What we’re excited about for Royal Ascot 2018
Published:
The 2018 Royal Ascot festival is just around the corner and we’re buzzing for five days of incredible action.
The crème de la crème of the flat racing world will be rocking up at Berkshire in a bid for glory. The stables of Aidan O’Brien, Sir Michael Stoute, John Gosden, and Clive Cox will do battle and have been prepping their stars for months now.
The Ladbrokes News crew aren’t far behind them, either. We’ve been doing our homework on the summer spectacular. Here are a few things we can’t wait for…
You can smell the history
It’s hard to believe, but Royal Ascot’s origins date back to as far as 1711 – over 300 hundred years ago. Remarkable!
Queen Anne kicked it all off back then and the Royals’ love of equines has carried through. In terms of races, you’ve got the Queen Anne Stakes, the King’s Stand Stakes, and the Prince of Wales’s Stakes to enjoy.
Members of the Royal Family – including the Queen – should be in attendance across each of the five days. Good woman, Lizzy.
High-class duels
With any sporting event, it’s really all about the individual contests. And there are a handful of crackers in amongst the five days’ racing.
Cracksman and Poet’s Word go head-to-head in the Prince of Wales’s Stakes on Day Two in one of the renewals of the festival.
Order of St. George and Stradivarius in the Ascot Gold Cup on Day Three should be a belter, plus Battaash and Lady Aurelia clash on the opening day.
The Royal Enclosure
If you’re lucky enough to get into the Royal Enclosure, tradition – and rules – state you have to wear a top hat, waistcoat, and jacket. That came into effect way back in the 18th century.
However, last year’s soaring temperates meant the rules were relaxed and you could go without a jacket, much to everyone’s relief. Despite the early heatwave this summer, it’s not expected to be as warm. And that means the high-style is back in action.
So if you’re heading along, and have a ticket for the Royal Enclosure, you might want to tap up your nearest tailor.
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