Royal Ascot: Standout races

All eyes will be on Ascot Racecourse for 2026’s Royal Ascot in June next year, and here we take a look at some of this year’s standout races.

There is little time left until the highly prestigious Royal Ascot returns to the historic and very famous Ascot Racecourse for the 2026 renewal of this famous festival of world-class horse racing. This year’s event will, of course, be taking place over five days, from Tuesday, June 16, to Saturday, June 20, 2026

This will be King Charles III’s second Royal Ascot as Monarch, and he will be in a Royal Procession alongside other members of the Royal Family at this year’s event. This is of course an annual tradition that is a memorable moment for all in attendance.

Trainers up and down the country will have their eyes on success in the 2026 renewal, and as of the time of writing, it is Aidan O’Brien who has the most wins of any trainer to have participated in this event, with no less than 95 wins to his name.

As for jockeys, Lester Piggott holds the prestigious record of having the most wins with no less than 116, which took place over the course of 41 years, from 1952 to 1993. No-one else currently comes too close to his total, and Piggott has also won the famous Ascot Gold Cup on no less than 11 occasions.

There are a number of races that stand out over all of the five days at Royal Ascot every year, and here we are going to take a look at some of the races that will catch your eye at Ascot Racecourse this year. We shall start with the St James’s Palace Stakes.

This year’s St James’s Palace Stakes will take place on Tuesday, 16th June 2026 – the first day of racing. It is a Group One Race that offers no less than £500,000 to the winner, and last year, in 2025, the winner was Field of Gold, ridden by Jockey Colin Keane. Keane guided his horse to victory ahead of the likes of Ryan Moore’s Henri Matisse and William Buick’s Ruling Court, who had to settle for second and third place, respectively.

Ryan Moore, the runner-up in the most recent St James’s Palace Stakes is also famous for being the jockey who won the 2013 Ascot Gold Cup with Estimate for Queen Elizabeth II. The 2025 edition of the famous Ascot Gold Cup offered the winner prize money worth £500,000, and it will be taking place on Day Three, which will be on Thursday 18^th June 2026.

Speaking of the Ascot Gold Cup, it is seen by many as the most famous race taking place at Royal Ascot every year. It has a rich history that began back in 1807, and it is the aforementioned Lester Piggott with the most wins. His 11 successes came in 1957 (Zarathustra), 1958 (Gladness), 1961 (Pandofell), 1963 (Twilight Alley), and 1965 (Fighting Charlie), with Sagaro winning three successive times in 1975, 1976 and 1977. Ardross was his final winner in this race in 1982, but this was a second successive win for this horse with a win with Sagaro also coming in 1981.

The most recent winner was Trawlerman in 2025:

Finally, another notable race comes in the form of the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes on the fifth and final day of proceedings at Ascot Racecourse on Saturday 20th June. It is the race that offers the winner the most prize money alongside the Prince of Wales’s Stakes on Day Two, with the winner of both of these races getting no less than £1,000,000 in 2025.

Lazzat came out on top in the most recent running. All eyes will be on this race to see who becomes the latest winner of this iconic race.

This is just a selection of some of Royal Ascot’s standout races, and there are a number of other races that will catch the eye of horse racing fans everywhere.

With the 2026 renewal of the iconic and illustrious Royal Ascot underway in a matter of weeks at Ascot Racecourse, excitement, and anticipation are certainly on the rise amongst horse racing fans.

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