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IN FOCUS | 13 www.italchamind.eu people in an informal atmosphere, offering different prices based on the number of games a week. That being said, two ponies per player are needed to compete in a tournament and prices can go up very fast considering the veterinarians’ bills, livery, training and feeding. Other elitist horse sports are dressage, eventing and jumping (which are also included in the Olympic Games, and for whose activities Great Britain was the most successful nation in 2012), niche activities very popular amongst the wealthiest. ROYAL ASCOT The Royal Ascot boasts more than 300 years of history and is the emblem of the monarchy. Ascot Racecourse, located 11km away from Windsor castle, was founded in 1711 by Queen Anna, who started organising horse races in the same year. Today the main competition of its racing calendar is Royal Ascot, which became a yearly event in 1911, being held every year in the 3rd week of June. Ascot has three enclosures, with different access levels and dress codes. The most important one is the Royal Enclosure. As the Royal Family stays there, invitation and dress codes are very strict. The Grandstand, instead, is the mid-level of admission with less strict rules. The third stage is the Silver ring, a space for more casual attendees. More than 300,000 visitors gather in Berkshire for the five racing days every year, showing extravagant hats and betting on their lucky horse. Queen Elizabeth herself - whose passion for horse riding is highly documented - has been the owner and breeder of many horses that competed at Ascot. Ascot Racecourse announced the 2018 edition’s figures: profits of £6.1m generated by a turnover of £91m, that were used to re-pay the £220m redevelopment that took place in 2004- 2006 and that were reinvested in the prize money (increased to a record of £13.45m) and in business development. According to the consulting firm Deloitte, the overall economic impact of Royal Ascot is around £150m per annum (without taking into account the business of bets generated around the races). Other famous horse races include the Grand National (held annually at Aintree Racecourse) and the Cheltenham Festival, taking place each year in March at the Cheltenham Racecourse. Horse racing is the second largest spectator sport in the UK after football. THOROUGHBRED HORSES The Thoroughbred is a horse breed used for racing and known for their agility and speed. Modern Thoroughbred horses trace their pedigree back to England and today there are around 100,000 foals all around the world. The value of each horse depends on age, pedigree and conformation. According to The Thoroughbred Breeders’ Association, there were around 3,300 breeders, 9,000 broodmares and 4,700 foals in the United Kingdom in 2018. Furthermore, the breeding industry contributed £427m to the British economy in 2017 and created over 19,000 jobs. In the same year, 48 horses of the top 237 were trained in Great Britain, where 24% of the world’s top 100 races were held. According to the Longines ranking, that is the equivalent to World Rankings such as the ATP Tennis or the FIFA World Rankings, the two best racehorses are British (Crystal Ocean and Enable), whilst the third one is the British-bred and French- trained Waldgeist. Horse racing’s success is probably connected to the reputation of the UK as a prestigious breeding industry and as a perfect place to find thoroughbred horses, often purchased by foreign operators who fly to England for their transactions. ·