Get in the Mood for Royal Ascot 2013 with William Hill

It’s the meeting that all horse racing fans have been waiting for. Royal Ascot is perhaps the most eagerly anticipated and certainly most prestigious event of the year and it’s happening very soon. The mixture of racing excellence and style is quite unlike anything else on the racing circuit. 

First and foremost, Royal Ascot is all about top quality racing and with at least one Group 1 event taking place on each of the five days of the meeting, there is plenty to get excited about. One of the most exciting prospects is Animal Kingdom, who will run in the Queen Anne Stakes, the opening race on day one of the meeting. This is expected to be Animal Kingdom’s final outing before being put out to stud and the Dubai World Cup winner, who has also won a Kentucky Derby in an illustrious career, is certainly one to watch. He has never raced at a meeting like Royal Ascot before and it will be intriguing to see just how he and jockey Johnny Velazquez handle the occasion.

There are also plenty of other foreign hopefuls who will also be descending on Ascot. Australian horses have an impressive Ascot record and hopes will be pinned on duo Shamexpress and Doomben, who will run in the Diamond Jubilee Stakes, the feature race on the meeting’s final day.

2013 Royal Ascot Gold Cup Day

Of course, the big race of the event is the Gold Cup, which runs during the middle of the week.  The smart money might just be on two previous winners, Right of Passage and Colour Vision, although the likes of Estimate and Saddler’s Rock will fancy their chances too.  It is also worth keeping an eye out for some of the less glamorous races during the week as well. The Royal Hunt Cup is usually an exciting and open spectacle, especially as it is a handicap race. All in all, there should be some exciting 2013 Royal Ascot Betting - online horse racing betting at William Hill is a great place to find a fine selection of odds and attractive markets.

However, Royal Ascot is unique precisely because it is about so much more than just the racing itself. Renowned for style and glamour, nowhere is this more obvious than on Ladies Day, the third day of the meeting, where high-class fashion really does take centre stage. Yet, it is the meeting’s royal connection which really gives Ascot the edge. Originating back to Queen Anne founding the Ascot course in 1711, each morning of the meeting includes a genuine royal procession. And with the Windsor Forest Stakes having been renamed the Duke of Windsor Stakes this year; the royal connection has only become stronger. Royal Ascot is truly a meeting to treasure.