Ascot confirm five day Royal meeting

Next year’s Royal Ascot at York will be a five-day fixture with a Royal Procession on all days.

Ascot confirmed today that the Queen has consented to racing on five days with a Procession before the action gets underway every day.

The Royal meeting, which runs from June 14 to June 18, has been switched to the Knavesmire as Ascot will be undergoing a massive redevelopment next year.

The order of running is expected to broadly mirror that of this year, although precise details will be confirmed in due course.

Tickets for the public enclosures and hospitality packages at the meeting will go on sale on October 4 while Royal Enclosure Badges will be available from January 4.

“We’re absolutely delighted to be able to confirm that the five day fixture will be retained in 2005,” said Douglas Erskine-Crum, chief executive at Ascot.

“There will be a Royal Enclosure and having set capacity at 50,000, we are working closely with York to determine the precise delineation of all the enclosures. Similarly, we’re talking with all the hospitality groups and stakeholders at both tracks to accommodate as many as possible.”

William Derby, chief executive at York added: “It’s tremendous news for both the familiar Ascot audience and the regulars at York that everything that makes the Royal Meeting so special will be coming to York.

“The Royal Procession on the Knavesmire will be a real piece of history and we’re delighted to be accommodating and supporting the Ascot team during their £185 million redevelopment.”

Both Ascot and York plan to contact everyone on their databases to publicise the dates tickets go on sale and the Royal Enclosure list will be written to later this year.