The clock is ticking until the British horseracing industry goes wild for the Royal Ascot festival, know the 2022 dates, ticket prices, outfits and royal enclosure
This five-day event is considered the pinnacle of the flat racing season in the UK, bringing together the most promising thoroughbred stayers, as well as the most seasoned flat race jockeys from the UK, Europe and beyond.If you’re unfamiliar with the prestige surrounding Royal Ascot, this article is designed to shine a spotlight on this iconic piece of horse racing heritage.
Royal Ascot 2022 Dates, Tickets Prices, Packages, Dress Code And Dresses
The History of Royal Ascot
Royal Ascot originated as a four-day race meeting way back in 1768. Its home, Ascot Racecourse, remains the same today – although it has undergone significant regeneration through the decades. Ascot Racecourse is in Berkshire, England and is home to 13 of the 36 flat Group 1 horse races in the British horseracing calendar.
It’s also the most visited UK racecourse throughout the season. Given that Royal Ascot alone attracts approximately a tenth of the annual attendance of British horseracing meetings, it’s no surprise that this event is one of the most popular for horse racing bet offers. It’s listed with Cheltenham Festival and the Aintree Grand National as the three most popular race meetings for horseracing promotions.
Royal Ascot as an event did not take the form it has today until the emergence of the Ascot Gold Cup at the 1807 Royal Ascot. The Royal Ascot meeting was also the only meeting staged at the Ascot Racecourse until the 1939 season, which helped create a sense of grandeur for the event.
The establishment of a dress code at Royal Ascot also encouraged the high fashion that’s now synonymous with all five days of the meeting.
The Biggest Races at Royal Ascot
With no less than eight Group 1 races scheduled throughout Royal Ascot, there are plenty of talented runners and riders on the daily racecards.
Let’s take a look at three of the most talked-about races in Royal Ascot history:
- Queen Anne Stakes
Historically, the Queen Anne Stakes was the first race of the entire meeting. Inaugurated in 1840, it’s also one of the oldest races at Royal Ascot. It achieved Group 1 status in 2003 and carried a prize purse of £400,000 in 2021.
- Ascot Gold Cup
The Gold Cup is deemed the pinnacle of Royal Ascot. Founded in 1807, the Gold Cup is undoubtedly the most celebrated race for stayers in British horseracing. It’s the first leg of the Stayers’ Triple Crown, followed by the Goodwood Cup and the Doncaster Cup.
- Platinum Jubilee Stakes
The last Group 1 race of Royal Ascot, the Platinum Jubilee Stakes – formerly known as the Diamond Jubilee Stakes – is one of the most valuable races in the entire meeting. In 2021, it carried a prize purse of £700,000. As of 2005, this six-furlong race was included in the ‘Global Sprint Challenge’ – an international series of iconic sprint races around the world.
The 2022 Royal Ascot purse
Ascot Racecourse confirmed in December 2021 that its total prize purse for the 2022 Royal Ascot meeting will be £15.64 million. That represents a 14.4% rise on the 2019 prize purse.
This year’s meeting will feature its first £2 million prize day on day one (Tuesday), with no less than three Group 1 races scheduled. Both the Platinum Jubilee Stakes and the Prince of Wales’s Stakes will have prize purses of £1 million respectively. This announcement puts these races on par with Europe’s most valuable jump race, the Grand National.
The Horses and Jockeys to Watch at the 2022 Royal Ascot
Frankie Dettori remains a huge attraction at Royal Ascot. In 2021, he became the most successful jockey in the history of the meeting, landing his 74th win in the Queen Anne Stakes.
The likes of William Buick, Hollie Doyle, Ryan Moore and Oisin Murphy are also box-office jockeys worth watching in the biggest races and will be racing from June 14-18, 2022.
Stradivarius will once again be the talk of the paddock as he returns to try and win a fourth Ascot Gold Cup. Tickets and packages can be purchased here.
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