With the 2026 U.S. Triple Crown season completed, the focus of the horse racing world shifts from Saratoga Race Course to across the pond for one of the most prestigious events on the annual calendar. The five-day Royal Ascot meet begins Tuesday, June 16, at gorgeous Ascot Racecourse in Berkshire, England. The royal meeting will bring many of the top horses in the United Kingdom and Ireland, and a handful from the U.S., together for 35 races with a total of £10,050,000 (about $13.4 million U.S.) in prize money up for grabs.

Royal Ascot is similar to big U.S. events such as the Kentucky Derby and Breeders’ Cup World Championships because it’s about much more than just horse racing. The five days are filled with fashion, celebrity watching, and a historic brand of pomp and circumstance tied to the British monarchy (Ascot Racecourse was founded by Queen Anne in 1711). 

This year will be the fourth Royal Ascot meet with King Charles III on the throne; Queen Elizabeth II, a leading ambassador for international horse racing, served as monarch for 70 years until her death on Sept. 8, 2022. The Royal Procession, whereby members of the Royal Family are paraded by carriage in front of cheering racegoers, celebrates its 201^st anniversary in 2026.

While the entire Royal Ascot experience is a major attraction for throngs of Brits eager to enjoy a highlight of the summer social calendar in person, for most of us Yanks it is the horses, TV coverage, and betting that are the focus. Enjoy ABR’s guide to the 2026 Royal Ascot meeting.

When It Happens:

The Royal Ascot meet runs from Tuesday, June 16 through Saturday, June 20. Seven races are carded each day, and the first post is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. ET (2:30 p.m. local time). The last race each day is scheduled to run at 1:10 p.m. ET (6:10 p.m. local time).

An unparalleled fan experience. (Eclipse Sportswire)

Major Races:

Eight of the 35 races at Royal Ascot are Group 1 stakes (the highest worldwide rating). Three of those Group 1 races are held on opening day, June 16: the Queen Anne Stakes for horses 4 years old and older; the King Charles III Stakes for horses 3 years old and older; and the St. James’ Palace Stakes for 3-year-old colts.

On Wednesday, June 17, horses 4 years old and older will contest the Prince of Wales’s Stakes, and on Thursday, June 18, horses 4 years old and older will square off in a true test of stamina in the Gold Cup at 2 ½ miles.

Two more Group 1 stakes are set for Friday, June 19: the Commonwealth Cup for 3-year-old colts and fillies (not geldings), and the Coronation Stakes for 3-year-old fillies. Finally, on Saturday, June 20, horses 4 years old and older will race in the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes. The King Charles III Stakes on Tuesday is a five-furlong sprint, and the QE II Jubilee on closing day is held at six furlongs, and it’s not unheard of for horses to appear in both of them during the same week.

Four races during the meeting are Win and You’re In Challenge Series qualifiers for the 2026 Breeders’ Cup World Championships, to be held on Oct. 30-31 at Keeneland Race Course in Kentucky. Winners of these four stakes will receive guaranteed, expenses-paid spots in the starting gate for designated Breeders’ Cup races. The aforementioned Queen Anne Stakes and King Charles III Stakes on Tuesday are Win and You’re In qualifiers for the FanDuel Breeders’ Cup Mile Presented by PDJF and the Prevagen Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint, respectively. Wednesday’s Prince of Wales’s Stakes is a Challenge Series qualifier for the Longines Breeders’ Cup Turf. The Group 2 Norfolk Stakes, a five-furlong dash held as the opening race on Royal Ascot’s Thursday June 18 card, is a Win and You’re In qualifier for the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint.

Where to Watch:

NBC Sports will show racing from Royal Ascot, with all of the Tuesday to Saturday races available on its Peacock streaming service. Streaming will begin on Peacock at 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. ET Tuesday through Friday. 

In addition, races from Royal Ascot will also be televised on NBCSN from Tuesday through Friday, and then on Saturday, live racing from Royal Ascot will be broadcast live on NBC from 9 a.m. to noon ET, and streamed on Peacock from 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. 

The entire Royal Ascot meet will also be televised live each day on FanDuel TV.

How to Bet:

Betting on the ponies in the U.K. is different than stateside – you set fixed odds with a bookmaker such as Ladbrokes or William Hill and go from there. For U.S. horseplayers, there will be pari-mutuel pools via advance deposit wagering (ADW) sites such as NYRA Bets, 1/ST BET, TwinSpires.com, TVG.com, and other entities.

Be sure to keep the time difference in mind. Most of the action during Royal Ascot week will be in the morning for East Coast players and in the very early morning for those firing away in the Pacific Time Zone.

Top U.S.-Based Horses:

Outfielder (Coady Media)

The American trainer with the best track record at Royal Ascot, without question, is Wesley Ward, who has won a total of 12 races at Royal Ascot starting with two winners in his first trip in 2009. Last year, Ward planned to send his highly regarded 2-year-old Outfielder to Royal Ascot but canceled the trip after the colt suffered a minor injury. Now, Outfielder is again preparing at Royal Ascot as the headliner of up to seven Ward-trained runners that could race at the meet. 

The 3-year-old Outfielder, who traveled to France late last summer and finished fourth in a Group 1 turf sprint, is 2-for-2 this year with open-length stakes wins on an all-weather track at Turfway Park and last month on turf in the William Walker Stakes at Churchill Downs. He’s set to run in the six-furlong, Group 1 Commonwealth Cup Friday at Royal Ascot.

Ward has one other 3-year-old targeting the meet, and that is Bacio, a Maclean’s Music colt who won his 2026 debut race at Keeneland by two lengths. Bacio is pointed to the five-furlong Palace of Holyroodhouse Stakes, also on Friday.

The rest of Ward’s prospective Royal Ascot runners are 2-year-olds, and four of them could race in the five-furlong, Group 2 Queen Mary Stakes for juvenile fillies that opens Wednesday’s card. They are Fanshell Beach, Ruiva, Shining Moment, and Through the Years. Another Ward juvenile filly, Ez Tina, is entered in the five-furlong, Group 2 Norfolk Stakes Thursday which is open to all 2-year-olds. She’s a daughter of Golden Pal, a two-time Breeders’ Cup winner trained by Ward who finished second by a neck in the 2020 Norfolk.

Two more U.S.-based juveniles are entered in the Queen Mary on Tuesday: More Champagne, trained by Tom Morley; and Celtic Dispute, trained by Patrick Biancone. More Champagne, co-owned by StarLadies Racing, romped by 6 ½ furlongs over Shining Moment in her Keeneland debut back in April, while Celtic Dispute won the Royal Palm Juvenile Stakes at Gulfstream Park in May, receiving an automatic berth to the Queen Mary.

International Stars:

U.S. racing fans will see a familiar face in Royal Ascot’s opener on Tuesday, the Queen Anne Stakes, as reigning FanDuel Breeders’ Cup Mile Presented by PDJF winner Notable Speech is scheduled to start for Godolphin and trainer Charlie Appleby. The Dubawi horse finished fourth in last year’s Queen Anne.

Arguably the best race of the entire Royal Ascot meet will be the Prince of Wales’s Stakes held Wednesday at 1 ¼ miles. Among the listed starters are French-bred and -based Daryz, who won last year’s prestigious Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe and is 2-for-2 this year at age 4, star filly Minnie Hauk, who finished second by a head to Daryz in the Arc, and Godolphin’s Ombudsman, who won the Prince of Wales’s Stakes by two lengths last year and like Daryz is 2-for-2 to start his 4-year-old season.