Ascot’s Beginnings

Few sporting venues can match the rich heritage and history of Ascot Racecourse. Over the past 300 years, Ascot has established itself as a national institution; with Royal Ascot becoming the centrepiece of the British social calendar and the ultimate stage for the best racehorses in the world.
It was Queen Anne in 1711 that first saw the potential for a racecourse at Ascot (in those days called East Cote). Whilst out riding near Windsor Castle she came upon an area of open heath that looked, in her words, “ideal for horses to gallop at full stretch”.

The First Race Meeting

The first race meeting ever held at Ascot took place later that year, on Saturday 11th August. The inaugural event was Her Majesty’s Plate, worth 100 guineas and open to any horse, mare or gelding over six years of age. Each horse was required to carry a weight of 12 stone and the seven runners were all English Hunters, rather different to the speedy thoroughbreds that race on the flat today.
The nature of the contest also bares little resemblance to modern day racing at Ascot. That race consisted of three separate heats, each four miles long – about the length of today’s Grand National course. The winning horse would have required tremendous stamina, but sadly there is no record of who claimed that first Plate.
Queen Anne’s gift to racing, founding the Royal Racecourse, is marked by the tradition of opening Royal Ascot with the Queen Anne Stakes.

Highlights At Ascot Since 2006

There have already been several historical landmarks in the short period since Ascot Racecourse reopened in 2006 and none more memorable than the four timer of Gold Cup wins by Yeats, culminating in remarkable scenes after his final victory in 2009.
In 2011, Ascot celebrated its tercentenary and staged the inaugural QIPCO British Champions Day, now the climax to the European flat racing season.
Last year Ascot was at the heart of the country’s celebrations to mark The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, with the Golden Jubilee Stakes renamed the Diamond Jubilee Stakes and won by Australian legend, Black Caviar.
Last year the world’s four top horses on official ratings ran at Ascot, something no other venue could claim and king of them all, of course, was the mighty Frankel.
Frankel retired victorious and unbeaten in 14 runs after the Champion Stakes, having competed at two, three and four at Ascot – five wins in all at the Berkshire track including two at Royal Ascot and two on British Champions Day.