Royal Ascot looks to a future without Queen Elizabeth

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At Royal Ascot this week, King Charles and Queen Camilla made their debuts as the horseracing world’s newly crowned heads of state. Their twin ciphers adorned the front cover of this year’s programme, a sign that racing is seen as a joint venture for the royal couple. 

Both have strong links to equine pursuits, the King notably through his love of polo, while the Queen is a life-long racing fan and patron of the National Stud — The Jockey Club’s breeding programme — since 2018. On Thursday, they also notched up a victory with their horse Desert Hero, an 18-1 shot.

But there is a widespread feeling that the King does not share the same level of passion for the sport as his mother, adding uncertainty at a time when racing is grappling with a range of other issues, from strained finances to animal rights protests.

Aside from her patronage, the late Queen took a keen interest in training and breeding horses, which helped her generate almost £9mn in winnings over the years, according to research from betting website OLBG. She was also an avid racegoer. 

“No one will ever replace the Queen. She was racing’s biggest fan,” said Nick Smith, director of racing and public affairs at Ascot. “We can’t really speculate what happens beyond this week, but Royal Ascot is a national event. It’s an event the royal family has always enjoyed, and hopefully that will be the case going forward.” 

Some saw signs of a new approach when the King opted to sell 14 racehorses in October. Tattersalls auction house, which managed the sale, said at the time that it was standard practice for any active owner who breeds horses.

John Warren, who advises the King and Queen on their horseracing interests, insists the royals remain dedicated to the sport. “The King understands the bigger picture. He is more than interested in racing,” Warren told Racing TV last week.

But others in the industry have doubts about the King’s longer-term commitment to one of the UK’s most popular spectator sports, and question whether it will remain a priority as he seeks to modernise the monarchy. 

“We’re upbeat about it, but nervously thinking that it might not be as good without the Queen,” said Jerry Williams, a trackside bookmaker for Glen Graham Racing, on the opening day of Royal Ascot. “We’ve taken a lot of knocks over the past few years — we need the uplift. Please, god, let the King carry it forward.”

For a certain slice of British society, Royal Ascot remains an important entry in the summer social calendar — alongside test cricket at Lord’s, the opera at Glyndebourne, and the Wimbledon tennis championships. 

It still has a strong claim to be the most glamorous horseracing event in the world. The dress code for the Royal Enclosure demands top hats and tails for the men — a tradition dating back to the 18th century — while Arab sheikhs and captains of high finance peer down from the private boxes of the imposing Grandstand. 

Its status as a sporting event is a subject of some debate. Purists often see the Cheltenham festival as the premier race meet, while Ascot is more about dressing up, being seen and quaffing champagne in the sunshine. For many of the 300,000 attendees, the racing itself is merely a backdrop. 

Although Ascot’s royal connections date back as far as 1711, the late Queen Elizabeth was a vital source of cachet for the event in the modern age. She rarely missed the event over many decades, and each day’s racing would begin with her arrival by carriage along the racetrack, leading the Royal procession. She enjoyed success at the track as an owner, too, watching 78 winners romp home through the years.

The absence of horseracing’s chief cheerleader will be keenly felt at a time when the sport is facing a number of pressures, from the darkening UK economy to wealthier rivals overseas luring talent.

With only a small portion of betting revenue finding its way back into racing, prize money is much lower in the UK than elsewhere in the world. Ascot has responded by increasing this year’s prize pot by 10 per cent to £9.5mn.

“It’s a constant battle to remain competitive,” said Simon Bazalgette, chair of equestrian consultancy GVC EQ and former chief executive of the Jockey Club.

The sport is also confronting an increasingly active animal rights campaign. This year’s Grand National, the UK’s most watched horseracing contest, was disrupted by protesters from Animal Rising, a campaign group. The racing event itself resulted in the deaths of three horses.

Animal Rising offered to pause its campaign in return for a televised debate on the morality of the sport. The suggestion was quickly rejected by the British Horseracing Authority, the sport’s governing body, which said it would never “be coerced into any activity by threats of protests”.

In the face of these headwinds, some are pushing to modernise horseracing. The Jockey Club, which runs 15 racecourses around the country, opted to ditch its dress code earlier this year in a bid to broaden its audience. 

But Royal Ascot insists its own rules are “sacrosanct” and sees them as a vital marketing tool for the event. 

“You come to Royal Ascot to dress up. It is part of the experience,” said Smith. “It works because you don’t undermine or take liberties with what’s made it special for hundreds of years.”