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The racecourse was founded by Queen Anne whilst out hunting on the East Cote (now Ascot) Heath in 1711. She asked the Master of the Buckhounds to lay out a course for “horses to gallop at full stretch”. He duly obliged, the cost of which totalled £606 17s 1d.

During its history the racecourse has redeveloped its buildings roughly every 50 years which has often involved moving the racetrack to create more room for the stands. The last major redevelopment of the site was approved by King George in 1944 and was completed in 1964 with the opening of the Members’ Stand (pictured) at a cost of £2.25M. The racecourse welcomes over 500,000 racegoers each year to its 27 racedays.

The time came for redevelopment approved by Her Majesty The Queen, which was carried out from 2004 to 2006, reopening for Royal Ascot June 2006 at a cost of some £188M. The racetrack has been moved 42 metres further north at the winning post, with the turf being grown at the racecourses own leased farm, being watered from recycled water from the racecourse storage lake. A contemporary well equipped grandstand replacing the 1964 stand. A world class facility has been created.

Whilst every care has been taken in compiling this publication and the statements contained herein are believed to be correct, the publishers and promoters cannot accept responsibility for any inaccuracies. Reproduction of any part of this publication in any format, without permission, is strictly forbidden. Photographs courtesy of David Hilton and Ascot Racecourse.