Royal Ascot is one of the biggest dates on the horse racing calendar in Great Britain – and there’s some serious wonga at stake.
The coronavirus pandemic has decimated prize money across the board with last year’s meeting offering up £3.61m in funds – a massive drop from the planned £8m.
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But with the support of sponsors, partners and the return of limited crowds, a 66 per cent rise for 2021’s five-day fiesta has been announced which takes the financial rewards rocketing to £6m spread across the 35 renewals.
A total of eight Group 1s will be run at Royal Ascot 2021 boasting the biggest pots on offer to connections. We’ve rounded up the prize money for all the races and detailed how much the winners land in the big ones.
TUESDAY JUNE 15
The Queen Anne Stakes (Group 1) £400,000
The Coventry Stakes (Group 2) £100,000
The King’s Stand Stakes (Group 1) £350,000
The St James’s Palace Stakes (Group 1) £350,000
The Ascot Stakes (Handicap) £65,000
The Wolferton Stakes (Listed) £75,000
The Copper Horse Stakes (Handicap) £65,000
The Queen Anne Stakes winner will bag a cool £226,840 for connections making it the most valuable race on the opening day of the meeting. The prize for being first past the post in the King’s Stand Stakes and the St James’s Palace Stakes is £198,485. A tidy sum, indeed.
WEDNESDAY JUNE 16
The Queen Mary Stakes (Group 2) £80,000
The Queen’s Vase (Group 2) £175,000
The Duke of Cambridge Stakes (Group 2) £140,000
The Prince of Wales’s Stakes (Group 1) £700,000
The Royal Hunt Cup (Heritage Handicap) £120,000
The Windsor Castle Stakes (Listed) £65,000
The Kensington Palace Stakes (Handicap) £65,000
The Prince of Wales’s Stake has the joint-biggest victory pot of the meeting for the winner at a whopping £396,970. The winning connections will be smiling all the way to the bank.
THURSDAY JUNE 17
The Norfolk Stakes (Group 2) £80,000
The Hampton Court Stakes (Group 3) £75,000
The Ribblesdale Stakes (Group 2) £160,000
The Gold Cup (Group 1) £350,000
The Britannia Stakes (Heritage Handicap) £75,000
The King George V Stakes (Handicap) £65,000
The Buckingham Palace Stakes (Handicap) £65,000
Stradivarius is attempting to make it four wins on the spin in The Gold Cup – day three’s feature – and would bag £198,485 for his owners if he succeeds.
FRIDAY JUNE 18
The Albany Stakes (Group 3) £65,000
The King Edward VII Stakes (Group 2) £160,000
The Commonwealth Cup (Group 1) £350,000
The Coronation Stakes (Group 1) £350,000
The Sandringham Stakes (Handicap) £75,000
The Duke of Edinburgh Stakes (Handicap) £65,000
The Palace of Holyroodhouse Stakes (Handicap) £65,000
A couple of Group 1s on the penultimate day of Royal Ascot 2021 with The Commonwealth Cup and the The Coronation Stakes boasting the same cheque (or bank transfer more like) worth £198,485 to the winners.
SATURDAY JUNE 19
The Chesham Stakes (Listed) £65,000
The Jersey Stakes (Group 3) £75,000
The Hardwicke Stakes (Group 2) £160,000
The Diamond Jubilee Stakes (Group 1) £700,000
The Wokingham Stakes (Heritage Handicap) £120,000
The Golden Gates Stakes (Handicap) £65,000
The Queen Alexandra Stakes (Conditions) £65,000
The big race on the final day is The Diamond Jubilee Stakes which offers a mouthwatering bounty of £396,970 to the champion of the 6f dash.
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