Royal Ascot is one of the biggest sporting events of the year. Rich history, high pageantry and world-class racing all combine in Berkshire to create a prestigious and iconic meeting that is recognised around the globe.
Taking place each June, Royal Ascot features five days of elite racing, attracting the best thoroughbreds from near and far, including the United Kingdom and Ireland, the United States, France, Japan, and even Australia.
With an expanded schedule to include 36 races, Royal Ascot 2025 is going to be bigger and better than ever. But what are some of the highest-profile races of the week? Read on as we take a look at some of the jewels in Royal Ascot’s crown.
The Gold Cup
The Ascot Gold Cup is run on the Thursday of the meeting (Ladies’ Day), which this year will be June 19. It is the biggest race of the week.
Contested over a marathon of two and a half miles, the Gold Cup is the premier long-distance race of the flat racing season. Its impressive roll of honour includes Stradivarius and Yeats.
Kyprios won the race for the second last year and is the even-money favourite to complete the hat-trick in the summer.
The Queen Anne Stakes
The Queen Anne Stakes is the traditional curtain raiser at Royal Ascot, with older horses competing for Group 1 glory over a mile.
With the hoo-ha of the royal procession slightly earlier, this high-profile contest gets racing underway and sets the tone nicely for the week ahead.
Frankel and Baaeed are two of the biggest names to win it in recent years, while Charyn scored for Silvestre de Sousa and Roger Varian last June.
The Prince of Wales’s Stakes
Another top-level race for horses aged four and older, the Prince of Wales’s Stakes is the feature race on the Wednesday of Royal Ascot.
Run over a mile and a quarter, the Group 1 is often regarded as the championship race of the campaign for middle-distance horses.
It’s another race with a glittering list of former winners, with former Derby champion Auguste Rodin notably stealing the honours last year.
The St James’s Palace Stakes
Jumping back to the opening day, the St James’s Palace Stakes is one of three Group 1s on the first card of the week.
Given that it is a one-mile contest for three-year-old colts, expect the best horses from French, Irish, and British renewals of the 2000 Guineas to enter the stalls at Ascot in June.
Frankel, Kingman, Palace Pier, and fan favourite Paddington have all won the St James’s Palace Stakes in the last 15 years, while Irish Guineas victor Rosallion was successful in 2024.
The Commonwealth Cup
Inaugurated in 2015, the Commonwealth Cup was introduced as part of a major shakeup to the schedule for European sprinters.
Open to three-year-old colts and fillies, it is now one of the biggest Group 1 races over six furlongs of the season.
Frankie Dettori has won the race twice in its short existence, with Advertise and Campanelle in 2019 and 2021, respectively, while Inisherin took home the prize last year.
Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes
Renamed multiple times in its 150-year existence to commemorate several royal landmarks, this Group 1 was rebranded as the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes in 2023.
Another six-furlong race, the race was restricted to horses aged four and above when the Commonwealth Cup was created a decade ago.
The legendary Lester Piggot won the contest 10 times from 1958 to 1993, with Khaadem winning the last two renewals for trainer Charlie Hills.
