- New-look Royal meeting
- Six added races
- Time changes added to features
- Seven races planned on the first four days
Ascot has revealed the running order for this year’s Royal meeting, announcing six added races.
As Royal Ascot looks to proceed in 2020 it will have a new running order and six new added races.
Racing in the United Kingdom has been paused since March 17. However with racing to resume on June 1 under strict protocols, Royal Ascot will run differently in 2020.
Seven races are planned on the first four days, with eight to come on the final day headlined by the St James’s Palace and Coronation Stakes.
The mile events which are traditionally held on Tuesday and Friday have been shifted to the final day.
The idea is to create a greater gap from the Guineas meetings which are set to be staged at Newmarket on June 6 and 7.
The Queen Anne and King’s Stand Stakes remain in their usual slots on the first afternoon.
They will be joined by the King Edward VII Stakes and Ribblesdale Stakes which will now be key Derby and Oaks trials ahead of Epsom’s planned meeting on July 4.
Other feature races such as the Hampton Court which is an eligible Epsom trial this year will be run on day two.
Two-year-old’s will be given ample time to prepare, with a reshuffle in the juvenile program.
Their fixture has been pushed back with four of the six races to now be staged on Friday and Saturday.
The Windsor Castle Stakes will be contested on Wednesday and the Chesham on Thursday, with the Norfolk and Albany on Friday and the Queen Mary and Coventry on Saturday.
The full details of all 3️⃣6️⃣ races at Royal @Ascot 2020:
— Racenews (@RacenewsService) May 22, 2020
?? Six new races
? Order of running & distances pic.twitter.com/NEvqfUxp1X
Nick Smith, Ascot’s director of racing and public affairs, underlined the venue is not taking that clearance for granted.
He said: “We are most grateful to the BHA’s race-planning team for their assistance in framing the additional races for this exceptional renewal of Royal Ascot.
“We hope these extra opportunities will be welcomed by horsemen, broadcasters and the public at home.
“Under Ruth Quinn, a lot of work has gone into scheduling an appropriate Pattern trials program, beginning on June 3, alongside an enhanced two-year-old program.
“We are of course taking nothing for granted in terms of Government’s final approval to permit behind closed doors sporting events from June 1.
“We are announcing the program today, with the dates of the Royal meeting already public as part of the wider schedule for resumption, so that horsemen can begin their detailed planning.”
Nick Smith, Ascot’s director of racing and public affairs, underlined the venue is “not taking anything for granted,” in terms of the Government’s final approval.
“We are most grateful to the BHA’s race-planning team for their assistance in framing the additional races for this exceptional renewal of Royal Ascot.
“We hope these extra opportunities will be welcomed by horsemen, broadcasters and the public at home.
