Ascot Racecourse has a long, royal‑rooted history and a layout that makes it one of the most recognisable tracks in the world. It was founded in 1711 by Queen Anne, who identified the open heathland at East Cote as an ideal place for “horses to gallop at full stretch” while riding out from Windsor Castle. The first race, Her Majesty’s Plate, was run that August over three four‑mile heats, a reminder of how much stamina early racing demanded. Ascot has remained closely tied to the monarchy ever since, with royal stands in use from the late eighteenth century and the Greencoats acting as ceremonial attendants from 1744.

The racecourse today covers 179 acres of Crown Estate land in Berkshire, about twenty‑five miles west of London and six miles from Windsor Castle. It stages twenty‑six racedays a year, split between eighteen Flat meetings from spring to autumn and eight Jumps fixtures through the winter. The track is right‑handed, just over a mile and six furlongs round, galloping and fairly stiff, with a long run‑in and a straight mile used for races up to seven furlongs. The current grandstand, a major redevelopment costing £220 million, opened in 2006 and forms the centrepiece of a site that blends modern facilities with long‑established tradition.

Royal Ascot in June is the course's defining week, drawing more than 250,000 spectators across five days and hosting eight Group 1 races, including the Gold Cup. The meeting mixes top‑class international racing with pageantry, from the daily royal procession to the strict dress codes of the Royal Enclosure. Ascot also stages the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes in July, one of Europe's premier midsummer middle‑distance races. The scale of the operation is enormous: thousands of staff, hundreds of temporary structures, and vast quantities of food and drink consumed across the week, reflecting its status as Britain's most popular and valuable race meeting.

Winners at Ascot (13)