For many the opening race on the opening day of the annual five day Royal Ascot meeting in June is simply regarded as the Group One, Queen Anne Stakes over one mile. They will be well aware that the race usually attracts an extremely talented field of milers which could be colt or filly with an age limit of 4 years and that the winner will be one of the best at that distance in the world. They would of course be right but not too many would realise why the race was called the Queen Anne Stakes with many more not knowing who even Queen Anne was and what significance she had as far as Royal Ascot meeting is concerned Toto Online.

In fairness there are plenty of others who know that is was Queen Anne way back in 1711 who first mooted the idea of creating a racecourse on the heath at East Cote (later to become Ascot), situated just five miles south of Windsor Castle and it was her who organised the first race meeting there later in August of that same year.

Of course that first meeting bears absolutely no resemblance to the meeting that is has become 300 years on. In fact only seven horses competed at that first meeting and they had to run three times on the day over a distance of around 4 miles, with the winner being, presumably the last one standing!

The meeting became popular for the next few years but then interest waned and was not revived again until the 1760’s by the Duke of Cumberland. His interest stemmed from the stud he ran at nearby Cranbourne and regular racing was soon underway again and by 1768 it had already become a four day meeting. Progress was maintained even more enthusiastically by the Duke’s nephew; King George lll in the 1790’s who built the first Royal Stand at the course, later in 1ater in 1845 to become the Royal Enclosure. By this time the Ascot Gold Cup had been introduced in 1807, which remains the feature race on Day Three at the meeting to this very day. However the exclusivity of the meeting was continually questioned by Parliament who believed that this great annual event should not be for purely for the nobility and that the public should also be allowed access.

This eventually came about by an Act of Parliament in 1813, which decreed that although the racecourse would remain in the ownership of the Crown, its usage would be for the general public to enjoy. It was after that Act that the Royal meeting really began to evolve and why it has become one of Britain’s best loved sporting traditions today.

The course and the Royal meeting is still officially the preserve of the Monarchy but its supervision is carried out by their appointed representative. After an Act of Parliament in 1913 that representative officially became the Chairman of the newly created Ascot Authority, with the Clerk of the Course, the Secretary. To this day this position is still maintained by what has become Ascot Authority (Holdings) Limited, but which is overseen by an ever changing appointed Group of Trustees and non-executive directors. These in turn are guided by a Chief Executive with a Board of Directors, which includes the Clerk of the Course

The meeting now takes place over five days and hosts 30 races, with seven of them being at Group One level and seven at Group Two.