Ascot is commemorating 300 years of racing at the world famous Berkshire venue throughout 2011. Founded by Queen Anne in 1711, Ascot Racecourse has been uniquely synonymous in the sporting and social world with fashion and style coupled with the greatest racing over three centuries.
One of the most visually compelling additions to the Royal Meeting in June, always the centrepiece of the racecourse’s year and the focal point of the tercentenary celebrations, will be the appearance of the ‘Queen Anne’ Rose, honouring the racecourse’s founder.Royal Ascot will have an eighteenth Group race this year as the Hampton Court Stakes has been promoted to Group Three status and that race has now been renamed the Tercentenary Stakes in perpetuity. The first race meeting ever held at Ascot took place on Saturday 11th August 1711.
The inaugural event was Her Majesty’s Plate, worth 100 guineas and open to any horse over the age of six. This race was almost unrecognisable as the fast flat racing we see at modern Ascot. Each of the seven runners had to carry a weight of 12st and all were English Hunters, very different to the sleek thoroughbreds that race today.
Although a Royal Stand dates back to the 1790s, the Royal Enclosure as we know it today was born in 1822 when King George IV commissioned a two storey stand to be built with a surrounding lawn. Access was by Royal invitation only. Three years later in 1825, King George IV also began the annual tradition of the Royal Procession. The King, leading four other coaches with members of the Royal party, drove up the centre of the racecourse in front of the delighted crowds and this has continued to the present day, remaining one of the defining and iconic images of Royal Ascot and of the summer season. The first Royal Procession was instituted by King George IV in 1825 and now takes place on every day of Royal Ascot.
[photo zimbio.com]
The opportunity for everyone to see The Queen and other members of The Royal Family arrive in state in their open carriages and then relaxing with their guests in The Royal Box is part of the unique atmosphere that makes this meeting so special and memorable. Ascot has always played host to famous international figures. But whereas in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries they were most likely to be foreign royalty and international statesmen, in modern times you are equally likely to see some of the biggest names in Hollywood, dressed and styled by some of the leading names in couture fashion.
In 1922 the Times correspondent wrote that “Ascot is notoriously the best place in England to see beautiful women in beautiful clothes,” and as a stunning Sophia Loren so elegantly demonstrated in this exquisite and classic white ensemble, things have remained unchanged ever since.
Today a day at Ascot Racecourse is a chance to watch first class racing whilst also enjoying the unique surroundings and atmosphere of the world’s most famous racecourse – but visitors here have also seen some colourful and surprising sights over the past 300 years. This year, Royal Ascot will host races in the inaugural British Champions Series, a new initiative of 35 flat races held at 10 racecourses across the U.K., culminating in October with British Champions Day, held at Ascot.