For many people, Royal Ascot represents the pinnacle of the horse racing calendar. Not only does it have royal patronage, but it frequently brings together some of the most exhilarating racehorses on the planet. So let’s look at what we can expect from the 2021 Royal Ascot.
The basics of Royal Ascot
Just like the Cheltenham Festival, Royal Ascot is a horse racing festival. It takes place over five years, and this year it runs from 15 to 19 June. Each day will be packed full of horse racing highlights, and this year, it promises to be the biggest Royal Ascot yet.
This is because it has been expanded to include no less than 35 races. This sees the racing beginning at 2.30pm each day, and there will be that highly anticipated royal procession taking place before the first race. All of which has meant that Britain’s most valuable race meeting just got bigger and better than ever.
What can we expect from this year’s Royal Ascot?
Given the continuing effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, it’s little surprise that the 2021 Royal Ascot will be different from those of previous years. But if the efforts made to limit the spread of the virus continued as planned, then there could be up to 12,000 spectators present at each of the five days. This will be down from the usual daily amount of 60,000 who regularly pack out the Ascot racecourse in the summer months. It comes as part of the government’s Events Research Programme, which examines how safe large crowds will be following the pandemic.
While there will be plenty of enthusiastic race-goers in attendance, there are ongoing rumours that The Queen will miss Royal Ascot for just the second time in her 69-year reign. The reasons for this are entirely understandable, and it casts doubt on whether there will be the traditional royal procession on some days. As it stands, there is no official word from the palace, but as The Queen was absent from the Epsom Derby, it’s not hard to imagine her being away from Royal Ascot this year.
The good news is that the Royal Ascot Ladies Day is hoped to take place on its usual day of Thursday. This means that there should be the opportunity for a fair amount of pomp and extravagance to add a dash of glamour to what’s otherwise been a dour year.
Racing highlights to look out for in the 2021 Royal Ascot
It’s easy to get sidetracked by the celebrities and royal connections at Royal Ascot. But this event would be nothing if it hadn’t got a reputation for putting on some of the most impressive horse races of recent times. Many punters will already be brushing up on the horse racing betting strategies on playersbest.com in anticipation of the horse racing extravaganza and hopes are high that we might see some more spectacular performances like last year.
That was yet another fantastic year for Frankie Dettori. The 50-year old somehow managed to clock up seven wins across the race meeting, and he cemented his legacy as being the most successful active jockey at Royal Ascot.
Given that there’s a £6 million prize fund, we can expect to see some of the leading racehorses, jockeys, trainers and owners from the UK and beyond. This year’s Royal Ascot includes no less than eight Group One races and a further 11 at the Group Two and Group Three level.
Each race day has its own particular highlights, but all eyes will be on the legendary Ascot Gold Cup. This year will see the current favourite Stradivarius putting in a typically strong challenge, although there are expected to be solid turnouts from other top runners like Subjectivist and Trueshan.
Other notable races include the likes of the Prince of Wales’ Stakes, the Diamond Jubilee Stakes, the Coronation Stakes and the St James’ Palace Stakes. However, many of the lesser-known races can throw up plenty of surprises, too. So whether you’re watching Royal Ascot on television or are lucky enough to attend in person, you can be sure of getting a top-quality horse racing experience.
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Suzanne Ashton, Founder of Everything Horse (Est, 2012), has a BA Hons in Marketing Management and a Diploma in Equine Science. Suzanne has ridden and owned horses all her life and has twelve years of experience in marketing, writing, design, SEO, and website creation.