Author: GC

In 2020, in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, which caused the suspension of horse racing in Great Britain between mid-March and early June, the Royal Ascot schedule was expanded to include seven races on each of the first four days and eight on the fifth. It was a wild time with sporting events being cancelled left, right and centre.  Of course for gamblers, there was still the prospect of playing online casinos and the like such as  joka room, but placing a wager of sport was all but impossible.

In 2021, the Queen gave permission for some, but not all, the schedule changes to be made permanent. Thus, four of the six races added, or reinstated, in 2020 – namely the Copper Horse Stakes, Palace of Holyroodhouse Stakes, the Golden Gates Stakes and Buckingham Palace Stakes – will be retained in 2021.

The Silver Royal Hunt Cup and the Silver Wokingham Handicap, run as the opening races on day two and day five, respectively, in 2020 will not, but a new race, the Kensington Palace Stakes will be added to the schedule to make a full quota of seven races on each day. The Kensington Palace Stakes, whose name has been approved by the Queen, is a mile handicap restricted to fillies and mares aged four years and upwards. With the exception of the Golden Gates Stakes, which will be run as the penultimate race on day five – such that the Queen Alexandra Stakes retains its position as the final race of the Royal Meeting – each of the ‘new’ races, including the Buckingham Palace Stakes, will be run as the last race on each day.

It’s good to have these regal affairs back on the cards. A nice combination of real money slots and a day at the race is the ideal for many punters. It will be quite something, throughout this years racing calendar to actually be part of it, rather than having cancellations galore or not being able to attend.

Gambling is a varied sphere. While some are trying their luck on https://www.americancasinosites.com others are fixated on the ‘nags’ (horses). Once race of note within the horse racing community is the Coral-Eclipse. The Coral-Eclipse or, strictly speaking, the Eclipse Stakes, is run over an essentially galloping mile and a quarter at Sandown Park in early July. The race offers the first opportunity of the season for the ‘Classic generation’ to race against their elders at the highest level

Five favourites, including two at odds-on, have won the Coral-Eclipse in the last decade and the other five winners in that period were returned at odds of 9/4, 7/2, 6/1, and 8/1. As might be expected of a Group 1 contest, which is supposed to be a test of class, after all, the Coral-Eclipse is probably not the place to be looking for long-priced ‘surprise’ winners.

Just three 3-year-olds have won in the last decade but, interestingly, two of them – Golden Horn in 2015 and Roaring Lion in 2018 – were trained by Joh Gosden. Gosden also won the Coral-Eclipse with the 4-year-old Nathaniel in 2012 and the 5-year-old Enable in 2019.

Ratings-wise, all of the last ten winners, bar Hawkbill, were officially rated 118 or better and six of them were rated 125 or 126. Unsurprisingly, previous winning form over a mile and a quarter, preferably at Group 2 or, better still, Group 1, level appears to be a pre-requisite for a typical Coral-Eclipse. That said, any horse that has been off the course for five weeks, or longer, should be treated with caution. Much like a casino goer on machine sous en ligne, it pays to be informed, and in the world of racing ratings are one informed way of weighing up your chances.

At the time of writing, Mishriff, trained by John and Thady Gosden, has been installed as favourite for the Coral-Eclipse in 2021. As a 122-rated 4-year-old, who won the Prix du Jockey Club as a 3-year-old, not to mention the most valuable race in the world, the Saudi Cup, in February, it’s no surprise that the bookmakers are quite keen on his chances!

Officially known, since 2020, as the Buckingham Palace Handicap, the race formerly known as the Buckingham Palace Stakes is a Class 2 handicap run over 7 furlongs and open to horses aged three years and upwards. The Buckingham Palace Handicap is currently scheduled as the final race on the third day of Royal Ascot.

The Buckingham Palace Handicap is of course a very English affair, far removed from online casino united states and the like, and a relatively recent addition to the Royal Ascot programme, having been established in 2002. That year, to mark the Golden Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II, the Saturday, a.k.a. ‘Ascot Heath’, was officially incorporated into Royal Ascot, thereby extending the meeting from four days to five. However, the Buckingham Palace Stakes was replaced by the newly-founded Commonwealth Cup in 2015 and did not return to the Royal Ascot programme until 2020. Following the suspension of horse racing due to the coronavirus pandemic, Royal Ascot was expanded to seven races each day and the change was made permanent in 2021.

The most famous winner of the Buckingham Palace Stakes was Regal Parade, trained by the late David Nicholls. In 2008, as a 4-year-old, he won the race en route to victory in the Ayr Gold Cup and, the following season, won the Group 1 Haydock Sprint Cup. While us members of the public are more likely to be winning on online real money casino sites, for the royal touch and connection, in the world of racing you can’t go far wrong by winning the Buckingham Palace Stakes!