of young people were only attending one racing meet a year.

The racing doyen said more needed to be done at membership level to encourage the next generation to attend multiple race days a year.

'It's more that you want them to come back next week and the week after, and the week after [that],' she said. 

'I think the biggest thing is to get them to become members of a club. I think the membership should be very affordable to young people.'

'Going to the races, you shouldn't be paying. Because you don't pay to go to a pub where you can watch the races. So why should you pay to go to Mooney Valley?

'I think on the big days you should pay, those who want to become members. But I think going into the public [areas], it should just be free.'

'You should be able to walk into the track, any track, and not have to pay.'

'Everything is too expensive, the beverages are too expensive, it's not real world,' she said.