The Inside Track
Ahead of Royal Ascot, Hayley Leaver asks Charles Barnett, the chief executive of Ascot Racecourse, why he thinks it’s the best racecourse in the world
O
ffering excitement, pageantry, fashion and style, Royal Ascot is the highlight of the racing calendar. Held over five days in
June, it welcomes not only the sport’s elite but 300,000 spectators to its historic course. And this year looks set to be no different. “I think they call it the greatest race meeting in the world,” says Charles Barnett, chief executive of Ascot Racecourse. “As it really has some of the best racing you’ll get anywhere, consistently over five days. “All owners and trainers want to run their horses at Royal Ascot so we tend to get the best horses here and some very competitive racing.” Founded in 1711 by Queen Anne, the course has hosted racing for more than 300 years, and
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is now home to some of the most prestigious races in the world, including Te Queen Anne Stakes, Te King’s Stand Stakes, which is the first British leg of the Global Sprint Challenge; and Te Gold Cup. In addition to this, a further 11 monarchs
have leant their patronage to the course since then, confirming its integral place in British culture and encouraging some of its best-loved traditions. Perhaps none more famous than the Royal Procession, which begins each of the five days of Royal Ascot and still captivates Barnett himself. Following on from King George IV, who first started this in 1825, Her Majesty Te Queen and her guests arrive by horse-drawn landaus, passing through the golden gates and the enclosures to the Parade Ring.
“Royal Ascot is very much the highlight of
our year, and when the carriages come in on the first day, through the golden gates, it is a moment of amazing excitement,” says Barnett. “It just makes the hairs stand up on the back of your neck. “It is a major social event,” he adds. “I think its popularity comes from the fact that we have the best racing and the royal patronage.” With its exclusive viewing areas by the
Winning Post and some of the best facilities on the course, such as the Royal Enclosure Garden, the Royal Enclosure is at the heart of Royal Ascot too. Entry is by sponsorship from an existing member who has attended in four previous years however. With the Queen and a strong fashion
contingent in attendance, there is also a strict
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