Royal Ascot has been run at Ascot Racecourse in England since 1768. It has grown into the most valuable and prestigious horse racing meeting in the UK, prize money totalling more than £7million, and betting turnover exceeding £150million, across five days of Group 1 racing each June.
Free Royal Ascot bets can be claimed in a number of different ways. If you sign up to any of the recommended betting sites on this page, you can qualify for a welcome bonus.
You first have to register for an account and make a deposit to kick things off. In order to claim your free bets, you then usually have to place one real-money bet, often referred to as a qualifying bet.
Our racing betting experts have run the rule over some of best Ascot betting sites below and have identified where to claim free bets for the 2023 meeting.
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Free bets can be claimed as part of the 888sport welcome offer for betting on Ascot when you sign up to this leading online bookmaker.
888sport also has a number of regular horse racing promotions for bettors, including best odds guaranteed. The BOG promotion applies to singles and multiples on win and each-way markets, with all Royal Ascot races included as part of this offer.
Royal Ascot live streaming is available to all 888sport customers who either have a funded account or place a bet on the race they want to watch.
When placing a free bet on Royal Ascot, you might want to utilise the 888sport 'Betfinder' feature, where you can narrow down your search for winners by looking at course form and finding out Timeform ratings.
There are multiple reasons why racing bettors choose bet365 for their Royal Ascot betting.
This global powerhouse is a best odds guaranteed bookmaker, which means you can back an early price and still get the starting price if your horse wins at bigger odds.
The bet365 sign up offer provides free bets - and so does the 'Feature Race 4/1 Offer'. This promo gives bettors free bet credits when they back a winner at odds of 4/1 or bigger in one of the key races at the meeting.
bet365 also has live streaming available for every race over the five days of Royal Ascot - and the 'bet365 Price Promise' guarantees bettors the best price for all live ITV races from Ascot.
Mr Green free bets are available to new sign-ups and this betting site also attempts to stand out from the crowd with unique Royal Ascot horse racing promotions.
For example, you might get a Royal Ascot 'Quickfire Enhanced Double', where you can wager on two well-fancied horses to win their respective races in one day and get boosted odds.
At Mr Green, you will also find daily specials with other enhanced prices on certain horses, jockeys or trainers.
BetVictor free bets are available through the BV sign-up offer, which also gives you a slots bonus, if you want to try some online casino NZ play alongside horse racing betting.
Bet Boosts are available for enhanced odds on doubles and trebles and you are also able to get best odds guaranteed for the Royal Ascot meeting.
Free Royal Ascot bets are awarded to returning customers at BetVictor through the 'BV Loyalty Club'. The Loyalty Club gives bettors free horse racing bets when they place five sports bets of €5 or more in the space of a week.
William Hill is a staple of the online betting scene and bettors will be glad to learn that free bets are included in the William Hill welcome offer.
Hills offers non-runner no bet as an Ascot offer, so you'll get your stake back as a free bet if you've backed a horse and they don't line up on the day.
The William Hill betting app is second-to-none and William Hill free bets are also made available to customers who bet regularly with this site, so it's not just new sign-ups who can get in on the free betting action.
When you have free bets available to use on Royal Ascot, it’s important to know the step-by-step procedure for claiming them, which we have outlined below to help you get started.
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In order to make the most of betting on Ascot, it’s important to get the best Royal Ascot betting offers along with your free bets.
Every year, established bookies and new betting sites compete for business with attractive promotions and specials centred around this prestigious meeting. Some of the best available offers are outlined below.
The standard terms no longer apply when it comes to each-way betting. Extra each-way places are commonplace as part of Grand National and Cheltenham offers - and Ascot is no different.
bet365 is among the most reliable bookmakers for extra each-way places and includes this promo in its selection of Ascot betting offers.
Leading horse racing betting sites have a best odds guaranteed promotion which applies to every race throughout the five-day meeting.
Simply take an early price with a bookmaker such as 888sport and you will get paid out at the starting price if the SP ends up being bigger than the earlier price.
There are some fantastic odds boosts available on a day-by-day basis during Royal Ascot and Betway is reliable for enhanced odds on each day of the meeting.
When you back a winner at Royal Ascot, you want the biggest amount of potential winnings possible - and that's what odds boosts provide.
If you are betting ante-post on Royal Ascot , then you want to find a bookmaker who has the non-runner no bet concession.
This means you can take a punt on the winner of any race at the meeting and get money back if the horse doesn’t end up lining up for whatever reason.
William Hill is one of the best betting sites for the the NRNB concession, which is available as part of this site's Grand National offers as well.
Below are some of the main races to look out for when betting on Royal Ascot.
The Royal Ascot meeting starts with a bang and this Group 1 race is one of the biggest on the card. Run over a distance of one mile, this race has been run since 1840 and achieved Group 1 status in 2003.
Day One of the Royal Ascot meeting also features the King’s Stand Stakes - a five-furlong dash down the Royal Mile course.
It is now part of a series called the Global Sprint Challenge and this means lots of overseas runners compete.
This is the third Group 1 race on Day One of the Royal Ascot meeting, with a distance just shy of one mile.
Having been inaugurated in 1834, it’s one of the longest-standing races through the five days and it’s open to three-year-old colts.
On Day Two of the Royal Ascot meeting, the Prince of Wales’s Stakes takes pride of place and horses aged four or older can enter a race that has been running since 1862.
The encounter achieved Group 1 status in 2000 and that was when the age qualification changed.
The Ascot Gold Cup started in 1807 and is probably the most prestigious race at the meeting.
It’s also a long-distance flat encounter of two miles, three furlongs and 210 yards. Yeats is the most successful horse in this historic race, with four victories.
Colts and fillies aged three or older can run in this Group 1 flat race, a high-octane dash over six furlongs. This race was only recently introduced, with the Commonwealth Cup starting in 2015 and replacing the old Buckingham Palace Stakes.
This is a race that started in the 19th century, with the first running taking place in 1840. It is run over seven furlongs and 213 yards.
Three-year-old fillies battle it out in an encounter which was named in honour of Queen Victoria, who was crowned two years before the race first took place.
Run over a distance of six furlongs, this is the only Group 1 race that takes place on Day Five of the Royal Ascot meeting. There’s a purse of around £700,000 available and legendary jockey Lester Piggott achieved an incredible 10 wins between 1958 and 1993.
You can bet on Royal Ascot by signing up to an account at one of our recommended betting sites. You will need to deposit through debit card, bank transfer or e-wallet to fund your account. Choose the race that interests you, tap on your selection and press confirm to place your bet.
On this page, you will find the best horse racing betting sites for Royal Ascot showcased. Each bookmaker will have free Royal Ascot bets available and there are also enhanced odds to take advantage of. Gambling.com highlights safe, secure sites with a licence from leading regulators, such as the Malta Gaming Authority.
You generally claim free bets for Ascot by opening a new account. Just sign up, make a first deposit and then place a qualifying bet in order to claim your free bets. Existing customers can also sometimes claim free bets as part of a bookmaker's selection of Ascot betting offers.
Along with Ascot free bets for new customers, you can also get best odds guaranteed for every race at the meeting. There are also enhanced odds with a number of Ascot betting sites, while you can even get extra places on every race - a great option for each-way bettors.
The 2022 Royal Ascot meeting takes place between Tuesday, June 14th and Saturday, June 18th. There are seven races on each day of the meeting, with the first one taking place at 2.30pm and the final race set to go off at 6.10pm. That equals a total of 35 races for racing bettors to enjoy.
"Cian Kirby is a Production Editor in Gambling.com's content team. Working in the betting industry is familiar territory to him having previously worked for leading betting exchanges Betfair and Matchbook. Cian likes to think outside the box when it comes to gambling and his main sporting interests include GAA, Golf, National Hunt Racing, Soccer, Tennis, and Darts."
Reviewer since January 2021