The Best Racing Festival Week in the World is at Royal Ascot- By Bob Sawhny

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The Best Racing Festival Week in the World is at Royal Ascot- By Bob Sawhny

Posted on - 09 Jun 2014

The Best Racing Festival Week in the World is at Royal Ascot- By Bob Sawhny

Ascot racecourse- Berkshire: Royal Ascot is one of Europe's most famous

race meetings, and dates back to 1711 when it was founded by Queen Anne. Every year Royal Ascot is attended by HM Elizabeth II and various members of the British Royal Family such as The Prince of Wales, arriving each day in a horse-drawn carriage with the Royal procession taking place at the start of each race day and the raising of the Queen's Royal Standard. It is a major event in the British social calendar, and press coverage of the attendees and what they are wearing often exceeds coverage of the actual racing.

The Royal Enclosure is the most prestigious of the three First-time applicants who must apply to the Royal Enclosure Office and gain

membership from someone who has attended the enclosure for at least four years. The badge holder's name is written onto the badge and can be used only by that person; the colors of the badge vary each day for one-day applicants. Those in the Royal Enclosure have the options of fine dining and hospitality, and a selection of bars. The dress code is strictly enforced. For women, only a day dress with a hat is acceptable but with rules applying to the length and style of the dress. In addition, women must not show bare midriffs or shoulders. But, to top it all, hordes of lovely lasses are frequently decked-up in a most glamorous manner with highly breathtaking headgear. And all Gentlemen are reminded that it is a requirement to wear either a black or grey morning dress which must include a waistcoat and tie (no cravats) and a black or grey top hat and Black shoes.

Over 300,000 people make the annual visit to Berkshire during Royal

Ascotweek, making this Europe’s best-attended race meeting. There are sixteen group races on offer, with at least one Group One event on each of the five days. The Gold Cup is on Ladies' Day on a Thursday. Total prize money at Ascot throughout the 2014 season will be above£10,000,000. This amount excludes the £3.4M on offer during the Qipco British Champions Day, an industry joint venture. Prize money for The St James's Palace Stakes and Coronation Stakes were both increased by £100,000 to £350,000, which puts each race on equal footing with the Queen Anne Stakes, King's Stand Stakes and The Gold Cup.

The Windsor Forest Stakes has been renamed, with the Queen’s consent, The Duke of Cambridge Stakes, recognizing the new title given to Prince William, and has seen a 25% increase in its value to £125,000.