The focus of the horse racing world moves on a dime – or in this case, ten pence – across the pond for one of the most prestigious events on the annual calendar now that the U.S. Triple Crown season is over. The five-day Royal Ascot race meet kicks up on Tuesday, June 14, at Ascot Racecourse in Berkshire, England. The royal meeting will bring together several of the best horses from the United Kingdom and Ireland for 28 races with a total prize pool of £8,702,500 (about $10.6 million U.S.).

Royal Ascot, like major American horse races like the Kentucky Derby and Breeders' Cup World Championships, is about much more than horse racing, with five days of fashion, celebrity sightings, and a traditional flavour of pomp and circumstance related to the British royalty (Queen Anne founded Ascot Racecourse in 1711).

While the overall Royal Ascot experience is a significant draw for hordes of Brits eager to witness a highlight of the summer social calendar in person, the horses, T.V. coverage, and betting are the main attractions for most of us Americans. Enjoy ABR's preview of the Royal Ascot meeting in 2022.

When It Occurs:

The meet runs from Tuesday, June 14 through Saturday, June 18, with seven races on each daily programme. The first race is at 9:30 a.m. E.T. (2:30 p.m. local time), and the last is at 1:10 p.m. E.T. each day (6:10 p.m. local time).

Major Competitions:

At Royal Ascot, eight of the 28 races are Group 1 stakes, the highest level of competition in the world. The Queen Anne Stakes for horses four years and older, the King's Stand Stakes for horses three years and older, and the St. James' Palace Stakes for 3-year-old colts are all raced on opening day, June 14.

The Prince of Wales's Stakes will be held on Wednesday, June 15. The Gold Cup, raced at 2 12 miles on Thursday, June 16, will pit horses four years old and older against one other in an actual test of stamina.

The Commonwealth Cup for 3-year-old colts and fillies and the Coronation Stakes for 3-year-old fillies are scheduled for Friday, June 17. Finally, on Saturday, June 18, the Platinum Jubilee Stakes will be run for horses aged four and up. The King's Stand Stakes is a five-furlong sprint on Tuesday, while the Platinum Jubilee is a six-furlong race on closing day — and horses have been known to run in both races in the same week.

Four races are "Win, and You're In" Challenge Series qualifiers for the Breeders' Cup World Championships in 2022, which will be placed on November 4-5 at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington Ky. The winners of these four prizes will be assured a berth in the starting gate for a Breeder's Cup race, with all costs paid. The Queen Anne Stakes and King's Stand Stakes on Tuesday are "Win, and You're In" qualifiers for the FanDuel Breeders' Cup Mile and Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint, respectively, while the Prince of Wales's Stakes on Wednesday is a Longines Breeders' Cup Turf Challenge Series qualifier.

The Group 2 Norfolk Stakes, raced as the first race on Royal Ascot's Thursday, June 16 schedule, is a Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint "Win and You're In" qualifier.

Where to Look:

A TV channel The races on Tuesday through Friday will be available on NBC Sports' Peacock streaming service, with the races on Saturday, June 18 beginning at 9 a.m. E.T. Tuesday through Friday at 8:30 a.m. E.T., Peacock will begin streaming.

The whole Royal Ascot meet will be shown live on TVG each day.

What to Bet on:

Betting on horses in the United Kingdom is different from betting on horses in the United States in that you set fixed odds with a bookmaker like Labrokes or William Hill and then go from there. However, advance deposit wagering (ADW) services like NYRA Bets, 1/ST BET, TwinSpires.com, and others will offer pari-mutuel pools for U.S. horseplayers.

Remember the time difference: most of the action during Royal Ascot week will take place in the morning for gamers on the East Coast – and very early in the morning for those in the Pacific Time Zone.

Wesley Ward is, without a doubt, the most successful American trainer at Royal Ascot.

Ward started his career as a jockey, winning the Eclipse Award for best apprentice rider in 1984. In the early 1990s, he became a trainer. He's earned a reputation as a specialist in developing 2-year-old horses and turf sprinters.

Ward has won 12 races at Royal Ascot, beginning with Strike the Tiger and Jealous Again on his debut in 2009. This year, he'll have a strong team led by Golden Pal, a grass sprint sensation. The Uncle Mo colt has already accomplished a lot in only nine outings. He won the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint in 2020 and the Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint in 2021 and placed second in the Group 2 Norfolk Stakes in 2020.

Golden Pal is listed as a contender for both the King's Stand Stakes on Tuesday and the Platinum Jubilee Stakes on Saturday, indicating that he is familiar with Ascot's track.

Love Reigns is another Ward trainee who is generating a lot of interest ahead of Ascot. On April 29, the 2-year-old filly made her debut at Keeneland, winning a five 12-furlong turf sprint by 9 34 lengths. She'll compete in the Group 2 Queen Mary Stakes, which takes place over five furlongs and is the first race on Royal Ascot's Wednesday card.

Last but not least, Campanelle, a 4-year-old filly from the Ward stable, will compete at Royal Ascot for the third year. She's going for her third win in a row. 

She did what Love Reigns will try to do this year in 2020, debuting in the United States and winning the Queen Mary Stakes. She won the Commonwealth Stakes by disqualification last June. Ward is now pointing her to Saturday's Platinum Jubilee Stakes. Campanelle won the Giant's Causeway Stakes by 2 12 lengths in her season debut at Keeneland. Ward told Britain's At the Races on June 7 that all of his Royal Ascot horses would be ridden by Irad Ortiz Jr., a three-time Eclipse Award-winning jockey.

Christophe Clement and Graham Motion, two of the best turf trainers in the world, will also be at Royal Ascot.

On Friday, Clement will enter the top-class filly Pizza Bianca in the Coronation Stakes. Pizza Bianca, who won the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf last fall for owner Bobby Flay, bounced back after a second-place finish in her 2022 debut with a win in the Hilltop Stakes at Pimlico on May 20. Clement's Slipstream, who won the Palisades Stakes at Keeneland in April, will attempt to win the Commonwealth Stakes on Friday.

Winning the Kentucky Derby, Graham Motion, a native of Cambridge, England, has sent some beautiful horses to Royal Ascot. He'll be there this year with an unbeaten 3-year-old mare Spendarella. 

In her career, she has already won two graded stakes races, the Herecomesthebride Stakes at Gulfstream Park and the Appalachian Stakes Presented by JRA at Keeneland. Spendarella will face Pizza Bianca in a must-see Coronation Stakes matchup on Friday.

Finally, Wayne Catalano, a four-time Breeders' Cup winner, will bring his first horse to Royal Ascot this year. Andthewinneris, a maiden solid winner at Keeneland, will run in the classified Chesham Stakes on June 18, the penultimate day of Ascot. In her debut at 5 12 furlongs, the 2-year-old daughter of 2016 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf winner Oscar Performance won by two lengths. In the Chesham, she'll stretch out to seven furlongs with Irad.