Royal Ascot Races

The four days of the Cheltenham Festival is the highlight of the jump racing season, with showcases like the Cheltenham Gold Cup and Champion Hurdle taking centre stage. Punters can enjoy a similar treat in the flat racing calendar, with five days of top-drawer action making up Royal Ascot. There are 30 Royal Ascot races in total between June 19th and June 23rd this year, pitting some of horse racing’s star names against each other.

Of these 30 Royal Ascot races, 18 of them are Group contests and seven are Group One showdowns, including at least one each day. Three of these Group One encounters take part on the opening day of Royal Ascot 2011, with punters immediately getting the chance to get a taste of horse racing betting through the Queen Anne Stakes. This could arguably the biggest Royal Ascot race as Frankel is set to participate.

Group One showdowns the standout Royal Ascot races

The Queen Anne Stakes kicks off the Group One races that are present on the opening day of Royal Ascot and some big names are among the entries, including last year’s beaten Epsom Derby favourite Carlton House, alongside Frankel. The other pair are the Kings Stand Stakes and the St James’ Palace Stakes. It is all about speed in the former, with the race taking place over 5f and including Sole Power. Meanwhile, 2,000 Guineas and Epsom Derby winner Camelot is entered into the latter, alongside Richard Hannon’s also unbeaten Harbour Watch.

Day Two of Royal Ascot revolves around the Prince of Wales Stakes and Frankel, while the stamina-sapping Ascot Gold Cup is the Group One highlight of Ladies’ Day. The fillies take centre stage on day four in the Coronation Cup, with Aidan O’Brien currently holding seven of the entries, with the Golden Jubilee Stakes rounding things off on the final day of the 2012 Royal Ascot meeting.