Royal Ascot Day 1: How to watch for FREE, racecard, weather forecast, odds

Royal Ascot is set to return this afternoon, with thousands set to make the trip ahead of the first race.

In total, seven races will take place on the first day, including the St James’s Palace Stakes.

All of this week's action is scheduled to take place at the Ascot Racecourse in Berkshire.

One of the biggest races on the calendar will take place later this week with the Ascot Gold Cup. Last year, favourite Kyprios held on in a thrilling finish to win by half a length. 

With Royal Ascot getting underway today, how can you watch the action? What is the racecard? Mail Sport provides the answers below.  

Royal Ascot is set to return this afternoon, with thousands set to make the trip ahead of the first race

Seven races are scheduled to take place today, including the St James’s Palace Stakes

What is the Royal Ascot schedule on Day One? 

This year's Royal Ascot is set to get underway this afternoon.

The first race will start at 2.30pm, while the last race will get underway at 6.10pm.

In total, there will be seven races that will take place on the first day of Royal Ascot.

• Queen Anne Stakes - 2.30pm 
• Coventry Stakes - 3.05pm
• King’s Stand Stakes - 3.40pm
• St James’s Palace Stakes - 4.20pm 
• Ascot Stakes - 5pm
• Wolferton Stakes - 5.35pm
• Copper Horse Stakes - 6.10pm

How to watch

Royal Ascot will be shown live on ITV 1, with coverage getting underway at 1.30pm each day.

Fans will also be able to stream the action on the ITVX app.

Sky Sports will also be showing live coverage of Royal Ascot on Sky Sports Racing, with coverage also getting underway each day from 1.30pm. 

All of this week's action is scheduled to take place at the Ascot Racecourse in Berkshire

This year's Royal Ascot is set to end on Saturday, June 24, with 35 races scheduled to take place over the five days

When is the St James’s Palace Stakes?

The biggest race of the festival is the Gold Cup, which takes place on Thursday.

However, it is fair to say that there are still a few big races in the build-up to the third day

Today, arguably the highlight of the day is the St James’s Palace Stakes.

The St James’s Palace Stakes is the fourth race of the day and is set to get underway at 4.30pm. 

Who are the favourites for the St James’s Palace Stakes? 

Chaldean to win - 6/4

Paddington to win - 5/2

Isaac Shelby to win - 15/2

Ciceros Gift to win - 9/1  

Mostabshir to win - 10/1

All odds via Paddy Power and correct at the time of publication. 

The Met Office have predicted morning rain, showers this morning, with isolated thunderstorms possible

Weather Forecast

Today, the Met Office have predicted morning rain, showers and isolated thunderstorms are possible. 

Heading into the afternoon racing, fans at Ascot can expect brighter conditions.

The Met Office also revealed that the maximum temperature for today will be 26 °C.