Ascot Racecourse
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Ascot Racecourse is a racecourse, located in the village of Ascot in the English county of Berkshire used for thoroughbred horse racing. It is closely associated with the British Royal Family and is one of the leading racecourses in the United Kingdom, hosting 9 of the UK's 31 annual Group 1 races.
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History
Ascot Racecourse was founded in 1711 by Queen Anne. Its first race, "Her Majesty's Plate," with a purse of 100 guineas, was held on August 11, 1711. Seven horses competed, each carrying a weight of 12 stones (76 kg). This first race comprised three separate four-mile (6437 m) heats.
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.
Contemporary racing
According to publicity, Ascot today stages twenty-five days of racing over the course of the year, comprising sixteen Flat meetings held in the months of May and October, and nine National Hunt meetings held in the months of November and April. The Royal Meeting, held in June, remains a major draw.
Temporary closure
Ascot racecourse closed for a period of twenty months on September 26 2004 for a redevelopment budgeted at £185 million. In the meantime, all racing fixtures have been moved to a variety of other racecourses, with the prestigious Royal Meeting moving to York Racecourse for 2005.
Royal Ascot
The centrepiece of Ascot’s year, Royal Ascot is one of the world’s most famous race meetings, steeped in history dating back to 1711. It is also is a major event in the British social calendar, and press coverage of the attendees and what they are wearing often exceeds coverage of the actual racing.
The meeting offers the most top draw races of any meet in the UK, with a total of sixteen Group races on offer, including at least one Group One event on each of the five days. Total prize money is over £3 million. Over 300,000 people make the annual visit to Berkshire during Royal Ascot week, making this is Europe’s best attended race meeting, according to its official site.
