Taking its name from the royal residence situated approximately six miles from Ascot, the Windsor Castle Stakes was inaugurated in 1839, when it was run over the Straight Mile and restricted to three-year-olds. More recently, though, the race has been run over the minimum distance of five furlongs and restricted to two-year-olds. However, as announced by the British Horseracing Authority in May 2025, the distance of the Windsor Castle Stakes will be increased to six furlongs from the 2026 renewal onwards and additional eligibility will apply. To qualify for the race, two-year-olds must be sired by a horse that won over seven furlongs or beyond as a juvenile, or over a mile of beyond as an older horse.
It would be fair to say that the proposed changes have not been universally well received, with North Yorkshire trainer Karl Burke saying, “I thought it was a ridiculous idea. It will be a crying shame if it goes through and I think it will be to the detriment of a lot of people.” The last 10 renewals of the Windsor Castle Stakes were contested by no fewer than 18 runners, but most of them, including the majority of the recent winners, would not have been eligible to run had the new race conditions already been in place.
The Windsor Castle Stakes remains a Listed level contest, as it has been since 2004, and is currently scheduled as the penultimate race on the second day of Royal Ascot. The complexion of the race is set to change, dramatically, so whether previous trends are rendered moot or not remains to be seen. In its previous incarnation, the race produced just two winning favourites in the last decade, Tactical in 2020 and Little Big Bear in 2022, with winners at 22/1, 20/1 (twice), 16/1 and 12/1 in the same period.