Frankie Dettori rides opening day treble
Dettori wins aboard Without Parole, Calyx and Monarchs Glen
Blue Point claims King's Stand Stakes
Accidental Agent wins Queen Anne Stakes
Lagostovegas lands Ascot Stakes
Alex Regan
BBC News
While the punters at Ascot are quaffing overpriced prosecco they might fancy throwing some money after the Today programme racing tips.
If you're a glutton for punishment and want to splurge some lolly on some of today's runners, here's the Today programme suggestions:
There is a strong theme of flowers at this year's Royal Ascot - hopefully they won't raise the already high pollen levels.
Feathers feature and one hat includes what a appears to be a bird cage. Royal Ascot truly is the one of the biggest events in the British fashion calendar.
Image source, ReutersA balancing act? One racegoer wore a hat containing what looked like a bird cage
Image source, Steve ParsonsThis hat was made for Royal Ascot surely?
Click on the links to see the runners and riders.
14:30: Queen Anne Stakes (Group 1) 1m
15:05: Coventry Stakes (Group 2) 6f
15:40: King's Stand Stakes (Group 1) 5f
16:20: St James's Palace Stakes (Group 1) old mile
17:00: Ascot Stakes (Handicap) 2m 4f
17:35: Wolferton Stakes (Listed) 1m 2f
Frank Keogh
BBC Sport
Royal Ascot starts with a bang on the track – three of the first four contests are top-level Group One affairs.
The first of 30 races is the Queen Anne Stakes (14:30 BST) with later highlights including top sprinters in the King Stand Stakes at 15:40 and the feature race, the St James’s Palace Stakes (16:20).
Leading trainer Aidan O’Brien has several chances of a winner such as Rhododendron in the opener and US Navy Flag in the day’s big race.
Maria and Ekaterina Zherebtsova were turning heads as soon as they walked in, particularly because of their headwear.
It turns out Maria is a milliner, and has made her hat from recycled plastic.
"It is inspired by Mexico, all of the decorative elements are made from recycled bottles, using an open fire, moldling and varnishing to give plastic the allure of having something luxurious", she said.
Their name, Zherebtsova, is also perfect for the occasion.
"It means male stallion in Russian, so I am going to look for a perfect name today".
Royal Ascot's prize money has been bumped up once again, securing its place as one of the richest racing events in the world.
For the first time, the Royal meeting will be worth over £7m (£7,305,000 to be precise), a 10% rise from last year.
Image source, Getty ImagesNo race will be run for less than £90,000 and the prize money for Group One races begins at the hefty £500,000 - up £100,000 from last year.
That means that prize money has risen by 62% since 2012.
The racehorses are not the only equine show in town, it seems.
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"Good afternoon, I'm here to deliver 7000 rumps..."
Ascot serves some fancy food across the week, and by the looks of things, there is plenty of it...
A three-day strike on South Western Railway services, which would have affected Ladies Day at Ascot, has been called off.
The RMT union had organised the walkout over an ongoing dispute over the role of train guards on the service.
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Cornelius Lysaght
BBC racing correspondent at Royal Ascot
The Irish-based Coolmore racing empire is apt to hog the big-race limelight, but during Royal Ascot 2017 it only held off its arch-rival - Sheikh Mohammed's Godolphin operation - by a whisker.
Although a one-time 'cold war' between the two is over, the rivalry remains intense, and this year Godolphin's powerful squad of Ascot hopefuls arrives after the memorable success of the Charlie Appleby-trained Masar in the Derby at Epsom, with Coolmore no closer than fourth.
Image source, Getty ImagesWho will triumph in the battle of the mega-stables, Godolphin or Coolmore?
However, in Epsom's Oaks, Appleby's Godolphin-owned filly Wild Illusion did have to play second fiddle to Coolmore's winner, Forever Together, but Wild Illusion is well touted to get back to winning ways in the Ribblesdale Stakes (Thursday).
That competition will be evident from the word go when Godolphin's Benbatl, trained by Saeed bin Suroor, faces the Aidan O'Brien-trained Rhododendron, for Coolmore, in the opening Queen Anne Stakes.
Throughout the week, an ever-daunting challenge will be jetting in from O'Brien's County Tipperary base; the team, many ridden by top jockey Ryan Moore, is due to be headed by Order Of St George who looks to regain Thursday's Gold Cup, narrowly lost in 2017 in an epic battle with the currently injured Big Orange.
Because it's never unfunny, here are some pictures of people being comically sniffed by sniffer dogs.
Image source, Reuters
Image source, Getty ImagesIf you are going to Royal Ascot today, prepare to hear several variations on the word 'muggy', including 'sticky', 'close' and 'clammy'.
Maybe even a cheeky 'ooooh, it's like a Turkish bath around here'.
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In 1989, the Queen broke one of the strictest rules at Royal Ascot.
At the time, children were not allowed into the racecourse at all, but Her Majesty gave permission for her eight-year-old granddaughter Zara Phillips to attend Royal Ascot with her mother Princess Anne to watch the racing.
Image source, Getty ImagesZara Phillips was the only child to visit Royal Ascot that year, accompanied by her mother, Princess Anne
It was because of young Zara's passion for horses, which, to be fair to the Queen, she has carried on.
Now, children under the age of 18 are allowed into the racecourse during Royal Ascot if accompanied by an adult.
Frank Keogh
BBC Sport
The Queen may be 92 but I suspect there will have been a spring in her step this morning, and not just because it's day one of Royal Ascot.
Her racehorse Seniority now will get a run in the Royal Hunt Cup on Wednesday after stablemate Mubtasim, also trained by William Haggas, was withdrawn after being found to be lame.
You can check out the Royal Hunt Cup runners here.
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Asked if Ascot's reputation was at stake, course spokesman Nick Smith told the BBC: “No, I think we are stronger than that, the sport is stronger than that, and we needed to address the problem.
“We have 20 sniffer dogs covering every entrance, we would suggest people to think again before bringing substances in.”
Image source, Reuters
Michael Race
BBC News
As punters stream into the racecourse, they will have to pass through security which has been stepped up for this year's event.
Racegoers have been told they could be breathalysed and refused admission following a recent spate of brawls at meetings across the country, including at Ascot in May.
Sniffer dogs, drugs amnesty boxes and the discontinuation of "beer hawkers" are among the new measures.
Racecourse bosses hope it will "pre-empt incidents arising from excess alcohol consumption or other anti-social behaviour".
Image source, Getty ImagesRacegoers will have to pass through increased security
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Frank Keogh
BBC Sport
A bit of news in from this morning - the final runners have been named for the Gold Cup at Ascot on Thursday.
The 2016 winner and last year's runner-up Order Of St George, trained by Aidan O'Brien, heads a field of nine. Idaho and Gold Star were the two withdrawals.
Gold Cup declarations: Max Dynamite, Order Of St George, Scotland, Sheikhzayedroad, Torcedor, Vazirabad, Desert Skyline, Mount Moriah, Stradivarius.,