- The Royal Ascot will be staged over five days from June 18 to June 22
- England’s clash with Denmark takes place on the same day as the Gold Cup
- Ascot bosses have made a number of key changes to avoid clashes
Royal Ascot bosses have announced some key changes to this year’s running times, as they look to avoid clashes with Euro 2024.
The prestigious meeting will be staged over five days from June 18 to 22, at the same time as the group stage of the European Championship.
There were concerns over clashes between the two sports, with one notable close call coming in the form of the feature Gold Cup on Thursday, June 20 – the same day as England kick off against Denmark at 5pm.
But the Gold Cup will now run at 4.25pm – more than half an hour before kick-off.
The other feature races during the week – including the St James’s Palace Stakes, Prince of Wales’ Stakes and Coronation Stakes – will also run at 4.25pm on their respective days on ITV.
Royal Ascot have made some changes to avoid key clashes with the European Championship
England’s clash with Denmark takes place on the same day that the Gold Cup takes place
By pushing these times back, it has meant that other races have also had to be moved around.
On Wednesday, the Queen’s Vase (3.05pm) has been moved to second race on the card, with the Kensington Palace Stakes (5.40pm) becoming the sixth race.
Friday’s Group 1 Coronation Stakes has moved up the running order to become the third race on the card, with the Duke of Edinburgh Stakes (4.25pm) the fourth race.
On Saturday, the Hardwicke Stakes will be the second race on the card at 3.05pm with the feature Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes now the third race at 3.45p. The Jersey Stakes (4.25) will be the fourth race on the card.
As per the Mirror, Ascot’s head of corporate and industry affairs Will Aitkenhead said: ‘This year we have worked with our broadcast partners to make a few changes to the running order and timings in order to maximise exposure of the Group 1 races with the men’s UEFA European Championships also taking place this June.
Frankie Dettori (pictured) won the Ascot Gold Cup with Courage Mon Ami last year
‘We’ll show the games on screens around the site as well in all enclosures which will hopefully add to the day for everybody.’
England’s clash against Denmark, their second of the group stage, is shown on BBC and will be displayed on the big screens at Ascot – with the final race of the day taking place 6.15pm.
It was reported in April that King Charles – who has been undergoing cancer treatment – plans to attend the Royal Asco to honour the memory of his late mother.
