The most famous race week in the world each year is conducted at Ascot racecourse in England.
That is the Royal meeting in mid-June where the course becomes Royal Ascot.
Ascot is located in Berkshire and hosts G1 racing during both the flat and jumps seasons.
In 1711, Queen Anne founded the course and managed race meetings. There has been feature racing at Ascot for over two centuries.
Royal Ascot has such prestige that the Monarch (Queen Elizabeth II) attends each year with many other members of the Royal family. It helps with her love of horse racing. She arrives each day in the Royal carriage procession with other dignitaries.
There are six races on each day with eight Group 1s in total during the five days. They are the Queen Anne Stakes, King’s Stand and St James’s Palace Stakes (Tuesday), Prince Of Wales’s Stakes (Wednesday), Gold Cup (Thursday), Coronation Stakes and Commonwealth Cup (Friday) and Diamond Jubilee Stakes (Saturday).
Another feature day is the running of the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes over a mile and a half in July. It is run for the best thoroughbreds over that trip in England.
Only within the last decade has been the establishment of British Champions Day designed as an end of season championship for the UK (and the British Champion Series). On the card they run the Champion Stakes, Queen Elizabeth II Stakes, British Champion Fillies and Mares Stakes and the British Champion Sprint Stakes.
Also through the year, Ascot holds the Shergar Cup which is a day where jockeys from around the world compete in teams on a points basis. It is named after the famous Derby winner.
Highlight jumps races of the year include the Clarence House Chase, Ascot Chase and Long Walk Hurdle.
Ascot’s massive new grandstand was completed in 2006 and covers near a furlong of the home straight.
It is a right handed course with a mile straight course, a mile round course which passes Swinley Bottom at the furthest most part of the course and Ascot can start races of any distance.
Ascot has seen most of the all-time great race horses with the Royal meeting in 2012 potentially the greatest.
The meeting was opened with Frankel annihilating his rivals in the Queen Anne by 11 lengths producing the greatest Timeform rating ever. It ended with Australia’s great mare Black Caviar overcoming injury to win the Diamond Jubilee Stakes.
