How to Enjoy Ladies’ Day at Royal Ascot

Thursday, June 22nd is Ladies’ Day at Royal Ascot. If you’re lucky enough to have gotten a ticket, you’ve got some preparation to do between now and then. Here’s the best way to enjoy your day at the iconic race track.

Prepare yourself for a right royal day of racing.

Royal Ascot is still a little over a month away, and there is no end of preparation that goes into creating a festival as lavish as this one. If you’re lucky enough to have bagged yourself a ticket for Ladies’ Day, you might need a little help to ensure you’re just as prepared as the team behind the prestigious event.

We’ve created the ultimate guide to enjoying Ladies Day at Ascot, including everything from choosing the perfect outfit to how to pick a winner, as well as some tips on the order of the day and travel to the racecourse. So, if you’re ready to start your Ascot preparations ahead of time, we’re here to help.

Choosing an Outfit

Although it’s the day when the prestigious Ascot Gold Cup is run, Ladies Day is best known for the incredible outfits that people wear. Millinery masterpieces are the order of the day, usually combined with delicate dresses or structured suits.

If you’re keen to rub shoulders with the best dressed on the day, starting with a hat or headpiece is the best place to build your outfit from. Whether topped with peacock feathers, a top hat, or something altogether stranger, curating an outfit to set off the colors and textures in your hat is essential.

It’s also worth remembering that even though the festival takes place in June, the weather can be unpredictable. Bringing a coat to match your outfit will keep you warm and chic, while an umbrella is mandatory.

Picking a Winner

Part of the fun of horse racing for many people is picking a winner. There are all kinds of ways to go about this. The most popular is to study the form of each race carefully, looking for horses that perform well on the ground, have won over the distance, and have excellent trainers and jockeys. If you follow this method, compare your top two horses against the bookmakers and choose the one with the preferable odds.

Some prefer to get a feel for the whole field by watching the horses in the pre-parade ring. This is where they can see the horses without a saddle and get a good look at their fitness levels. The signs of a potential winner include well-defined muscles, a glossy coat, and a relaxed demeanor. While paddock judging is not an exact science, it certainly is an art, so get some practice in before putting all your eggs in one basket.

If you feel you’re a good judge of which horses have star quality but don’t feel like putting your money where your mouth is, using an offer such as a free bet can be a good way to put your paddock-judging skills to the test. Currently, many sites are offering an Ascot-free bet for new users, which means you can enjoy the excitement of watching your horse charge past the post without spending your money.

What to Expect

Ascot Racecourse and its surroundings can be very busy on racing days, so we recommend traveling by public transport, if possible. Thanks to Ascot’s location, it is super simple to reach from London. There are direct trains running regularly from Waterloo Station, which will get you to the course in less than an hour.

Arriving early to find a seat in the grandstand and familiarize yourself with the course is essential. The course will be filled with racegoers, so planning out a route from the parade ring to the bookmakers, up to the grandstand and back to the Winner’s Enclosure beforehand will help ensure you won’t miss a moment of the action.