Calling all horse lovers - it's Royal Ascot!

Today marked the third day of Royal Ascot, an annual horse racing competition that takes place in, you guessed it, Ascot! Founded in 1711 by Queen Anne, the racecourse is approximately 6450 meters long and is attended, without fail, by a large number of British Royals, including the Queen herself.

The horses are all given quirky names like Bold Sniper, No Nay Never and Tercentenary Stakes. The spectators attending the event come dressed for the occasion, women with ostentatious hats, and men in tucks. This is a British spectacle not to be missed!

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Horses at the ready, it's The Grand National!

Imperial Commander

What A Friend

Weird Al

Quel Esprit

Big Fella Thanks

Seabass

Roberto Goldback

These are the names of some of the horses that will be racing this Saturday in the Grand National. 'The Grand National is a National Hunt horse race held annually at Aintree Racecourse in Liverpool, England. First run in 1839, it is a handicap steeplechase over 4 miles 3½ furlongs (7,200m) with horses jumping 30 fences over two circuits.'[1]

'There are 16 different jumps, known as fences, on the National Course. All 16 are jumped during the first lap but on the second lap of the circuit the horses only jump 14 of them.

One of the most popular fences is called The Chair - it's the tallest on the course and the ground on the landing side is higher than the side the horses take off from. There's also a ditch horses have to jump over before the fence.'[2]

With over 600 million people watching on TV and 150,000 people attending, this is one of the world's greatest horse racing events. 'Channel 4 will screen all terrestrial racing for ‘at least the next four years’ from 2013 in a deal understood to be worth more than £20million.' [3]

So why not tune in and enjoy this quintessentially British spectacle!

Sources: BBC, Guardian and the Daily Mail