Royal Ascot 2024 Guide: All you need to know

By News Team
28th May 2024

Royal Ascot 2024 is nearly upon us and we have put together an all you need to know guide to help you through the five-day showpiece event of British Flat racing.

Dating back hundreds of years, Royal Ascot is a celebration of all things pageantry and racing, it’s a mainstay of the racing calendar and is certainly one to savour.

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What is Royal Ascot?

Royal Ascot is the biggest Flat racing festival in the calendar, which takes place over five days in June each year.

Growing out of the first four-day annual meeting at Ascot in 1768, and with the introduction of certain races such as the Gold Cup, the meeting has since developed into what we know today as Royal Ascot.

Until 1939, Royal Ascot was the only meeting to be held at the racecourse and every year the event only grows in popularity.

It is known as the Royal meeting as before the start of each of the five days, members of the Royal family usually arrive on course by horse drawn carriage down the centre of the track.

Queen Elizabeth II was a huge supporter of Royal Ascot and horse racing in general and this year will mark the first Royal Ascot for King Charles III.

Where does Royal Ascot take place?

Royal Ascot takes place at Ascot Racecourse in Berkshire.

When does Royal Ascot take place?

This year, Royal Ascot will be held between Tuesday 18th June and Saturday 22nd June with a feature race held daily. The main event of the week is the Group One Ascot Gold Cup, run on Thursday 20th June.

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Royal Ascot schedule

Tuesday 18th June

2:30pm The Queen Anne Stakes (Group 1)

3:05pm The Coventry Stakes (Group 2)

3:45pm King Charles III Stakes (Group 1)

4:25pm The St James’s Palace Stakes (Group 1)

5:05pm The Ascot Stakes (Handicap) (Class 2)

5:40pm The Wolferton Stakes (Listed)

6:15pm The Copper Horse Stakes (Handicap) (Class 2)

Wednesday 19th June

2:30pm The Queen Mary Stakes (Group 2)

3:05pm The Queen’s Vase (Group 2)

3:45pm The Duke of Cambridge Stakes (Group 2)

4:25pm The Prince of Wales’s Stakes (Group 1)

5:05pm The Royal Hunt Cup (Heritage Handicap) (Class 2)

5:40pm The Kensington Palace Stakes (Handicap) (Class 2)

6:15pm The Windsor Castle Stakes (Listed)

Thursday 20th June

2:30pm The Norfolk Stakes (Group 2)

3:05pm The King George V Stakes (Handicap) (Class 2)

3:45pm The Ribblesdale Stakes (Group 2)

4:25pm The Gold Cup (Group 1)

5:05pm The Britannia Stakes (Heritage Handicap) (Class 2)

5:40pm The Hampton Court Stakes (Group 3)

6:15pm The Buckingham Palace Stakes (Handicap) (Class 2)

Friday 21st June

2:30pm The Albany Stakes (Group 3)

3:05pm The Commonwealth Cup (Group 1)

3:45pm The Coronation Stakes (Group 1)

4:25pm The Duke of Edinburgh Stakes (Handicap) (Class 2)

5:05pm The Sandringham Stakes (Handicap) (Class 2)

5:40pm The King Edward VII Stakes (Group 2)

6:15pm The Palace Of Holyroodhouse Stakes (Handicap) (Class 2)

Saturday 22nd June

2:30pm The Chesham Stakes (Listed)

3:05pm The Hardwicke Stakes (Group w)

3:45pm The Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes (Group 1)

4:25pm The Jersey Stakes (Group 3)

5:05pm The Wokingham Stakes (Heritage Handicap) (Class 2)

5:40pm The Golden Gates Stakes (Handicap) (Class 2)

6:15pm The Queen Alexandra Stakes (Conditions) (Class 2)

Royal Ascot prize money

One of the reasons for Royal Ascot’s popularity is that it attracts the best in the equine world and not just the royal connections. The sheer volume of prize money on offer over the week is some of the best in the world which further enhances Royal Ascot’s prestige within the racing calendar.

This year, the prize money up for grabs at Royal Ascot will total nearly £10 million over the course of the meeting, with each race being worth in excess of £100,000.

The opening day of the meeting features three Group One races and prize money across the day will top £2.4 million.

Some of the biggest beneficiaries are the winners of the newly named Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes and The Prince of Wales’s Stakes, where there will be a total of £1 million up for grabs in each race.

Royal Ascot runners

The combination of prize money, prestige and breeding is what ultimately brings the best horses from around the world to Royal Ascot, and this year is no different.

Last year, a host of international runners from Ireland, France, Australia, the US and Japan lined up at Royal Ascot and more can be expected to make the trip this year.

To be sure you have the current and up to date information it’s imperative to have a look at a Royal Ascot race card closer to the time.

Royal Ascot latest odds

On Day One of the festival, John and Thady Gosden’s Inspiral and French raider Facteur Cheval, head the market for the opening Group 1 Queen Anne Stakes at 4/1.

The King’s Stand, a five-furlong dash on the opening day, has an open look to it, with last season’s Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint winner Big Evs the current favourite at 4/1, from the Australian-trained Asfoora at 7/1.

The final Group 1 on the opening day could witness a rematch between the 2000 Guineas winner Notable Speech (5/4) and Irish 2000 Guineas winner Rosallion (5/2).

The Prince Of Wales’s Stakes is the feature race on Day Two, and is sure to be a fascinating spectacle and, at the time of writing, Passenger looks the favourite at 9/4 from the Irish Gold Cup winner White Birch at 4/1.

Last season’s Champions Long Distance Cup runner-up, Kyprios (EVS), is the current Gold Cup favourite from Gregory at 5/1, with Willie Mullins’ Vauban next in the market at 7/1.

Friday’s card includes the Coronation Stakes and Commonwealth Cup, both Group One contests. Inisherin is currently 4/1 having still needed to be supplemented for the Commonwealth Cup. Aidan O’Brien’s River Tiber is next in the market at 6/1.

Irish 1000 Guineas winner, Fallen Angel is 4/1 for the Coronation Stakes, with Aiden O’Brien’s Opera Singer in front at 3/1, despite being back in third in Ireland.

The £1 million Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes will be the highlight of the final day, and the market indicates it’s a very open race. Currently, Kinross and Millstream are joint favourites at 6/1, with Regional and Mitbaahy close behind at 8/1.

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