Royal Ascot is the world’s most famous race meeting, steeped in history dating back to 1711. Royal Ascot is an internationally renowned sporting and social occasion, where tradition, pageantry and style all meet in a glorious setting – against the spectacular backdrop of top class thoroughbreds and world famous jockeys competing for some of the highest accolades in horseracing.

Royal Ascot has become an event where everyone is welcome. Indeed, on some days there are six times as many people in the public enclosures, paying as little as £12 for admission, as there are in the Royal Enclosure. The Royal Enclosure itself is restricted only insofar as people must have applied in advance and new applicants must be sponsored by existing Royal Enclosure badge holders who have attended the Royal Meeting on at least four occasions.

The quality of the horseracing is simply outstanding, with over £3.5 million in prize money and a total of seventeen Group races on offer, including at least one Group One event on each of the five days, Royal Ascot is an occasion not to be missed. The prize money for Royal Ascot 2006 has been increased by 12.5%, and for the first time brings the value of prize money on offer over the five days to £3,665,000.

The action on the track is matched only by the fashions on display, with a colourful array of outfits and hats creating one of the most sophisticated and elegant events in the summer calendar.

Over 300,000 people make the annual visit to Berkshire during Royal Ascot week, making this is Europe’s most popular race meeting.
The King’s Stand Stakes (20/6/06) and the Golden Jubilee Stakes (24/6/06) will be run for £200,000 and £350,000 respectively next year, a combined increase of £160,000 on 2005 values for Ascot’s legs of the Global Sprint Challenge. . At £350,000, the Golden Jubilee Stakes is worth more than any sprint race run in Europe in 2005.

Gold Cup day remains the feature race of the third day of Royal Ascot and is traditionally the busiest day of the week. It is colloquially known as “Ladies’ Day” as, in the formative years, it was the dominant day in terms of the racing, attracting the largest crowds and, it must be assumed from the emergence of the term “Ladies’ Day,” more ladies!

Perpetual Trophies are only awarded for three races at the Royal Meeting, the Gold Cup, the Queen’s Vase, inaugurated in 1838 to commemorate Queen Victoria’s accession, and the Royal Hunt Cup, first runin1843.For all other races, Challenge Trophies are awarded, which are returned to Ascot and presented to winning owners year on year.