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 Royal Ascot - Royal Ascot racecourse England with background and details of the Ascot, Berkshire refurbishments of 2005 and access to horse racing tips Ascot and Royal Ascot smoking pipe.
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The history of Royal Ascot which was founded by Queen Anne in 1711 at Windsor Forest, access to other sources of historic information of Royal Ascot and races today including The Queen Elizabeth II stakes.
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History of Royal Ascot
Ascot racecourse was founded in 1711 by Queen Anne who liked nothing better than to hunt in Windsor forest and it
was in the early 18th century that she
discovered for herself this open heath land which she thought an ideal place, not five miles from Windsor, for
"horses to gallop at full stretch". She founded the famous race-course there in 1711 when the first meet competed
for Her Majesty's Plate (worth 100 guineas). The seven runners were sturdy English hunters which had to hold up
through three heats, each four miles long! This
first race therefore comprised three separate four-mile (6437 metres) heats. Horses had to be tough in those days !
History of Royal Ascot continued
In 1813, Parliament passed an act to ensure that the grounds would remain a public racecourse. In 1913, Parliament
passed an act creating the Ascot authority, an entity that manages the racecourse to this day. From its creation
until 1945, the only racing that took place at Ascot was the Royal meeting, a four-day event. Since that date,
more fixtures have been introduced to the grounds, notably the steeplechase and hurdles in 1965.
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The most relevant links we could find, placed here free on the history of Royal Ascot
 Berkshire history: Ascot
- access to more history of the Ascot racecourse and it's developments up to the present days. www.berkshirehistory.com
Information Britain
- has details of how the racecourse was established and what it has become today as the Royal Ascot racecourse. www.information-britain.co.uk
History of Royal Ascot continued
Today Ascot stages 25 days of racing throughout the year, 16 Flat meetings between the months of May and October and
9 National Hunt meetings between November and April. The Royal meeting, held in June is undoubtedly the most famous
of these, where top class racing is combined with tradition, pageantry and style. Other highlights include Diamond
Day, featuring the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Diamond Stakes, The Blue Square Shergar Cup, racing's only
team competition and the BETDAQ Festival of racing, featuring The Queen Elizabeth II Stakes.
Ascot racecourse welcomes some 500,000 race goers through the gates each year and continues to offer unbeatable
racing action. The history of Royal Ascot shows that Queen Anne would surely be very proud of her sporting legacy
to the nation.
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Site written by Steve Dickson