Watch Royal Ascot LIVE on ITV and ITV4
Ed Chamberlin and co-presenter Francesca Cumani host exclusive free to air coverage of the Royal Ascot meeting live from the Berkshire racecourse.
ITV Racing is covering the most glamorous event in flat racing with six races on each of the five days, including the highlight of the week, Thursday’s Gold Cup.
Live coverage of Royal Ascot continues a fantastic month of flat racing on ITV, having featured the Investec Derby Festival at Epsom earlier in June.
ITV Racing’s coverage features more than 27 hours’ live programming, going behind the scenes at the course, featuring interviews with key figures including everyone from stable staff, trainers and owners through to the jockeys as well as racing legends, sampling the atmosphere in the grandstands at what for many is the sporting and social highlight of the summer calendar, with pundits bringing an expert insight into the challenge the course presents.
Joining Ed and Francesca for expert analysis are Sir AP McCoy, Jason Weaver and special guest Johnny Murtagh, with on-course reporting from Oli Bell, Luke Harvey and Rishi Persad. Brian Gleeson will provide an Irish angle on the action, while Matt Chapman will have the latest betting news. Charlotte Hawkins and Mark Heyes will provide an insight into fashion. Lucy Verasamy will provide weather forecasts, and Richard Hoiles will be in the commentary box.
Former ITV Racing presenter Brough Scott also brings his unique perspective to the action.
The main feature out of three Group One races on the first day is the St James's Palace Stakes, while Wednesday's feature race is the Prince Of Wales's Stakes where some of the greats of the sport such as Bosra Sham, Dubai Millennium and Ouija Board have tasted glory in previous years.
The highlight of the week is the Gold Cup on day three, run over a stamina-sapping two and a half miles. The fillies take centre stage in Friday's highlight, the Coronation Stakes, while the sprinters take on Saturday's Diamond Jubilee Stakes, where the fastest horses in the world line up over the straight six furlongs.
Alongside ITV’s coverage, daily hour-long editions of The Opening Show, presented by Oli Bell, will air at 9.30am from Tuesday to Saturday on ITV4 to preview the day’s action.
This year has seen the introduction ITV Racing’s Social Stable - a social media hub based at the track, hosted by Emmet Kennedy and Kevin Blake, which is linked to all the channel's Twitter, Facebook and Instagram profiles and is incorporated into the channel’s live programming.The festival will also see the return of the popular ITV Racing Podcast, hosted by Emmet and Kevin, that will feature guests and look ahead to each day's racing.
The new-look ITV Racing app is where viewers can take part in on-air polls, take tricky quizzes and watch clips from all of the live races as well as loads of extra video content. The popular ITV7 competition will also run over the two days and can be entered via the free app.
ITV’s live festival coverage will also be simulcast on the ITV Hub, on web and app, for viewers to watch online, and all the latest news and clips will be on our responsively designed ITV Racing site -itv.com/racing – helping bring the festival to life.
The ITV Racing Twitter account will feature clips during each of the channel’s broadcasts.
In 2017, racing returned to ITV for the first time in 32 years, in a new four-year deal to show UK horse racing on terrestrial television encompassing live broadcasts of almost 100 days of racing each year.
ITV Racing’s BAFTA-winning coverage includes a calendar packed with the Grand National, the Cheltenham Festival, and all the other major festivals including Royal Ascot, the Five Classics including the Derby and the St Leger, plus other highlights such as Future Champions Day at Newmarket, Champions Day at Ascot, Glorious Goodwood, and the Ebor Festival at York.
ROYAL ASCOTThe Opening Show Daily from 09:30-10:30 on ITV4
Tue 19 - Royal Ascot - ITV/ITV414:30 The Queen Anne Stakes (Group 1) (British Champions Series)13:05 The Coventry Stakes (Group 2)15:40 The King Stand Stakes (Group 1) (British Champions Series)16:20 The St James’s Palace Stakes (Group 1) (British Champions Series)17:00 The Ascot Stakes (A Handicap) (0-100)17:35 The Wolferton Stakes (Listed Race)
Wed 20 - Royal Ascot (Day 2) - ITV14:30 The Queen Mary Stakes (Group 2)13:05 The Queen’s Vase (Group 2)15:40 The Duke of Cambridge Stakes (Group 2)16:20 The Prince of Wales’s Stakes (Group 1) (British Champions Series)17:00 The Royal Hunt Cup (Heritage Handicap)17:35 The Jersey Stakes (Group 3)
Thu 21 - Royal Ascot (Day 3) - ITV414:30 The Norfolk Stakes (Group 2)13:05 The Hampton Court Stakes (Group 3)15:40 The Ribblesdale Stakes (Group 2)16:20 The Gold Cup (Group 1) (British Champions Series)17:00 The Britannia Stakes (Heritage Handicap)17:35 The King George V Stakes (Handicap)
Fri 22 - Royal Ascot (Day 4) - ITV/ITV414:30 The Albany Stakes (Group 3)13:05 The King Edward VII Stakes (Group 2)15:40 The Commonwealth Cup (Group 1) (British Champions Series)16:20 The Coronation Stakes (Group 1) (British Champions Series)17:00 The Sandringham Stakes (Handicap)17:35 The Duke of Edinburgh Stakes (Handicap)
Sat 23 - Royal Ascot (Day 5) - ITV/ITV414:30 The Chesham Stakes (Listed Race)13:05 The Hardwicke Stakes (Group 2)15:40 The Windsor Castle Stakes (Listed Race)16:20 The Diamond Jubilee Stakes (Group 1) (British Champions Series)17:00 The Wokingham Stakes (Heritage Handicap)17:35 The Queen Alexandra Stakes (Conditions Race)