At the end of 2022, one of the most famous jockeys of all time Frankie Dettori announced he would be retiring at the end of the 2023 flat racing season. Marking the end of the flat racing season as well as Frankie’s UK career, British Champions Day is on 21 October 2023. Ascot offers admission to 3 enclosures – the King Edward VII Enclosure, the Winning Post Enclosure, and the most affordable Queen Anne Enclosure – with each offering varying access levels and dress code requirements.
British Champions Day is a unique raceday as it is the culmination of the QIPCO British Champions Series; the 35 top British flat races across the year including Newmarket’s Guineas, the Goodwood Cup, and the Derby and Oaks at Epsom. The different races are the “finals” for each division e.g. the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes in the final for the year’s top Mile runners, the Champions Stakes for Middle Distance, the Diadem Stakes for Sprint, the Jockey Club Cup for Long Distance, and the Pride Stakes for the most successful female horses.
Expect to see some incredible races at British Champions Day 2023 as there are many stars of global flat racing among the entries for the special day. Paddington, Auguste Rodin, Desert Crown, Ace Impact, Emily Upjohn, Kinross, and many more are expected to race on the day.
The British Champions Series also highlights the legends of the sport with its Hall of Fame selections each year featuring the greatest horses, jockeys, trainers, and special contributors in the history of racing.
As a legend himself – and indeed one of the first inductees into the Hall of Fame when it was created a few years ago – Dettori aptly planned his European swansong for Ascot on 21 October. Since announcing this would be his final season as a jockey, the Italian has only highlighted further his legendary status by winning the 2000 Guineas for a fourth time as well as claiming victory in the Coronation Cup and the Oaks at Epsom and in the Ascot Gold Cup. Dettori’s connection with Ascot was firmly cemented in 1996 with his 25,095-1 “magnificent 7” when he won all the races at the British Festival of Racing (the forerunner to Champions Day).
Although Dettori will be saying farewell to his European fans in October, he still plans to end his career with the Breeders’ Cup World Championships in the States. Similar to British Champions Day in that it is the culmination of a season-long series called the Breeders’ Cup Challenge crowning the world champions in 14 divisions. In 2023, the meeting will be hosted by Santa Anita Park in California from 3-4 November.
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