The club football season may have ended but the sporting world has plenty on offer during the summer months and one of the biggest events in the UK calendar is Royal Ascot and, with the 2022 edition just a week away, we thought we’d give you a guide on everything you need to know about the biggest flat racing festival in the calendar.

Want to know when and where Royal Ascot is, how to bet on it and the highlights of the week? Read on to find out!

When does Royal Ascot start and where is it?

Royal Ascot is held at Ascot Racecourse in Berkshire and the 2022 festival will run for five days from Tuesday, 14th June to Saturday, 18th June.

Where to watch Royal Ascot

The majority of the races will be televised live across ITV and ITV4, with more than 24 hours of live footage scheduled for the five-day festival.

ITV4 will host The Opening Show at 9am each day of the festival before live racing begins at 1:30pm on ITV, with the majority of racing live on the main ITV channel before switching over to ITV4 for the closing stages.

What are the highlights of Royal Ascot?

Tuesday, 14th June – Queen Anne Stakes

The opening day of Royal Ascot is considered the best day of flat racing in the UK calendar and the most prestigious event of the most prestigious day belongs to the first race of the day – The Queen Anne Stakes.

Featuring some of the world’s finest flat racing horses, the Queen Anne Stakes is the first of eight Group One contests at Royal Ascot and the market is currently led by 1/3 favourite Baaeed.

Wednesday, 15th June – The Prince of Wales’s Stakes

Wednesday isn’t quite as glamorous as the opening day but it still features the Group One Price of Wales’s Stakes at 4:20pm, which is seen as one of the most important and richest races of the meeting.

Just over a week out from running in Berkshire, Bay Bridge is 11/8 favourite for Wednesday’s only Group One race.

Thursday, 16th June – The Gold Cup

After the quieter Wednesday, Thursday comes around with a bang for Ladies Day and the two mile, four furlong Gold Cup is undoubtedly the highlight of the show.

This year’s Ascot Gold Cup has Trueshan and Kyprios as joint 7/2 favourites in the week leading up to the meeting, with Stradivarius only just behind at 4/1.

Friday, 17th June – The Coronation Stakes

The second of two Group One races on the Friday, The Coronation Stakes is the highlight of day four as Europe’s best three-year-old fillies are pitted against one another.

Homeless Songs, at 5/4, is this year’s ante-post favourite with Inspiral providing the main competition at 3/1.

Saturday, 18th June – The Platinum Jubilee Stakes

Along with Wednesday’s Prince of Wales’s Stakes, the Platinum Jubilee Stakes is one of the richest races on the horse racing calendar and will offer up a total prize pool of £1 million for the short, six-furlong sprint to the line.

Home Affairs leads the way in the betting markets at 9/2 but there are five other horses priced at 10/1 or shorter, so expect a close race!

Will FST have Royal Ascot tips?

Of course!

Remember our Cheltenham Festival Experts’ Best Bets feature? Those very same experts from the Racing Post will be joining us once again for daily coverage of Royal Ascot 2022, which is a massive bonus considering they landed a massive 44/1 acca on the first day of Cheltenham!

The team will be bringing you an ante-post acca later this week covering the biggest races on the calendar, followed by daily accumulators and NAPs throughout the week on our horse racing tips page.

Build better bets with our free betting tips, predictions and accumulators, every day.

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