Royal Ascot was founded in 1711, by Queen Anne. In all, Ascot hosts 18 days of flat racing each year. Over its 300-year history, Ascot has established itself as a national institution, with Royal Ascot being the centerpiece of the British summer social calendar. Royal Ascot evolved from the first four-day race meeting held at Ascot in 1768, although the meeting as it is known today only really started to take shape with the introduction of The Gold Cup in 1807, which is an over two-and-a-half miles course, making it a stiff test for horses.
Royal Ascot is held annually over five days, generally in the third week of June. Until 1939, Royal Ascot was the only race meeting held at the racecourse. About 500 horses race across the five days. The Gold Cup remains the feature race of the third day of Royal Ascot. Royal Ascot is Britain’s most valuable race meeting, with millions of pounds in prize money, just over one million in 2019.
Guests are encouraged to wear “smart daywear”—collared shirts and jackets for men, hats or fascinators for women, with a solid base of 4 inches or more in diameter. The origins of the Royal Ascot dress code can be traced back to the early 19th century when Beau Brummel, a close friend of the Prince Regent—later King George IV—decreed that men of elegance should wear waisted full-length black coats with pantaloons and a collared shirt and white cravats and tie and socks. Women must dress “in a manner that befits a formal occasion” and must wear a hat or fascinator at all times.
That first meeting was held on August 11, 1711, the original date having been postponed for unexplained reasons, most likely and simply, the course was not ready. The Queen and a “brilliant suite” drove from Windsor Castle to witness it, with the first race being a seven horse £50 plate — $664—won by a horse called Doctor owned by the Duke of St Albans, Charles II illegitimate son by Nell Gwyne.
The first permanent building was not erected until 1793. It was used for almost fifty years. A new grandstand was opened in 1839 at a cost of £10,000 (over $13,000). The administration of the Royal Racecourse is handled on behalf of the Crown by a representative appointed by the Monarch.
Queen Anne’s gift to racing, founding the Royal Racecourse, is marked by the tradition of opening Royal Ascot with The Queen Anne Stakes run over the straight mile.
The 1910 Royal Meeting was the inspiration for Cecil Beaton’s Ascot Gavotte scene in My Fair Lady 1964. Professor Higgins wants to see if Eliza (Audrey Hepburn) can pass as a high-society woman. She gives herself away by cheering on a horse in a vulgar manner: ‘Come on, Dover! Move your bloomin’ arse!’
Between 1940 and 1943 there was no racing at Ascot. The racecourse was commandeered by the army. Racing resumed in May 1943, with an eight-race card. The first post-war fixture was held in May, 1945, when Princess Elizabeth attended Ascot for the first time. As an owner and breeder of racehorses, Elizabeth took a keen interest in racing. The jockeys riding the queen’s horses could be identified by the royal racing colors, purple body with gold braid, scarlet sleeves, and a black velvet cap with gold fringe.
The Queen attended the annual Royal Meeting from her Coronation in 1953, to her death and traditionally presented The Gold Cup and The Diamond Jubilee Stakes each year, until her death in 2022.
Ascot Racecourse has become a popular venue for events, with over 300 meeting and conference rooms, as well as the Grandstand Atrium, with over 4,000 square meters of exhibition space. (66 ft x 65 ft) Many parties and weddings are held at the racecourse every year.2
Each of the five days of Royal Ascot begins with the Royal Procession, when the monarch and other members of the royal family arrive down the straight mile in the royal Landaus, accompanied by the playing of the National Anthem and the raising of the Royal Standard. This tradition was started in 1825 by George IV, who reigned from 1820-1830.
- “Ascot” ascot.co.uk. Archived from the original on 18 June 2021.
Retrieved 27 August 2020.
2 Cawthorne, George James and Richard S. Herod. Royal Ascot, Its
History & Its Associations. PDF). London: A Treherne & Co. 1902.
Retrieved 31 January 2022.
