Royal Ascot

Royal Ascot Prize Money 2026: Race-By-Race Financial Figures

6 hours ago

| BY Steve Mullington

The total prize money for the 35-race Royal Ascot 2026 meeting is a record £10.65 million and William Hill News breakdown how valuable each race is at this month’s showpiece fixture on the flat.

Increases to the Royal Ascot prize money has been made across the programme with all eight Group 1 races now worth a minimum of £700,000 (2 x £1 million), while all races at the Royal Meeting, one of the biggest sports betting events of the year, will be run for £120,000 or more, up from £110,000. In all, 26 of the 35 races across the week will be run for more than there value in 2025.

Build Your Bet at Royal Ascot 2026 at William Hill

The complete 35-race prize money breakdown, organized day-by-day, is detailed below and we will have punters covered with NAPs table selections on some of the richest races throughout the week:

Royal Ascot Day 1 Prize Money:

Queen Anne Stakes (Group 1): £800,000
Coventry Stakes (Group 2): £200,000
King Charles III Stakes (Group 1): £700,000
St James’s Palace Stakes (Group 1): £700,000
Ascot Stakes (Handicap): £120,000
Wolferton Stakes (Listed): £125,000
Copper Horse Stakes (Handicap): £120,000

Royal Ascot Day 2 Prize Money:

Prince of Wales’s Stakes (Group 1): £1,000,000
Queen’s Vase (Group 2): £262,500
Duke of Cambridge Stakes (Group 2): £175,000
Queen Mary Stakes (Group 2): £150,000
Kensington Palace Stakes (Handicap): £120,000
Royal Hunt Cup (Heritage Handicap): £175,000
Windsor Castle Stakes (Listed): £120,000

Royal Ascot Day 3 Prize Money:

Ascot Gold Cup (Group 1): £700,000
Ribblesdale Stakes (Group 2): £250,000
Norfolk Stakes (Group 2): £150,000
King George V Stakes (Handicap): £120,000
Britannia Stakes (Heritage Handicap): £140,000
Hampton Court Stakes (Group 3): £150,000
Buckingham Palace Stakes (Handicap): £120,000

Royal Ascot Day 4 Prize Money:

Coronation Stakes (Group 1): £700,000
Commonwealth Cup (Group 1): £700,000
King Edward VII Stakes (Group 2): £250,000
Albany Stakes (Group 3): £125,000
Sandringham Stakes (Handicap): £120,000
Duke of Edinburgh Stakes (Handicap): £120,000
Palace of Holyroodhouse Stakes (Handicap): £120,000

Royal Ascot Day 5 Prize Money:

Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes (Group 1): £1,000,000
Hardwicke Stakes (Group 2): £250,000
Jersey Stakes (Group 3): £150,000
Wokingham Stakes (Heritage Handicap): £175,000
Chesham Stakes (Listed): £120,000
Golden Gates Stakes (Handicap): £120,000
Queen Alexandra Stakes (Conditions): £120,000

Why Have Ascot Increased Prize Money For 2026?

Speaking at the end of 2025, Felicity Barnard, CEO at Ascot racecourse, said the Royal meeting’s prize money announcement “reinforces the racecourse’s commitment to the advancement of British racing” and arrives at a time when macroeconomic realities demand “long-term planning and decision-making.”

Her view was echoed by Nick Smith, Director of Racing, who emphasized that prize money is the central tool in attracting horses from four continent, as happened in 2025, and in maintaining the meeting’s international prominence.