The draw always plays a huge part at Ascot, especially down the famous straight, and has already had an impact in the races here in 2026.
First, let's take a look at what happened here 12 months ago.
Was there a draw bias at Royal Ascot in 2025?
Royal Ascot 2025 - Straight track (16 runners or more)
Race - Distance | Winner's Draw | Runner-up's Draw | Ground | Ran | Winning Section | Winning Part of the Track |
Coventry - 6f | 14 | 5 | Good to firm | 20 | High | Stands |
King Charles III - 5f | 16 | 15 | Good to firm | 20 | High | Middle |
Queen Mary - 5f | 25 | 7 | Good to firm | 23 | High | Stands |
Royal Hunt Cup - 1m | 32 | 2 | Good to firm | 30 | High | Stands |
Kensington Palace - 1m | 13 | 20 | Good to firm | 23 | Middle | Stands |
Windsor Castle - 5f | 8 | 17 | Good to firm | 23 | Low | Far |
Britannia - 1m | 29 | 30 | Good to firm | 30 | High | Stands |
Buckingham Palace - 7f | 28 | 29 | Good to firm | 27 | High | Stands |
Albany Stakes - 6f | 1 | 3 | Good to firm | 17 | Low | Far |
Commonwealth Cup - 6f | 1 | 20 | Good to firm | 21 | Low | Far |
Sandringham Stakes - 1m | 2 | 6 | Good to firm | 25 | Low | Far |
Palace of Holyrood - 5f | 24 | 17 | Good to firm | 24 | High | Stands |
Wokingham - 6f | 13 | 23 | Good to firm | 28 | Middle | Middle |
Overall, the middle to high stalls down the centre to stands’ side came out best, although low numbers did have a say mid-meeting when stalls 1, 1 & 2 popped up.
On the four occasions big fields of around 27-28 runners lined-up, the winning stalls were: 32, 29, 28 & 13, including in the Buckingham Palace Stakes.
The Round Course also threw up an edge for some areas of the draw:
Royal Ascot 2025 - Round Course (14 runners or more)
Race | Winner's Draw | Runners-up Draw | Ground | Ran | Winning Section |
Ascot Stakes - 2m4f | 6 | 20 | Good to firm | 20 | Low |
Wolferton - 1m2f | 5 | 9 | Good to firm | 16 | Low |
Copper Horse - 1m6f | 7 | 9 | Good to firm | 16 | Middle |
King George V Stakes - 1m4f | 20 | 21 | Good to firm | 19 | High |
Duke of Edinburgh - 1m4f | 7 | 8 | Good to firm | 18 | Middle |
Golden Gates Stakes - 1m2f | 14 | 16 | Good to firm | 15 | High |
Up until a few years ago, double-figure stalls held the edge in big fields, but single-figure stalls performed better of late, including in 2025 when 6, 5, 7 & 7 came up.
It’s worth noting, though, that the very inside stalls on the Round Course over 1m2f-1m6f in 1, 2, 3, 4 struggled to get involved.
Royal Ascot 1m2f-1m6f 14 runners+ (last five years)
Stalls 1 to 6: 2 wins from 138 runs
Stalls 7 to 14: 17 wins from 186 runs
Stalls 15 to 22: 7 wins from 102 runs
The lowest stalls on the Round Course did enjoy some success over the longest trips.
Royal Ascot 2m4+ 15 runners+ (last five years)
Stalls 1 to 7: 5 wins from 38 runs
Stalls 8 to 20: 1 win from 74 runs
Big-Race Draw Trends
Having looked at both the Straight Course and Round Course in different field sizes and on contrasting ground, let's short-list several with key draw trends to follow:
Winning stalls
Queen Mary - 12 of the last 13 winners: 25, 10, 28, 17, 22, 25, 16, 20, 14, 20, 12, 16
Britannia - 6 of the last 7 winners: 29, 15, 18, 19, 19, 29, 15
Buckingham Palace - 6 of the last 7 winners: 28, 26. 24, 31, 26, 29, 32
Ascot Stakes - 6 of the last 7 winners: 6, 1, 7, 6, 3, 9, 1
This season at Ascot
While there haven’t been recent evidence on the Round Course in 2026, there were several big-field races on the Straight Course which threw up a bias towards to double-figure stalls:
Straight Course (16 runners or more)
May 2026 - 4 races
First four stalls:
5-13-3-11 (6f, 18 ran)
26-12-22-23 (7f, 28 ran)
12-13-6-19 (6f, 19 ran)
13-10-14-11 (5f, 17 ran)
The Victoria Cup staged here on May 9 was one of the above races in which high stalls on the stands' side dominated.
Running style
While a draw bias can be found via the numbers, there can also be another bias to offer an edge that is harder to find, namely the running style that suits particular races.
The pace of a race of course also plays a huge part, but here’s a look at which running styles emerged most at Royal Ascot 12 months ago.
2025 ROYAL ASCOT
5f-6f
Led
Led
Led
Led
Prominent
Chased leaders
Mid-division
Mid-division
Held up
Held up
7f-1m
Led
Led
Led
Prominent
Chased leaders
Mid-division
Held up
Held up
Held up
Held up
Held up
1m2f+
Led
Led
Prominent
Chased leader
Chased leaders
Chased leaders
Mid-division
Mid-division
Mid-division
Mid-division
Held up
Held up
Held up
Held up
Front-runners certainly hit back at last year’s renewal having flopped here in 2024, though longer trips of 1m2f+ very much still favoured runners ridden with patience from behind.