There will be seven races staged on the first four days, with eight on the final card. The Buckingham Palace Handicap, lost from the card when the Commonwealth Cup was introduced in 2015, will open the meeting. A Silver Royal Hunt Cup (1m) and a Silver Wokingham Handicap (6f) are included for those who miss the cut for the main events.
Also staged this year only will be the Copper Horse Handicap (14f, 4yo+), the Golden Gates Handicap (10f, 3yo) and the Palace of Holyroodhouse Handicap (5f, 3yo).
Her Majesty The Queen has graciously consented to these temporary new names. The Copper Horse is a statue of King George III mounted on horseback marking the end of the Long Walk in Windsor Great Park, adjacent to the racecourse; The Golden Gates are the ceremonial entrance point for the Royal Procession at the end of the straight mile; The Palace of Holyroodhouse is the official residence of the Monarchy in Scotland. Amongst the changes to the regular programme are the movement of the St James’s Palace Stakes and Coronation Stakes to the final day, to maximise the time between them and the Guineas at Newmarket (6th and 7th June).
In order to provide two-year-olds with as much time as possible before the key races at Royal Ascot, the two year old programme has been moved back with four of the six races to be staged on Friday and Saturday. The King Edward VII Stakes and Ribblesdale Stakes, now key Derby and Oaks Trials, will be on the opening day in order to maximise the gap to Derby and Oaks Day (4th July). The Hampton Court, also an eligible Epsom trial this year, will be run on day two. “We are most grateful to the BHA’s race planning team for their assistance in framing the additional races for this exceptional renewal of Royal Ascot,” said Nick Smith, Director of Racing and Public Affairs at Ascot Racecourse. “We hope these extra opportunities will be welcomed by horsemen, broadcasters and the public at home. “Under Ruth Quinn, a lot of work has gone into scheduling an appropriate Pattern trials programme, beginning on 3rd June, alongside an enhanced two-year-old programme.”
Prize money for Royal Ascot was announced earlier this year as £3,680,000. All eight Group One races will be run for £250,000 with no race at the newly formatted 36 race meeting (30 in regular years) run for less than £35,000. With no early closing races operating this year, all races will close at the sixday stage and entry fees will be as normal, beginning at 1.25% for Group One races
TOP CURRENT TRAINERS AT THE ROYAL MEETING
Trainer Wins
Sir Michael Stoute 81
Aidan O’Brien IRE 70
John Gosden 49
Mark Johnston 45
Saeed bin Suroor 36
Paul Cole 21
Mick Channon 18
Dermot Weld IRE 17
David Elsworth 16
Roger Charlton 10
James Fanshawe 10
William Haggas 10
Wesley Ward USA 10
TOP CURRENT JOCKEYS AT THE ROYAL MEETING
Jockey Wins
Frankie Dettori 67
Ryan Moore 58
Jamie Spencer 26
William Buick 23
Olivier Peslier 16
James Doyle 13
The 151 page 2020 Royal Ascot Media Guide is out. Download your free pdf here .<< Back to Racing Headlines
