ROYAL Ascot is Britain’s most valuable race meeting and has been attracting the best racehorses from around the world for well over 250 years.
Over the five-day festival some 500 horses will compete for prize money in excess of £8 million across a total of 35 races. There will be no less than 18 Group races, including 8 Group 1 events – which are the very best races that can be run anywhere in the world where the aim is to establish the true equine champions of our sport over a variety of distances. All 35 races will be televised on one channel or another to millions of people located in almost 200 territories around the world, while some 300,000 people will attend the course during the week, with 70,000 alone turning up for Gold Cup Day -a day which also doubles as Ladies day too.
The Royal Ascot meeting is unique in the world of racing, as members of the Royal Family travel down the long Ascot course straight in horse drawn carriages prior to the commencement of the races, hence it being named Royal Ascot rather than just plain Ascot, which is what the course is known as for all the other meetings at the Berkshire course during the year.
Each June the very best horses from around the globe compete over a variety of distances; from 5 furlongs (eight furlongs in a mile) up to 2 miles 6 furlongs with races for colts, fillies, geldings, sprinters, stayers, while the ages of the horses competing vary from the precocious 2 year olds to the worldly-wise 12 year olds and older. It is therefore not surprising that many have called Royal Ascot the Olympics of horse racing.
This year horses, trainers, owners and jockeys are travelling in from Ireland, France, America, Hong Kong, Spain, Norway and Australia with the aim to bring Royal Ascot glory for their country.
If you are new to horse racing betting and want to know more about Royal Ascot, then this is the guide for you. We will explain what Royal Ascot is, what the biggest races are and how to bet on Royal Ascot. For newcomers to the Unibet Racing platform, you will learn how to read a race card, place a bet and improve your chances of winning!
No British summer is complete without the wonderful Royal Ascot and here at Unibet we offer extensive betting markets on every race of the festival. Once you have read this guide, you will be set to check out the race cards and make your picks!
The Royal Ascot Races
There are 35 Royal Ascot races that run each year, which means there is always plenty of opportunities to place your horse racing bets! The festival – which takes place every June – begins on a Tuesday and runs through to Saturday. This means you have five days to get stuck into all the action. Eight of these races are Group 1, which is the uppermost standard Flat racing has to offer! This is where the best horses from around the globe go head-to-head with each other to establish who is the real champion and make a name for themselves and become legends of the sport.
The festival starts with the Queen Anne Stakes – a Group 1 contest for older horses run over the straight mile and won in years gone by true legends of our sport such as Frankel.
Meanwhile, the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes is a race run on Saturday and is the last Group 1 sprint of the festival. The race has been in existence since 1868 but changed its name in 2002. Jockey Lester Piggott won this race a staggering 10 times, twice on Right Boy.
Perhaps the biggest race of the meet – and the one racing traditionists enthuse over – is the Ascot Gold Cup. This race has created legends of the sport such as Yeats, Stradivarius, Sagaro and Ardross. Gold Cup betting regulars pour over the Ascot race cards ahead of this gruelling two-mile and four-furlong race and you should be sure to read plenty of horse racing betting previews before the start. This year will see a new name on the roll of honour as some of the older brigade have either retired or been injured this year.
Royal Ascot Betting Tips
If you are new to horse racing betting, then Royal Ascot is one of the best festivals to cut your teeth in the Unibet Racing product. As a Flat meeting without any jumps for the horses to go over, there is one less element to contend with for a horse to win as there is less likelihood of horses falling or jockeys being unseated.
Betting on horse racing is all about judgement calls. It can be tricky when you run down the list of runners to pick a horse you think will win or place. But there are some straightforward tips to choosing the right bet. Here are some basic measures you can take to boost your hopes of success:
Take your time — There is little benefit to rushing your racing bets and it is unlikely to end well in the long run. Instead, take your time and assess which races you actually want to bet on, which horses have a chance and how much you are willing to stake.
Make the most of all information available – placing your bet based simply on the name of the horse or the colour of the silks the jockey is wearing is highly unlikely to be a long-term winning strategy, although can be fun for those who may not be betting on a regular basis or who are attending the race meeting themselves. Horse form, conditions, field size and even factors like jockey and trainer can be utilised in order to make the best decision possible. Some people like to follow jockeys and with-it being Frankie Dettori’s final Royal Ascot before retiring at the end of the year, you can be sure that all of his rides this year will be very popular
Watch racing live — To get a real sense of Royal Ascot be sure to tune in to live coverage and hear what the experts are saying. Unibet TV streams every race at Royal Ascot (as well as a huge selection of races throughout the year), so don’t miss out on experiencing the buzz first hand!
Understand the race card — The race card can offer crucial clues to how a horse may fare when it starts running, such things as the weight the horse carries, where it is drawn and whether or not it likes the ground conditions of the day it is racing. You may check out our guide dedicated on how to read a race card!
The Royal Ascot Race Card
The Royal Ascot race card should be the first thing you turn to when accessing the Unibet horse racing betting suite. There is a detailed race card for every Royal Ascot race, including the Ascot Gold Cup race card.
To access our race cards and bet on Royal Ascot, be sure to sign up to Unibet today. When you enter the sportsbook, you will notice the list of start times for each race in the UK and Ireland, as well as the rest of the world! Click on a race and you will see the full list of runners and riders, in order of their odds, meaning the horse at the top is the favourite.
Here is what to look out for when you cast your eye over the Royal Ascot race card:
Number — This is the first number you will see next to the horse’s name. Each horse has a number, displayed on their saddle cloth, so you can follow it more easily around the track if you are live streaming horse racing.
Stall – In Flat races horses come out of a starting stall. The stalls number is displayed in brackets next to the horses racing number. Another way to spot your horse from the start.
Silks — The colours the jockeys will wear are displayed. The silks represent the horse’s owner and make it far easier for punters to track their bets!
Weight – this is the weight, including jockey and weights added to the saddle cloth if needed, which the horse will carry around the race.
Form — You will notice the ‘form’ of a horse reads as a string of numbers. For example: 862-4512. These numbers show where the horse finished in its previous races. Racing form runs from right to left, with the most recent race on the far right, through to the oldest race on the far left. So in this example, the horse came second in its last race, and won the race before that!
J & T — The names of the jockey and trainer are shown below the horse’s name. Many jockeys are associated with certain trainers and will ride for them regularly.
‘More’ — Click on the MORE button for a preview of each horse running. You will discover even more info here!
There are even more details in a race card to chew over before the going gets underway. Why not check out our full Understanding the Horse Racing Race Card guide here!
Bet on Royal Ascot Race Winner
There are two main types of horse racing bets that newcomers to the sport will gravitate towards. These are the Win and Each Way (EW) bets. Both focus on the success of a horse and are great bet types for fans just getting into the rhythm of betting.
Winner bets are as simple as they sound. You select the horse you Think will win outright. To do this, click on the odds of your chosen horse, enter your stake in the bet slip and click ‘Place Bet’ to complete the process. If you win, you will get your winnings plus your stake back.
EW (each way) bets are a way of spreading the risk, should your horse not win. Here, you place one bet on your horse to win and another on it to place in the top 3 or 4 spots (usually) in the race. Occasionally you will also get Royal Ascot promotions, which offer even more places in which your horse can finish for a winning bet (we call it extra place races). If your horse places, the EW part of your bet will pay out at a fraction of the ‘win’ odds (either ¼ or 1/5) and could cover your overall stake, or even earn you a profit. Should the horse win, your win bet will pay out PLUS your EW bet.
If this sounds complicated, then do not worry. You can always experiment by typing numbers into the bet slip to work out what potential winnings you could earn, before clicking the ‘Place Bet’ button!
Royal Ascot Live Streaming
Unibet TV is the place to watch and bet on Royal Ascot. Our horse racing streaming service not only covers events from the UK and Ireland but also America, France, Australia and Japan and more! You can follow live races throughout the day and access the latest odds alongside every stream.
Our racing live stream options are only available to Unibet punters, so be sure to sign up and make your first deposit today! You can watch Royal Ascot online with Unibet TV, whilst betting on your favourite horse.
Now you have had a chance to learn more about betting on Royal Ascot, it is time to check out our racing offering! Remember, you can access the racing guides at any time to boost your knowledge and read up on the latest blog posts from our experts and ambassadors throughout the festival. We wish you the best of luck!
You may also be interested to read about another popular race in the UK, the Cheltenham Races betting guide.
