Royal Ascot Racecards

Royal Ascot Day 1 takes place on Tuesday 16th June 2026

Royal Ascot begins with a bang on Tuesday, June 16th as day one kickstarts Flat racing’s marquee summer meeting. If you’re struggling to work out who to bet on, check out our Royal Ascot day 1 tips from our top team of experts.

The Queen Anne Stakes is typically won by the best older milers of the year, not only in Britain and Ireland but from across the globe. The great Frankel cruised to victory in this race in 2012, while Charyn landed the spoils last year. Queen Anne winners typically go on to contest the best mile events internationally, including the QEII Stakes back at Ascot in October as well as the Breeders’ Cup Mile.

The Coventry Stakes is the first big juvenile contest of the week. Many champion two-year-olds have been victorious in the Group 2 over 6f, while some winners such as Dawn Approach went on to Classic glory the following year.

The King Charles III Stakes (formerly the King’s Stand Stakes) gives the sprinters their first opportunity of the week and the 5f Group 1 has an illustrious roll of honour, including the likes of Battaash, Blue Point and Sole Power. Top Australian sprinter Asfoora was an impressive winner in 2024 and American Affair was victorious last time out.

The St James’s Palace Stakes is a Group 1 run over a mile on the round course and often throws up clashes between the best milers of the Classic generation. Restricted to three-year-olds only, the winners of the British, Irish and French 2,000 Guineas usually take each other on in a defining bout. 2023’s race was won by Coroebus, who had won the 2,000 Guineas at Newmarket on his previous start. Rosallion had finished second in the 2,000 Guineas at Newmarket but won the Irish 2,000 Guineas at Curragh just three weeks before winning in 2024. Field of Gold did the same a year later, finishing runner-up in the 2,000 Guineas at Newmarket, winning the Irish 2,000 Guineas at Curragh, and then winning the St James’s Palace Stakes.

The Ascot Stakes is the first staying contest of the week and is a handicap run over 2m4f. Jumps trainers have seen success in this race since the 2010s, with Willie Mullins, Nicky Henderson, and Jonjo O’Neill – all top trainers in that sphere – having wins. Flat trainers Andrew Balding and Sir Mark Prescott have both taken the race since 2020, but last year, jumps trainer Henry De Bromhead was the winner.

The Wolferton Stakes has thrown up some top-class performers since it was switched from being a handicap in 2018. Addeybb was victorious in 2019 and has since gone on to win four Group 1s, while Israr came out on top in 2024, and Haatem a year ago.

The Copper Horse Stakes was introduced to the meeting in 2020 and has retained its place on the card. It is a Class 2 handicap run over 1m6f and is named after a statue of the Copper Horse, of King George III on horseback that signals the end of the Long Walk in the adjacent Great Windsor Park. The Willie Mullins trained Belloccio won in 2024, followed by French Master in 2025, trained by the father-son duo of John and Thady Gosden. 

Royal Ascot Day 2 takes place on Wednesday 17th June 2026

Royal Ascot’s second day this year will take place on Wednesday, June 17th. Check out our Royal Ascot day 2 tips if you do not know who to bet on.

The Queen Mary Stakes opens proceedings on the second day. It is a Group 2 over 5f for two-year-old fillies and was first run in 1921. US-based trainer Wesley Ward has a strong record in the race with three wins since 2015, the most recent being in 2020. But recently, Yorkshire-based trainer Karl Burke has won two of last four runnings with Dramatised in 2022 and Leovanni in 2024. Aidan O’Brien was the winning trainer a year ago with True Love.

The Queen’s Vase has a strong history of producing top-class performers, not only at staying trips but middle distances too. The Group 2 has been run over 1m6f since 2017 and was won by three-time Gold Cup hero Stradivarius that year. Aidan O’Brien has trained eight winners since 2007, including St Leger winner Kew Gardens in 2019 and Santiago in 2020, who went on to win the Irish Derby later that same month. The Queen’s Vase and St Leger double was completed again in 2022 by Eldar Eldarov. Carmers was the first Queen’s Vase winner for trainer Paddy Twomey last time out.

The Duke of Cambridge Stakes was first run in 2004 as the Windsor Forest Stakes before switching to its current name in 2013, it is exclusively for older fillies and mares over a mile. Winners of the now £225,000 race have gone on to land big-race fillies’ Group 1s later in the campaign such as Integral. Trainers John & Thady Gosden have been dominant in recent years, taking first and second place in 2024, with winner Running Lion and runner-up Laurel. The Gosden’s backed this up by winning again last year with Crimson Advocate, making it four wins since 2020 for John Gosden, the last three of which was in partnership with his son Thady.

The Prince of Wales’s Stakes is the feature race on day two and the 1m2f Group 1 is for horses aged four and up. It typically throws up the best older horses of the middle-distance division, including Brigadier Gerard (1972), Bosra Sham (1997), Dubai Millenium (2000) and So You Think (2012). Since 2020 the winning trainers have been dominated by two families. three wins for the Gosdens, two for Aiden O’Brien and one for his son Joseph O’Brien. Interestingly, none of them have won it back-to-back in that time, Aiden O’Brien was victorious in 2021 and 2024, Joseph O’Brien in 2021 and the Gosdens in 2020, 2023 and a year ago with Ombudsman.

The Royal Hunt Cup is a cavalry charge handicap run over a mile and is one of the biggest betting events of the Flat season. First run in 1843, the race gave the Queen her first Royal Ascot winner with Choir Boy in 1953 and she subsequently won it two more times. My Cloud was the most recent winner.

The Windsor Castle Stakes is a Listed contest for two-year-olds, now run over 6f from 2026. Wesley Ward made history here when Strike The Tiger became the first US-trained winner at Royal Ascot in 2009 and was successful with Hootenanny five years later. Tactical won it in 2020, giving the Queen her 53rd Royal Ascot winner, while Little Big Bear took this on the way to Group 1 glory in the Phoenix Stakes in 2022. The Windsor Castle Stakes had been the last race on day two for the last two years, but in 2026 it will be the penultimate race on Wednesday.

The Kensington Palace Stakes is run over a mile on the round course, won by Miss Information in 2025, it is a handicap for fillies and mares aged four and up. The Kensington Palace Stakes has proved a wide open race since it’s first running in 2021, all five winners were at double-figure prices and there’s yet to be a jockey or trainer to win it more than once.

Royal Ascot Day 3, also known as Ladies Day, takes place on Thursday 18th June 2026

Royal Ascot’s third day is widely known as Ladies’ Day. It is the day when the top stayers take centre stage in the Ascot Gold Cup, the pinnacle of long distance racing. If you don’t know who to bet on then check out our Royal Ascot day 3 tips.

On day three, the opening race will once again be the Norfolk Stakes. A 5f Group 2 for two-year-old colts, it’s produced dramatic winners in recent years when The Ridler sprang a 50-1 shock in 2022, and then 150-1 Valiant Force in 2023. Shareholder was victorious in 2024 at a more reasonable 12/1, also making it consecutive wins for American horses. However, strong favourite Charles Darwin won a year ago at 8/13.

The King George V Stakes is a handicap for middle-distance three-year-olds and run over 1m4f. The race was transferred to Royal Ascot in 1948. One of the best-known recent winners was Brown Panther (2011), a homebred owned by former top footballer Michael Owen. Merchant was the winner a year ago.

First run in 1919, the Ribblesdale Stakes is typically contested by three-year-old fillies who were defeated in the Oaks at Epsom, but the race itself has thrown up some of the best of its generation too. The Group 2 run over 1m4f regularly throws up top-level winners and was won last year by Garden of Eden.

The Ascot Gold Cup is the highlight of Thursday’s card and the feature race of the whole meeting. Run over 2m4f it is an extreme test of stamina. Won by the John Gosden trained Stradivarius for three consecutive years between 2018 and 2020, Kyprios became the new star of the staying division with victory in 2022 and 2024 for Aidan O’Brien. In fact, in the last ten runnings there’s only been two winning trainers not named Gosden or O’Brien, namely Michael Bell in 2017 and Mark Johnston in 2021. John Gosden now trains in partnership with his son Thady, together the Gosdens were victorious in 2023 and last year with Trawlerman.

The Britannia Stakes, a mile handicap for three-year-old colts and geldings, is an opportunity for the leading yards to strike with horses from the Classic generation who fall just shy of Group class. It can typically be a minefield for punters, but was won by the well-fancied Thesis in 2022 before he went to continue his racing career in Hong Kong. Docklands was the winner in 2023, followed by Mickley in 2024 and Arabian Story last time out. 

The Hampton Court Stakes is a 1m2f Group 3 for three-year-old colts and has been won by Group 1 winners Cannock Chase (2014), Hawkbill (2016) and Benbatl (2017). Last year’s favourite Trinity College came out on top.

The day concludes with the Buckingham Palace Stakes, which is run over 7f and is a fiercely competitive handicap for three-year-olds and up. First introduced in 2002 as part of the extension to the meeting to mark the Queen’s Golden Jubilee, the race was later replaced by the Commonwealth Cup from 2015. Revived in 2020, initially as a one off, the Royal Ascot program was expanded that year in response to the ten week suspension of horse racing during the Covid-19 pandemic. The race was then retained moving forward as part of the meeting’s permanent increase to seven races per day. Since returning, the six runnings have been won by six different horses, six different jockeys and six different trainers, although both Richard Hannon and Richard Hannon Jr have trained winners in that time.

Royal Ascot Day 4 takes place on Friday 19th June 2026

The fourth and penultimate day of Royal Ascot takes place on Friday. If you don’t know who to bet on then check out our Royal Ascot day 4 tips.

Friday’s opening race is the Albany Stakes, a 6f Group 3 for two-year-old fillies. It frequently throws up the best female juveniles for the season. 2022’s winner Meditate went on to become one of the best two-year-olds that season and was successful at the Breeders’ Cup. 2023 winner, Porta Fortuna won at Newmarket and Leopardstown later that year. Last year’s winner Venetian Sun, also won at Newmarket less than a month later.

The Commonwealth Cup was only introduced in 2015, but it has quickly established itself as one of the meeting’s top contests. A 6f Group 1 restricted to three-year-olds colts and fillies, it has been won by leading sprinters such as Muhaarar, Caravaggio and Advertise. Perfect Power made two wins at the royal meeting when victorious here in 2022. Time For Sandals was the winner in last year’s edition of the race.

The standout race on the Friday is the Coronation Stakes, a mile Group 1 for three-year-old fillies. It usually attracts the winners of the British, Irish and French 1,000 Guineas in a pulsating clash. Ten of the last 12 winners had ran in either of those three races on their last time out, with three Irish 1,000 Guineas winners and one French 1,000 Guineas winners also winning the Coronation Stakes in the same year during that time. However, last time out 33/1 Cercene upset favourite 6/4 favourite Zarigana, who was coming of a French 1,000 Guineas win in their previous race.

The Duke of Edinburgh Stakes is a 1m4f handicap for three-year-olds and up. Two heavily backed favourites obliged in 2018 and 2019 before 33/1 outsider Scarlet Dragon won it in 2020. Last year saw the Willie Mullins trained Ethical Diamond come out on top, the first favourite to win since those in 2018 and 2019.

The Sandringham Stakes is a fiercely competitive handicap run over the straight mile and is restricted to three-year-old fillies only. Never Let Go was the winner of 2025’s running.

Also known as the Ascot Derby, the King Edward VII Stakes is a Group 2 run over 1m4f for three-year-old colts. It has a tendency to throw up Group 1 stars, including Nathaniel (2011), Old Persian (2018) and Japan (2019). Amiloc won the race last year for Ralph Beckett.

The Palace of Holyroodhouse Stakes will once again be run as the final race on day four. The 5f handicap for three-year-olds was run for the first time in 2020. It has retained its place at the fixture as part of the permanent extension to seven races each day from 2021. the six runnings have each been won by a different jockey and a different trainer. Adrestia was last year’s winner.

Royal Ascot Day 5 takes place on Saturday 20th June 2026

The final day of Royal Ascot takes place on Saturday. Like the first four days, there will be seven races on the card. If you don’t know who to bet on then check out our Royal Ascot day 5 tips.

Day 5 begins with the Chesham Stakes, a 7f Listed race for two-year-olds that has produced Group 1 stars such as Churchill (2016) and Pinatubo (2019). This had been another successful Royal Ascot race for Aidan O’Brien in recent years, with five wins in the last ten runnings (including Churchill’s win), all with jockey Ryan Moore. However, last time out it was Humidity who took it for jockey James Doyle and trainer Andrew Balding

The Hardwicke Stakes is a Group 2 run over 1m4f for four-year-olds and up. Sir Michael Stoute has a terrific record in the race, winning it 11 times including with the likes of Sea Moon (2012), Telescope (2014) and lastly Crystal Ocean (2018). Rebel’s Romance won last year for trainer Charlie Appleby.

The Platinum Jubilee Stakes, renamed the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes in honour of the late monarch, is a 6f Group 1 for horses aged four and up and one of the great global sprints. It was elevated to Group 1 status in 2002 and is the meeting’s most prestigious sprint. It is also the final top-level event of the royal meeting. The Charles Hills trained Khaadem won back-to-back runnings in 2023 and 2024, but it was Lazzat who delivered a first Royal Ascot win for French trainer Jerome Reynier.

The Jersey Stakes is a Group 3 run over 7f for three-year-olds and typically features those who fall just short of Group 1 company. That has not stopped previous winners going on to achieve success at that level, however, as Ribchester (2016) and Expert Eye (2018) both went on to post international honours in top global contests. Nobel Champion was last year’s winner.

The Wokingham Handicap is run over 6f and is for horses aged three and up. It is the oldest handicap at Royal Ascot, having first been run in 1813. The fiercely competitive contest is one of the biggest betting heats of the week and it provided one of the feelgood stories of the week in 2022 when remarkable improver Rohaan stormed to victory for the second year in succession. Get It was the winner last time out at 28/1, the longest odds for a winner since 2012.

Another race that has been retained since its inaugural running at Royal Ascot in 2020 is the Golden Gates Handicap, run over 1m2f and restricted to three-year-olds. Quai De Bethune won the race in 2025, making Andrew Balding the first trainer to record a second win in this still young race, Balding had previously one with Foxes Tales in 2021. Oisin Murphy was the jockey for both of Balding’s winners, and also became the first jockey to win the Golden Gates Stakes twice.

The final race of Royal Ascot is the Queen Alexandra Stakes, run over the marathon trip of 2m6f and a conditions race restricted to older horses. It is not only the longest race of the meeting but also the longest contest in Flat racing. Brown Jack, one of Royal Ascot’s greatest performers, won this race six times in a row between 1929 and 1934. Jumps trainers unsurprisingly do well in this race nowadays and Stratum won it for the second year in succession for Willie Mullins in 2022. Joseph O’Brien responded with consecutive wins with Dawn Rising in 2023 and Uxmal in 2024. A year ago Mullins reclaimed the race with Sober. Jockey Ryan Moore has been the rider for three of the five wins shared by Mullins and O’Brien, specifically Stratum’s first win for Mullins in 2021, for O’Brien in 2023 with Dawn Rising and then for Mullins again last time out.

How to read a Royal Ascot Racecard?

Punters have developed a range of methods to picking a winner. Some pick the prettiest silks or the funniest name, whilst others use a lucky number. However, if you want to learn a little more about the contenders in a race and make an informed decision on who to bet on – you’ll need to read the racecard. 

We’ve put together a helpful ‘how-to’ guide to help you read a racecard in time for Royal Ascot 2025.

Learn how to read a racecard. Racing Post shows a detailed image of a racecard, explaining all the information of the trainer, jockey, tips, ratings, abbreviations, odds, and all you need to know before placing your bet.