Queen Anne is rightly honoured in the opening race of the Royal meeting as she was the one who first saw the potential for a racecourse at Ascot.

In 1711, Queen Anne spotted the ideal place for “horses to gallop at full stretch” while she was out riding on what was then known as East Cote.

The area of open heath, not far from Windsor Castle, duly staged its first meeting on Saturday, August 11, 1711 and the track has barely looked back since.

The first permanent building was erected in 1793 and was used until 1838, during which time Parliament passed an Act of Enclosure which meant Ascot Heath could be used for racing, although the property of the Crown.

The precise origin of the Royal Meeting is unclear and it was perhaps an event that evolved rather than was introduced at a specific time, but the first four-day meeting took place in 1768.

Arguably, the meeting as we know it today started to take shape with the introduction of the Gold Cup in 1807.

Gold Cup day is the third day of Royal Ascot and is colloquially known as Ladies’ Day, a term which was first coined in 1823 when an anonymous poet described the Thursday of the Royal Meeting as ‘Ladies’ Day, when the women, like angels, look sweetly divine.’

The Gold Cup is Ascot’s oldest surviving race, and the winning owners receive a gold trophy which becomes their property.

Perpetual trophies are only awarded for three races at the Royal meeting, the other two being the Queen’s Vase, inaugurated in 1838 to commemorate Queen Victoria’s accession, and the Royal Hunt Cup (1843).

For all other races, challenge trophies are awarded, which are returned to Ascot and presented each year.

It was at around the time of the first running of the Gold Cup that the roots of the traditional Royal Enclosure dress code emerged with Beau Brummell, a close friend of the Prince Regent, deciding men of elegance should wear waisted black coats and white cravats with pantaloons.

This has evolved into the wearing of morning suits and formal dress for the ladies over the years.

The Royal Procession as an annual tradition began in 1825.

Ascot’s first major redevelopment came to fruition in 1954, with the relocation of the straight mile north to allow more space behind the stands.

This was the second such move and even this time around, they didn’t go quite far enough as the track was moved a further 42 metres north as part of the 2005 redevelopment.

The Queen Elizabeth II Grandstand was erected between the 1960 and 1961 Royal Meetings and the Members’ Stand went up between Royal Ascot 1963 and 1964.

In 2006, a Country Life survey found Royal Ascot to be the South of England’s most popular picnic spot and the most popular sporting occasion at which to picnic in the country.

An overhaul of the Royal meeting in 2002 meant some additional races named after Royal breeding centres were introduced as the meeting expanded to five days to mark the Queen’s Golden Jubilee.

The racecourse closed for redevelopment in September 2004 with the following year’s Royal meeting staged at York.

The new Ascot was officially reopened by the Queen, on time and on budget, on June 20, 2006 and the modern era immediately had a new equine legend in Yeats, who won an unprecedented four Gold Cups before retiring in 2009.

A statue to commemorate his achievements now stands in the parade ring.