Royal Ascot returns to Ascot Racecourse in Berkshire between Tuesday, June 18th and Saturday, June 22nd. Over 300,000 people usually make the annual visit to Berkshire during Royal Ascot week, which makes it Europe’s best-attended race meeting.
Current
The meeting, which lasts a total of five days with a total of six races per day, is one of the main events on the racing calendar. Some of the world’s most well-known races are held at the meeting, such as the King’s Stand Stakes, the Coronation Stakes, the Prince of Wales’ Stakes and the Gold Cup, which is held on what is known as “Ladies Day” and is the most prestigious event in Britain for long-distance horses. It was won last year by Colour Vision, ridden by Frankie Dettori. Royal Ascot will feature prize-money of £5,000,000, a total increase in the prize-money purse of £500,000 for the meeting, representing an 11% increase from 2012. Every year Royal Ascot is attended by HM Elizabeth II and various members of the British Royal Family such as The Prince of Wales, arriving each day in a horse-drawn carriage with the Royal procession taking place at the start of each race day and the raising of the Queen’s Royal Standard. It is a major event in the British social calendar, and press coverage of the attendees and what they are wearing often exceeds coverage of the actual racing. There are three enclosures attended by guests on Royal Ascot week; the Heath Enclosure, the Silver Ring and the Grandstand, with members in the Royal Enclosure.
The Course
The racecourse, located in the small town of Ascot, Berkshire, is one of the leading racecourses in the United Kingdom, hosting 9 of the UK’s 32 annual Group 1 races. The course is closely associated with the British Royal Family, being approximately six miles from Windsor Castle. Ascot stages twenty-six days of racing over the course of the year, comprising eighteen Flat meetings held between the months of May and October. It also stages important jump racing throughout the winter months.
No shows booked at the moment.
from £History
Royal Ascot dates back to 1711 when it was founded by Queen Anne. The first race, “Her Majesty’s Plate”, with a purse of 100 guineas, was held on 11 August 1711. The authentic origin of the Royal Meeting is undefined but the initial four day meeting happened in 1768. Arguably, the meeting as we know it today started to take shape with the induction of the Gold Cup in 1807. Royal Ascot was the only race meeting held at Ascot until 1939.
