When Was Royal Ascot Founded

• Royal Ascot Hospitality UK gives you an insight into the long and prestigious history of Ascot Racecourse. For Royal Ascot bookings, call 020 7989 6500.
• The Ascot Authority was established in 1913 by an Act of Parliament with His Majesty’s Representative becoming senior trustee. Each day begins with the Royal processions. The Queen and accompanying members of the Royal Family arrive along the track in horse-drawn landau. Their day is then spent watching the races from the Royal enclosure.
• What is now known as Royal Ascot started to take shape with The Gold Cup in 1807, Ascot’s oldest surviving race. The winning owners still receive a gold trophy which becomes their property.

History Of Royal Ascot. It was Queen Anne who, in 1711, first saw the potential for a racecourse at East Cote, declaring that it looked an ideal place for “horses to gallop at full stretch” while out riding.

June 15 (UPI) -- For the first time in its more than two and a half centuries, Royal Ascot's races will go to the post Tuesday without the glamour and fashion that normally make up almost as much of the show as the horses do.

Among those absent because of the COVID-19 precautions is the United Kingdom's No. 1 racing fan and the patron of the event, Queen Elizabeth II.

'Her majesty the queen has very kindly written our race card foreword, as she usually does, but will not be attending Royal Ascot this year,' a spokeswoman for the racecourse confirmed as the five-day extravaganza of top-flight racing approached.

The absence of the royals will be noted right off the top. Traditionally, Elizabeth leads a carriage procession down the course to the Royal Enclosure to kick off the daily proceedings. The color of her outfit and the identity of guests in her carriage and those following it are objects of daily speculation, note and even wagering.

Ascot has gone to great lengths to try to sustain the feeling of the event for fans watching at home or elsewhere. A dedicated website will provide scheduled activities 'whilst others remain secret to surprise and delight audiences during the week itself,' the track said.

Jockeys will participate in broadcast fitness routines. Michelin-starred chefs will offer cooking demonstrations and compete for viewer support in a 'Coronation Chicken Stakes' competition.

The racecourse will for the first time share its secret recipes for teacakes and other goodies so viewers can enjoy the traditional Royal Ascot tea ceremony at home. And the traditional daily post-racing sing-alongs will be virtual, with songbooks posted online.

All money raised through televised and online participation in those events will be donated to the National Emergencies Trust Relief Fund, NHS Charities Together, the Care Workers Charity and the Berkshire Community Foundation.

'With what has been happening in recent months, we wanted fundraising and front-line support to be at the heart of 'Royal Ascot At Home',' said Juliet Slot, chief commercial officer for Ascot Racecourse.

'Alongside the fantastic racing and entertainment in store, we're also encouraging people to dress up at home and celebrate with us while raising money for our chosen charities and saying thank you to the [National Health Service] and front-line workers who are playing such an important role.'

The five-day event will retain all its traditional races, including eight Group 1 events. The order of running, however, has been shaken up to accommodate the highly compacted preparatory season leading up to the Royal Ascot because of the COVID-19 racing shutdown.

Fields also are likely to be a bit limited, as England is operating under a quarantine requirement that calls for anyone entering the country to undergo a 14-day self-isolation.

While that doesn't apply to horses, it does to trainers and stable staff, so Europeans need to find locally based help to handle any runners imported for the event.

Four of the races are 'Win and You're In' qualifiers for the Breeders' Cup World Championships, slated for the first weekend in November at Keeneland in Lexington, Ky.

Why Is It Called Royal Ascot

The Breeders' Cup is selling tickets for that event with a prominent proviso that full refunds will be made if the races are canceled or run without spectators because of lingering COVID-19 concerns.

This is far from the first time Royal Ascot, founded in 1711 by Queen Anne, has deviated from 'normal' operations.

The royal meeting was put on hiatus from 1915 through 1918 during World War I, a calamity multiplied by the worldwide ravages of the Spanish flu.

During World War II, some of the races were shifted from Ascot Racecourse to other venues and some were canceled.

In 1946, shortages and rationing led to a relaxed dress code and the royal procession was held on only two days.

When Was Royal Ascot Founded England

Labor actions, parliamentary schedules and an outbreak of hoof and mouth disease all impacted recent Royal Ascot meetings, some significantly and others less so.

When Was Royal Ascot Founded 2020

In 2005, the entire proceeding was shifted to the north as York Racecourse hosted the royals while Ascot was being undergoing redevelopment.

Who Owns Royal Ascot

The 2020 renewal will be out of the ordinary. But British racing fans seem braced to heed the wise counsel of Winston Churchill to 'keep calm and carry on.'