The Great British Drama of Royal Ascot 2014

Royal Ascot, one of the iconic summer highlights of the British sporting and social calendar opens its gates on Tuesday 17th June, for five days of world class racing, pageantry, high fashion and fine dining, celebrated through this year’s theme of ‘The Great British Drama’.

The centrepiece of Ascot’s year, Royal Ascot, is arguably the world’s most famous race meeting. First organised in 1711 at the behest of Queen Anne, and attended by British Monarchs ever since, each day of Royal Ascot traditionally begins with the Royal procession in which the Queen along with her family and guests parade in front of the packed grandstands in their horse-drawn carriages.

The Queen has long had a special affinity with the meeting, although her personal success has heightened over the past two years after her horse Estimate won the Queen’s Vase during Royal Ascot 2012 and won the feature race of the entire meeting, the Gold Cup, last year.

Increasingly in recent years, the five-day meeting attracts some of the best horses from around the globe and Royal Ascot 2014 promises to be another draw for the world’s best racehorses.

Ascot’s Head of Communications and International Racing, Nick Smith said: “Last season’s Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe winner Treve, Europe’s best horse on current rankings looks like lining up in the Prince of Wales’s Stakes and hopefully The Queen’s Estimate will be back to repeat her magnificent performance in the Gold Cup last year.”

Off the track, the Royal meeting will as ever draw eyes from the international world of fashion. The hats, shoes and dresses at Royal Ascot are as colourful and creative as the jockeys’ silks. At Royal Ascot everywhere one turns there is an outfit to admire. Gentlemen in the Royal Enclosure are required to wear black or grey morning dress with a waistcoat and tie and their incredibly smart, attire serves as the perfect foil for the ladies who, within certain guidelines, get a much freer remit for expression.

Fine dining has always been an important ingredient of the Royal Ascot experience and 2014 is no exception. The new multi-million pound restaurant On 5 will open its doors for the first time at this year’s Royal Meeting with Michelin starred chef Tom Kerridge hosting events, boasting breathtaking views across the racecourse. Not to be outdone, the Panoramic Restaurant also has a Michelin starred chef as its host as Atul Kochhar brings a taste of India to proceedings. French gastronomy house Lenôtre also comes to Royal Ascot for the first time this year, where diners can feast on traditional continental cuisine created from ingredients arriving fresh from Paris every morning in Balmoral, Carriages and Sandringham restaurants. The exquisite Parade Ring restaurant with views overlooking the Parade Ring, exclusive Trackside and Windsor Forest Restaurants with stunning views of Ascot Heath and theatrical new Royal Ascot Village completes Royal Ascot’s Fine Dining portfolio.

Royal Academist David Mach will have his latest work ‘Great British Drama’ on display this year’s Royal Ascot. The work celebrates the breadth of appeal of Royal Ascot and brings together decades of the world’s best racing, pageantry, style and elegance into one stunning piece of art.

Charles Barnett, Chief Executive of Ascot Racecourse, said: "This is a captivating snapshot of Royal Ascot past and present, which encapsulates everything that is special about the week. We feel David has captured perfectly the verve and vibrancy of our historic event.”

Royal Ascot 2014 will feature 17 Group races, including seven Group Ones, with total prize money across five days in excess of £5.3million, an increase of £310,000 from last year. The minimum value of any race at Royal Ascot remains £60,000. A shift in scheduling for the 2014 meeting sees the feature race moved back from the third to the fourth race each day at a Royal Ascot which is looking like having a distinctly International feel. All races throughout the week will be televised live on Channel 4.