The Queen’s Racehorses

Queen Elizabeth II inherited a string of racehorses when her father died in 1952, her enthusiasm and passion for horses has endured to the present day. She has a profound knowledge and interest in racing and breeding and most of her successes have been as a result of home bred horses. The Queen never bets on her own horses, her gamble is on the breeding and the excitement of producing a special horse. It seems that the Queen does enjoy a sweepstake and it is something of a tradition on Derby Day that everyone in the Royal Box puts a pound in the kitty and the winner receives something in the region of 20 pounds!. Since 2001 John Warren has been her racing and bloodstock adviser, he succeeded his late father-in-law the Earl of Carnarvon, who’s daughter Lady Caroline Herbert he is married to.

  • The Queen visits the Royal Stud at Sandringham every July to see her mares with their new foals.
  • In 1974 her filly Highclere won the 1,000 Guineas at Newmarket and went on to win the prestigious French Oaks at Chantilly soon after.
  • Every spring she visits her trainer’s stables where she will typically have 20 Flat horses in training.
  • In 1977 her Silver Jubilee year she won the Oaks with Dunfermline.
  • The Queen has had winners in 4 of the 5 ‘Classic’ races, the Derby still eludes her, her horse Aureole was placed second in the race in 1953.
  • Pall Mall gave her her first Classic win in 1958 winning the 2,000 Guineas at Newmarket.
  • In June 2008 her horse Free Agent won a race at Royal Ascot giving the Queen her first winner at the meeting for 9 years, prompting her to literally jump for joy!.
  • To keep her up to date The Racing Post is always on her breakfast table and she will consult with her racing advisor every day when one of her horses is preparing to race.
  • Jockey’s riding the Queen’s horses race in the Royal colours, a purple body with gold braid, scarlet sleeves and black velvet hat with gold fringe.
  • In 1954 and 1957 she headed the list of winning owners, the first reigning monarch to achieve this feat twice.
  • The Queen enjoys visits to training and breeding operations and has visited many worldwide, including stud farms in Kentucky and recently The National Stud in Kildare, Ireland.
  • In 2000 she intervened to ensure a centre which cared for retired racehorses would remain open, using her influence to ensure the necessary funds were released.
  • The Queen won the Royal sweepstake in 2007 and TV footage saw her sprinting to the Royal balcony, to watch her horse win, she received the princely sum of 16 pounds and looked extremely pleased.
  • The Queen’s trainers have included many famous names such as Nicky Henderson, Sir Henry Cecil, Fulke Walwyn, Sir Michael Stoute and Ian Balding.
  • In 20011 a vet who had injected one of the Queen’s horses, Moonlit Path, with an anti bleeding agent on the day of a race, was struck off by the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons.