Royal Ascot: Festival Fever Strikes the Racing World
Summer is undoubtedly the hottest season for those keeping up with the festival news. The likes of Download, Latitude, Reading and Leeds, and of course the granddaddy of them all, Glastonbury, tickle the eardrums of music fans; the Highland Games celebrates all things Scotland; and for the horticulturally inclined, the Chelsea Flower Show of late May is blooming marvellous.
Those of a sporting persuasion are also well catered for – particularly those with a penchant for thoroughbred horse racing entertainment. The Chester May Meeting features early in the festival season, moving on through the Epsom Derby Festival and on to Glorious Goodwood of July – a meeting at which the British weather regularly tries its utmost to live up to the title.
Nestled in the midst of that lot is the jewel in the crown of the British Racing season, the enthralling, extravagant display of equine excellence that is Royal Ascot. For those unable to make the trip to Berkshire, this brilliant event benefits from live TV Coverage. No sooner does the Premier League season end than sports betting fans begin turning their attention to the best betting offers for Royal Ascot.
Tuesday 20th June to Saturday 24th June are the dates for the diary in 2023, and here we look at what the meeting has in store.
Day 1: All About the Racing
There are 36 Group 1 races run in Britain each year – contests representing the pinnacle of the sport – and of those 36, no fewer than 13 are crammed into this meeting. For the racing purist, Day 1 is where it’s at, with three of the seven contests on offer falling into that top-tier category. The Queen Anne Stakes and St. James’s Palace Stakes see the best of the milers in action, whilst the “blink and you’ll miss it” King’s Stand Stakes sees a selection of the best sprinters on the planet engaging overdrive.
Day 2: Relaxation the Order of the Day
Following that intense opening salvo, racegoers are granted the chance to kick back and relax on the second day, with the Wednesday of this Festival renowned as the most chilled out of the week. Settle in and sample the diverse selection of food and drink options, admire the animals in the flesh in the parade ring, and have a flutter in the seven races on offer – headlined by the Group 1 Prince of Wales’s Stakes.
Day 3: Ladies’ Day
All good racing festivals have one, and Ascot doesn’t let the fairer sex down in laying on one of the most spectacular and eagerly anticipated Ladies’ Days in the land. Fashion is very much to the fore, with the assembled crowd never failing to up the ante in the sartorial stakes. With spectacular “Best Dressed” prizes on offer, for those who wish to give their finest frock or show-stopping hat an outing, this is the day to attend. Of the five days, this is the day which ALWAYS sells out first.
Day 4: Festival in Full Flow
Whilst Day 3 is dominated by the ladies in the stands, Day 4 belongs to the females on the track. Of the seven races on offer, three are restricted to fillies and mares – the pick of the bunch being the Group 1 Coronation Stakes, which has landed by many a superstar over the years. Expect a more raucous atmosphere as Ascot well and truly discovers “that Friday feeling”.
Day 5:
All good things must come to an end, but Ascot makes sure that it goes out with a bang. Saturday meetings are generally the most well-attended and highest quality of the year, but there are few quite so spectacular as this, as the gathered masses assemble for one last hurrah. Topping the bill on the racing front is the internationally round Group 1 sprint, which this year has touchingly been renamed the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes in honour of our now sadly departed Queen, who was one of racing’s biggest supporters throughout her lifetime.
Whichever of the days you choose to attend, make sure you arrive on time to take in the Royal Procession at 2pm. And rather than heading straight for the exits upon the conclusion of the action, why not stick around for a few more bubbles and the traditional sing-along around the bandstand?
