If Royal Ascot has a day that is historically seen as the height of the meeting, it is the traditional ladies’ day on Thursday. So get your prep in with our recommended betting sites, including a free bet from William Hill, plus plenty of well-reasoned tips to make the most of those Royal Ascot free bets.
Royal Ascot betting sites & free bets for day 3
Signing up with betting sites during Royal Ascot can be a good idea, as a number of these sites will enhance their normal welcome offers to attract new customers. With that in mind, we’ve listed a few of our recommended horse racing betting sites, all of whom are offering bigger and better sign-up bonuses than they usually do.
| Royal Ascot Betting Sites | Royal Ascot Betting Offers |
| William Hill | Get a free bet at Royal Ascot, when you place a bet on any Royal Ascot race |
| Sky Bet | £40 in free bets when you place any bet |
| Paddy Power | Bet £10 on Royal Ascot, Get £40 in Racing Bets + £5 on Any Sport |
| Betano | Get your stake back up to £40 when you bet £10 |
| talkSPORT BET | Royal Ascot – Get £50 in Bonuses with code RACING50 |
Royal Ascot day 3 free bets & betting offers – Key T&Cs
- William Hill: 18+. Play Safe. Invited customers only. Ends 18:10 21/06. Eligible customers see full offer, including qualifying bet requirements & free bet amount (vary), via promo page on login & must opt in. Max 1 FB/customer expires 23:59 21/06. Online only. Full T&Cs apply. www.gambleaware.org #ad.
- Sky Bet: New customers only. First single & E/W bet only. Odds of 1/1 or greater. 4 X £10 bet tokens. Free bet stakes not included in returns. Free bets exclude virtuals. Free bets are non withdrawable. Free bets expire after 30 days. Eligibility restrictions and further T&Cs apply. 18+. GambleAware.org.
- Paddy Power: New customer offer. Place a £10 bet on Royal Ascot at min. odds EVS (2.0) — get £40 in free racing bets + £5 free bet to use on any sport, which will be credited to you by 12pm the day after your bet has settled. Free bets awarded on qualifying bet settlement. Qualifying bet must be settled before 23:59 (GMT) 21st of June, 2025.Only deposits via Cards & Apple Pay will qualify. T&Cs apply. Please Gamble Responsibly..
- Betano: New customers only. First single &E/W bet only. Odds of 1/1 or greater. 3 X £10 bet tokens. Free bet tokens not included in returns. Free bets exclude virtuals. Free bets are non withdrawable. Free bets expire after 30 days. Eligibility restrictions and further T&Cs apply. 18+
- talkSPORT BET: 18+ New customers only. Opt in with bonus code RACING50 and bet £10 on Horse Racing odds of 2/1+ within 7 days of registration. Get 3x£10 in Free Bets for horse racing set markets and a £20 Slots Bonus for Big Bass Return to the Races, 40x wagering, to redeem max £500. Rewards expire in 20 days. T&Cs apply. GambleAware.org. Please gamble responsibly
Royal Ascot day 3 predictions & tips
The middle card on the five-day Royal meeting is headlined by the Gold Cup, in which the best stayers tough it out for supremacy. There are also top handicaps and Group races for fast two-year-olds.
Our expert is taking on a big talking horse in the opening Norfolk Stakes and putting up a monster price in one of the handicaps.
Norfolk Stakes – 2.30pm
Because there is so little form to go on in the Royal Ascot two-year-old races, studying for them means watching a lot of replays. You will not see a better turn of foot than what Afjan showed at Chantilly on his debut.
That was a race on French Derby day, and maidens on big cards have a tendency to work out well. Afjan gave the field a start but shot past them all in the penultimate furlong, coming more than six lengths clear with the well-backed favourite as he did so.
He is bred for this task, with his dam having been second in the Queen Mary in 2016. Afjan is one of the most exciting two-year-olds seen out before Royal Ascot and Norfolk Stakes favourite Charles Darwin will have to be every bit as good as his trainer thinks to hold him at bay.
Back Afjan to win @ 10/1 with Sky Bet
- Sky Bet Club offers weekly horse racing free bets
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King George V Stakes – 3.05pm
A wide draw is often important in the King George V Stakes, as in big-field races on Ascot’s round course the inside line is an absolute minefield. There are bound to be hard-luck stories among those drawn low, while the high-numbered stalls have plenty of clear air to run into.
Merchant appeals as a better option than Serious Contender, who was something of a fortunate winner at Leopardstown last time. The selection ran at the Dante meeting at York, where he was a comfortable winner of a warm handicap for three-year-olds.
You would expect a race like that to be strong form anyway, and so it has proved. Five have run since, and every single one has improved on Racing Post Ratings. Only one has won, but that is partly because four ran in the same race at Doncaster, finishing first, second, third and fifth.
Merchant has gone up 8lb for beating them handsomely and has been drawn in stall 20 today. His trainer William Haggas won this race with Desert Hero two years ago, who went on to place in the St Leger. Merchant strikes as a similar type.
Back Merchant to win @ 11/4 with William Hill
- Various promotions available on selected races
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Britannia Stakes – 5pm
In these big-field handicaps on the straight mile, you often want a horse drawn high who can see out the trip well while still being able to travel well enough. All-weather form is often a positive, if nothing else because it tends to encourage the point made about strong travelling.
It is hard to see why Dividend is such a big price in this race. He ticks all the boxes, aside from his last run where he hung left at Sandown.
This will be much more his bag, on the straight mile. He also represents less flashy connections than the big-money owners and multiple Classic-winning trainers elsewhere in this race. But Dr Richard Newland and Jamie Insole have a good pedigree. Dr Newland is a Grand National-winning trainer and is not the sort to send a horse to Royal Ascot on a whim.
Dividend is not the most likely winner, but his price understates how interesting he remains.
Back Dividend each-way @ 66/1 with Paddy Power
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