There are three Royal Ascots.
The Royal Ascot experienced from the Queen Anne’s and Royal Enclosures has the dress code of morning suits, top hats and female finery. As this Tatler article suggests, it is a place to be seen.
The second is the Royal Ascot created by corporate hospitality for the business community and is to be found on the other side of the race track. It is hermetically sealed from the posh enclosures, gets little access to the horses and is primarily about eating , drinking and networking.
The final Royal Ascot is known as the Windsor Enclosure, stretching down the course to the six furlong poll and housing tens of thousands of ordinary people who can access Royal Ascot for as little as £35. This year, my partner and I went to the cheap seats and we had a grand time.
Though you do not get to watch the horses (and the Royal Entourage) arrive and depart from the parade ring, you do get to bring your own picnics and to enjoy the racing a few furlongs from the finish. You also get to meet great people who are there under their own steam , caring more about having a good time than the angle of their fascinator.
I thoroughly recommend it, especially if you – as we did – have the chance to get to the bandstand after the races to join in the community singing.
For those who don’t , the Windsor Enclosure has an after party which was still heaving at 7pm when we left.
The horses
Owning the kind of bloodstock that runs at Royal Ascot is the privilege of the few. The Irish racing scene is largely catering for a few British owners and the British trainers are mainly showcasing the horses purchased with petrol-dollars by the Arab potentates. Though many enjoy race ownership through syndicates, the very top horses, the ones that run in the big races at Ascot , are not fossil free!
There are other horse, there are police horses and the greys that pull the carriages of the Royal Entourage but this is really about a kind of elite ownership that stretches to a few box-holding VIPs who arrive and leave by helicopter and appear in the parade ring, if at all.
The racing however, is for everyone and we enjoyed the breathtaking spectacle of thoroughbreds straining every sinew in the race to the line. When these magnificent 1000lb animals come past at speed , there is little more enervation to be had. And that feeling is the same whoever and wherever you are on the course.
Is Royal Ascot different?
I have been to racecourses in France, Scotland, Ireland and Wales and there is nothing like Ascot. Newmarket is my favorite course but Royal Ascot is my favorite meeting (on the flat). Cheltenham is becoming a caricature of itself and the racing isn’t great. There are too many races won by odds on chances, Royal Ascot is more interesting from a competitive standpoint.
And it’s so close! Getting there on the train from London is a joy. The congregation on the higher platforms at Waterloo, the crammed compartments with punters studying form, the exhilaration of the walk up the hill from the station (no busses).
Above all, Ascot is a smoothly oiled machine where standards are as high in the Windsor as they are in the Royal.
When the sun shines (and it shone yesterday) there is no better place. I recommend the first Tuesday (the best racing and the least bad behaviour). Avoid Ladies Day and the Saturday unless you are seriously into millinery and alcohol. Don’t go every day unless you have stamina or a box. Royal Ascot is a treat to be indulged sparingly and with a good sense of humour.
