Royal Ascot

Royal Ascot
Royal Ascot is a most famous race meeting all over the world, its history dates back to 1711. It was initially organized for the Royal Family of Britain to meet and to have fun in an open place. The event happening once every year gets a lot of attention by the British press.

History of Ascot
Queen Anne was the person behind the building of the race course arena in that place, which was called East Cote in those days. The first race meeting ever held at Ascot took place on Saturday 11 August 1711. Her Majesty's Plate, worth 100 guineas and open to any horse, mare or gelding over the age of six, was the inaugural event.

Her Majesty the Queen, as an owner and breeder of racehorses takes a keen interest in the races. Over the years The Queen has had great success with her own horses. The Jockeys riding Her Majesty's horses can be distinguished because they wear The Queen's racing colours. These are the same as those of King Edward VII and George IV as Prince Regent - purple body with gold braid, scarlet sleeves and black velvet cap with gold fringe.

The Queen traditionally presents the Gold Cup, which, along with the Royal Hunt Cup and The Queen's Vase. These three trophies are made every year and presented to winners to keep. Challenge Trophies, many of which are antique, are presented to the winners of the remaining 27 races, and are returned after the year to be presented to the next winners.

Interesting Rules
It is interesting to know that the event has a special dress code without which nobody can enter the arena. The male members have to wear the full morning dress with a top hat. At the same time ladies are supposed to wear full dresses and they are not allowed to show their midriffs or shoulders. There is a difference in the dress code of the persons outside the enclosure, but people like to wear the formal dresses. The traditional way of getting an entry in the race meeting was to be invited by a member or to be a sponsor of the event for the four times. It happened in 2007 that the passes were given on hospitality package of 530 Pound Sterling.

Details about the Event
There are 16 Group races on offer, with at least one Group One event on each of the five days. The Ascot Gold Cup is on Ladies' Day on the Thursday. There is over ?3,000,000 of prize money on offer.

Ascot's Renovation
Ascot race course has undergone a re-development from Sept 2004 to June 2006. The renovation project is one of its own kinds in the Entire Europe by building magnificent new grandstand and track that represents one of the most impressive sports stadium structures in the world. The stand is flooded with natural light, using glass and aluminum materials, bringing the outside in as you walk through the impressive galleria. As the racecourse nears its 300 year anniversary, and looks forward to celebrating the 200th anniversary of Royal Ascot's oldest race.

It is estimated that more than 300,000 people make the annual visit to Berkshire during Royal Ascot week, making this Europe's best-attended race meeting. However many of the visitors do not know anything about racing, and are there purely for the social gathering and to drink large quantities of champagne. So there is a gap between the race lover and the people for merry making.