Royal Ascot 2026 guide: When is it, times, big races, trainers, jockeys and more
Royal Ascot is the biggest Flat race meeting in the world, attracting the best horses, runners and of course, royalty.
Sports New Blitz has all you need to know about the famous event.
Royal Ascot is a huge five-day festival of racing starting on Tuesday, June 16 and ending on Saturday June 20.
It crams in eight Group 1 races across the week, and there's hardly time to take a breath.
Royal Ascot 2026 news: What are the most valuable races at Ascot Racecourse this week?
Royal Ascot is one of the most prestigious Flat-racing festivals on the British horse racing calendar. Raced over five days, from Tuesday June 16 to Saturday June 20, this meeting stands out from the crowd as boasting the biggest prize purses in UK Flat racing.
The festival is broadcast worldwide in almost 200 nations and this year it has a record prize pot of £10.65 million. Indeed, several of the Group 1 races at Royal Ascot are among the richest Flat races in horse racing. Here, Sports News Blitz writer Scott Allen explores the most valuable races to look out for on your racecards.
Royal Ascot 2026: Irish horses favourites to lift Gold Cup
The centrepiece of the flat racing season is here, with Royal Ascot ready to welcome some of the world’s premier horses to Berkshire.
Starting on 16th June and offering five days of early summer racing, the meeting is one of the major landmarks of the British social calendar.
For the trainers, owners and jockeys, however, Royal Ascot offers the chance to collect some of the most prestigious trophies in British racing.
ITV horse racing tips and best bets for York, Sandown and Chester on Saturday, June 13
Royal Ascot is just around the corner and Sports News Blitz racing tipster Jeff Mexico has spent all week looking for a new frock and hat. Luckily, Farm Foods does an amazing range of clothing (it’s somewhere near the back by the spoon meats), and Jeff is now all kitted out for a busy week in Royal Berkshire.
He’s hoping to get an invite to the Royal Procession or even better be interviewed by Raceday TV about his stunning outfit – his black bin bag ensemble and potato sack fascinator will go down a storm no doubt.
Epsom Derby Day ITV horse racing tips and best bets on Saturday, June 6
This week, Sports News Blitz tipster Jeff Mexico has been measuring the height of buildings for Donald Trump. Jeff discovered that Carnon Downs Garden Centre in Truro, the Ship Inn in Exeter, and Oh, For Goodness Cake! in Shrewsbury are not as tall as the Lincoln Memorial, which seemed to please the US commander-in-chief … even though he was asleep at the time.
Away from measuring the size of phallic constructions, it’s Derby Day and Jeff has six tips to dig up for ITV’s coverage this Saturday afternoon from Epsom.
ITV horse racing tips and best bets for Carlisle, Beverley and Chester on Saturday, May 30
Sports News Blitz’s racing tipster Jeff Mexico has an unusual way of keeping cool in the current heatwave. He fills his wheelie bin with cold water, positions it outside his nearest bossman shop, strips naked, and climbs inside. Jeff will spend all day in there, collecting ice creams and cool drinks from generous passing locals, which he then goes and sells down the dogtrack in the evening.
He’d make even more money if he removed the rubbish from the bin before he filled it with water. Anyway, Jeff has nine races from the north of England to select from this Saturday afternoon as the ITV cameras head to Carlisle, Beverley, and Chester.
ITV horse racing tips and best bets for Haydock, Goodwood, York and the Curragh on Saturday, May 23
Sports News Blitz horse racing expert Jeff Mexico has returned from a week away helping paint the bottom of a big pool in Washington DC. Unfortunately, Jeff is a little colour blind, so he muddled up the Mexican green and American blue flag paint. Ah well, it’s unlikely anyone will notice.
Let’s get back to a busy day of racing on ITV this Saturday afternoon. It includes nine races from Haydock, Goodwood, and York as well as the Irish 2000 Guineas over the Irish Sea at the Curragh.
ITV horse racing tips and best bets for York and Yarmouth on Wednesday, May 13
Day one of the Dante Festival gets underway at York Racecourse on Wednesday and Sports News Blitz’s horse racing expert Kieran McHugh returns to cast his eye over proceedings.
ITV are showing five races from York and one from Yarmouth, leaving our resident racing reporter with lots of action to uncover.
Horse racing news: Gaelic Warrior named Horse of the Year in Timeform’s Jumps Awards
Gaelic Warrior has been named both Timeform’s Horse of the Year and Top Chaser following a sensational campaign in 2025/26, headlined by dominant victories in both the Cheltenham Gold Cup and Punchestown Gold Cup.
Willie Mullins’ star performer achieved a Timeform rating of 180 for his 26-length rout of Fact To File in the Punchestown Gold Cup, cementing his position at the top of the chasing division and putting him just 1lb short of the peak rating of two-time Gold Cup winner Galopin des Champs.
Gaelic Warrior proved himself equally effective around Cheltenham, producing one of the most commanding victories in the Cheltenham Gold Cup seen in recent years.
ITV horse racing tips and best bets for Lingfield, Ascot and Haydock on Saturday, May 9
Sports News Blitz horse racing expert Jeff Mexico ate a Tesco meal deal sandwich he found on the bus this week. We would always advise against eating anything you find randomly on the bus, but Jeff was absolutely fine.
If anything, he visited the toilet fewer times than usual for the rest of the week. So, Jeff is in tip-top form for the bumper nine-race card on offer on ITV this Saturday afternoon.
ITV horse racing tips and best bets for Newmarket, Goodwood and Thirsk on Saturday, May 2
Every year, at the start of May, Sports News Blitz tipster Jeff Mexico breaks into his mother’s house and steals a pair of her shoes.
He then wears them for a few days before chucking them in the sea, as he doesn’t feel there’s enough plastic in the ocean.
His mother still hasn’t realised she is missing all these shoes, granted she has been dead since 2009.
Anyway to the horses.
Kentucky Derby Odds Breakdown: Leading Horses to Watch on Race Day
Churchill Downs feels different this time of year. The noise builds slowly, then all at once. Twenty horses, one mile and a quarter, charging beneath the twin spires together, and a few minutes that tend to linger far longer than expected.
The 2026 Kentucky Derby arrives with a full field and a familiar mix of certainty and doubt.
Renegade leads the board, though that rarely tells the whole story. Beneath the surface, subtle shifts and late whispers hint at contenders gaining ground at the right moment.
Horse racing news: Gstaad the lowest top-rated horse in 2000 Guineas in over 30 years
This year’s renewal of the 2000 Guineas looks substandard according to Timeform, with the Aidan O’Brien-trained Gstaad topping the ratings on 117, which is the lowest pre-race rating for a Timeform top-rated horse in the 2000 Guineas in over 30 years.
Gaelic Warrior enhances Timeform rating to 180 following Punchestown Gold Cup rout
Gaelic Warrior has been awarded an outstanding Timeform rating of 180 for his impressive victory in the Punchestown Gold Cup on Wednesday and is now the organisation's highest-rated jumps horse in training.
Gaelic Warrior was rated 174 after his dominant success in the Cheltenham Gold Cup but produced an even better performance at Punchestown where he slammed old rival Fact To File by 26 lengths.
Ka Ying Rising extends winning streak to 20 and breaks track record again in G1 Chairman’s Sprint Prize
Ka Ying Rising confirmed his status as the world’s best horse with a record-breaking victory in the HK$24 million (approx. £2.3m) G1 Chairman’s Sprint Prize (6f/1200m) at Sha Tin on Sunday (26 April) to crown a flawless season, sealing the Hong Kong Speed Series and extending his winning streak to 20.
ITV horse racing tips and best bets for Sandown, Leicester and Haydock on Saturday, April 25
Sports News Blitz’s racing tipster Jeff Mexico fell over when he was running in the playground this week and scraped his knee.
We gave him a hug, offered some soothing words and patched him up with a Spiderman plaster, which he showed off to all his friends. Now he’s fully ready to deliver this Saturday’s racing tips for the six races on ITV.
Philip Rothwell set to land €50,000 in William Hill Each Way Extra Series finale
The inaugural William Hill Each Way Extra Challenge Series comes to a close at Kilbeggan racecourse in Friday evening, with Philip Rothwell in line to land the €50,000 top trainers’ prize.
Philip Rothwell has maintained a strong lead in the trainers’ standing from the off, amassing a 55-point lead over second-placed Paul Nolan heading into the final five races. Nolan is in pole position to land the €25,000 prize for second, but Oliver McKiernan, Ross O’Sullivan and Patrick Foley are all within an attainable 25 points.
Horse Racing news: Lucinda Russell: Apple Away en route to French Champion Hurdle
Lucinda Russell has told Old Gold Racing that their star mare, Apple Away, is set to be the leading syndicate’s first French runner in the French Champion Hurdle in May.
The Grade 1-winning mare runs in Wednesday’s Listed Fair Maid Of Perth Mares’ Chase, which she won two years ago, and Russell is planning on using the race as a stepping stone to the Grande Course de Haies d'Auteuil on Saturday 16th May at Auteuil.
ITV horse racing tips and best bets for Ayr and Newbury on Saturday, April 18
After a brief sailing holiday along the Strait of Hormuz, Sports News Blitz’s racing tipster Jeff Mexico has returned with six barrels of oil and some red-hot selections for Saturday’s ITV racing.
There are five contests from Scottish Grand National Day at Ayr and four from the second day of Newbury’s Spring Trials.
Romantic Warrior will have to be at his best to defeat Royal Champion, says Karl Burke
Karl Burke believes Romantic Warrior will need to be at his best to defeat an on-song Royal Champion in the HK$30 million (approx. £2.8m) G1 FWD QEII Cup (1m2f/2000m) on 26 April.
The North Yorkshire trainer is under no illusions about the task his stable star faces but thinks a reproduction of his dominant performance in the G1 Neom Turf Cup (1m2f/2100m) at Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in February will see him threaten the local superstar as he bids for a fourth win in the race following successes in 2022, 2023 and 2024.