With the U.S. Triple Crown season within the books, the main focus of the horse racing world shifts on a dime – or on this case, ten pence – throughout the pond for some of the prestigious occasions on the annual calendar. The five-day Royal Ascot meet begins Tuesday, June 14, at beautiful Ascot Racecourse in Berkshire, England. The royal assembly will carry lots of the prime horses in the UK and Eire collectively for 35 races with a complete of £8,702,500 (about $10.6 million U.S.) in prize cash up for grabs.

Royal Ascot is much like massive U.S. occasions such because the Kentucky Derby and Breeders’ Cup World Championships in that it’s about rather more than simply horse racing, because the 5 days are full of trend, superstar watching, and an historic model of pomp and circumstance tied into the British monarchy (Ascot Racecourse was based by Queen Anne in 1711). This yr would be the first Royal Ascot meet in 70 years with out Queen Elizabeth II as monarch following her passing on Sept. 8, 2022; Charles III was formally coronated final month.

Whereas your complete Royal Ascot expertise is a serious attraction for throngs of Brits desirous to get pleasure from a spotlight of the summer season social calendar in particular person, for many of us Yanks it’s the horses, TV protection, and betting which might be the main focus. Take pleasure in ABR’s information to the 2023 Royal Ascot assembly.

When It Occurs:

The meet runs from Tuesday, June 20 by Saturday, June 24, with every every day card holding seven races. The primary put up is at 9:30 a.m. ET (2:30 p.m. native time) and the final race every day is scheduled to run at 1:10 p.m. ET (6:10 p.m. native time).

Main Races:

Eight of the 35 races at Royal Ascot are Group 1 stakes, the best worldwide score. Three of these are held on opening day, June 20: the Queen Anne Stakes for horses 4 years previous and older; the King’s Stand Stakes for horses 3 years previous and older; and the St. James’ Palace Stakes for 3-year-old colts.

On Wednesday, June 21, horses 4 years previous and older will contest the Prince of Wales’s Stakes, and on Thursday, June 22, horses 4 years previous and older will sq. off in a real take a look at of stamina when the Gold Cup is held at 2 ½ miles.

Two extra Group 1 stakes are set for Friday, June 23: the Commonwealth Cup for 3-year-old colts and fillies and the Coronation Stakes for 3-year-old fillies. And eventually, on Saturday, June 24, horses 4 years previous and older will race within the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes. The King’s Stand Stakes on Tuesday is a five-furlong dash, and the Jubilee on closing day is held at six furlongs – and it’s not extraordinary for horses to seem in each of them throughout the identical week.

4 races through the assembly are “Win and You’re In” Problem Collection qualifiers for the 2023 Breeders’ Cup World Championships, to be held this Nov. 3-4 at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, Calif. Winners of those 4 stakes will obtain a assured, expenses-paid spot within the beginning gate for a delegated Breeder’s Cup race. The aforementioned Queen Anne Stakes and King’s Stand Stakes on Tuesday are “Win and You’re In” qualifiers for the FanDuel Breeders’ Cup Mile Offered by PDJF and the Breeders’ Cup Turf Dash, respectively, whereas Wednesday’s Prince of Wales’s Stakes is a Problem Collection qualifier for the Longines Breeders’ Cup Turf.

The Group 2 Norfolk Stakes, a five-furlong sprint held because the opening race on Royal Ascot’s Thursday June 16 card, is a “Win and You’re In” qualifier for the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Dash.

The place to Watch:

NBC Sports activities will present racing from Royal Ascot, with the Tuesday to Friday races obtainable on its Peacock streaming service and the races on Saturday, June 24, broadcast reside on NBC and in addition on Peacock, NBCSports.com, and the NBC Sports activities app beginning at 9 a.m. ET. Streaming will start on Peacock at 8:30 a.m. ET Tuesday by Friday.

Your entire Royal Ascot meet may even be televised reside every day on FanDuel TV.

The best way to Guess:

Betting on the ponies within the U.Ok. is completely different than stateside – you set fastened odds with a bookmaker reminiscent of Labrokes or William Hill and go from there. However there’ll be parimutuel swimming pools for U.S. horseplayers through advance deposit wagering (ADW) websites reminiscent of NYRA Bets, 1/ST BET, TwinSpires.com, TVG.com, and different entities.

You’ll want to maintain the time distinction in thoughts: a lot of the motion throughout Royal Ascot week might be within the morning for East Coast gamers – and the very early morning for these firing away within the Pacific Time Zone.

High U.S. Based mostly Horses:

The American coach with the very best monitor report at Royal Ascot with out query is Wesley Ward.

Ward started his profession as a jockey and received the Eclipse Award as excellent apprentice rider in 1984. He grew to become a coach within the early Nineties. Over time, he’s established a fame as an knowledgeable in growing each 2-year-old horses and turf sprinters.

Ward has received a complete of 12 races at Royal Ascot, beginning with Strike the Tiger and Jealous Once more from his first journey in 2009. This yr, he’ll ship a powerful group of runners, headlined by top-class filly Twilight Gleaming. The 4-year-old Irish-bred daughter of Nationwide Protection first appeared at Royal Ascot as a juvenile and completed second within the Group 2 Queen Mary Stakes; she adopted that with a stakes win in France and a tally within the 2021 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Dash. Twilight Gleaming has since received three of 5 begins, together with the Large’s Causeway Stakes at Keeneland again in April, and is concentrating on the King’s Stand Stakes on Royal Ascot’s July 20 opening day. 4-time Eclipse Award-winning jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. is known as to journey Twilight Gleaming within the King’s Stand.

Ward can be sending three 2-year-old racehorses to Royal Ascot. The 2 receiving essentially the most buzz are American Rascal and Fandom, each colts owned by Barbara Banke’s Stonestreet Stables. They every received their profession debut races by open lengths through the Keeneland spring meet – American Rascal on filth, and Fandom on turf. American Rascal’s dam (mom) is Woman Aurelia, who was skilled by Ward and went two-for-three at Royal Ascot throughout her stellar profession, successful the King’s Stand Stakes and the Queen Mary Stakes. Search for American Rascal within the Norfolk Stakes on Thursday, and English-bred Fandom within the Windsor Citadel Stakes, a five-furlong dash, on Wednesday.

Coach George Weaver can be anticipated to begin two juveniles through the Royal Ascot meet – No Nay Mets and Crimson Advocate. These two every received turf stakes races at Gulfstream Park on Might 13 and regarded good doing so. They’ll be testing far deeper waters in England within the Norfolk Stakes and the Group 2 Queen Mary Stakes, respectively. England native Thomas Morley, based mostly in New York, will begin maiden winner Cynane within the Queen Mary as effectively. The two-year-old daughter of Omaha Seashore led gate-to-wire in a five-furlong Belmont Park turf race on Might 11 and she or he truly might do her greatest working when the races get longer as she’s an in depth relative to mile-and-a-half Grade 1 winner Level of Entry and mile-and-a-quarter Grade 1 winner Pine Island.

Two extra horses well-known to U.S. followers are listed as probables for the Royal Ascot meet. Traditional Causeway first emerged on the 2022 Kentucky Derby path however captured his largest win on turf in final summer season’s Grade 1 Caesars Belmont Derby Invitational Stakes. The Ken McPeek trainee will sq. off towards the likes of a number of Group 1 winners Adayar and Luxembourg within the Prince of Wales’s Stakes on Wednesday. Massive Invasion, a six-time stakes winner sprinting on turf within the U.S., is a attainable starter within the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes on Royal Ascot’s closing day for coach Christophe Clement. If he does begin, he’ll accomplish that on a two-week turnaround – plus trans-Atlantic journey – after ending a rallying second to Caravel within the Grade 1 Jaipur Stakes June 10 at Belmont Park.

Though based mostly in England, Godolphin’s Trendy Video games is a horse U.S. followers are effectively acquainted with from his wins within the 2021 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf and the 2022 FanDuel Breeders’ Cup Mile Offered by PDJF. The $3.5 million-earner is slated to begin within the Royal Ascot opener on Tuesday, the Queen Anne Stakes, with a 3rd journey to the Breeders’ Cup this fall little doubt within the long-term image for coach Charlie Appleby.