The Listed Chesham ( 2.30 ) and two further handicaps – the Wokingham ( 5.00 ) and the Golden Gates ( 5.35 ) – add further intrigue to the last day before the meeting concludes with the Queen Alexandra ( 6.10 ), a race won for the last two years by Stratum, trained by Willie Mullins. Day three features the Group 1 Gold Cup ( 4.20 ), the year's most prestigious prize for stayers, and is supported by two Group 2s – the Norfolk ( 2.30 ) and the Ribblesdale ( 3.40 ) – and one Group 3 in the Hampton Court ( 5.35 ). The top action keeps coming on day two of the royal meeting. The feature Group 1 is the Prince of Wales's ( 4.20 ), which is supported by three Group 2s – the Queen Mary ( 2.30 ), the Duke of Cambridge ( 3.40 ) and the Queen's Vase ( 5.35 ). The simple fact of the matter is this – the sport has to take radical steps if it is to retain its pre-eminent place in British culture and at the pinnacle of world racing. The changes we are introducing for 2024 are a significant first step in this process."

BHA chair Joe Saumarez Smith said British racing's new governance structure, which made the BHA the ultimate decision-making body in the sport, had enabled progress in compiling the new-look schedule. Asked why he thought that might be, Armstrong, who recognised how racing had suffered with small fields this season, added: "You should probably ask Ralph. BHA chief executive Julie Harrington said the 2024 fixture list was a "first foundation step" in much wider strategy work with the aim of achieving "the long-term transformation of the sport".Armstrong, not surprisingly, rejected those views. He said: "There were many racecourse representatives involved in creating that [Savill] work, so it's supported by those involved and I agree that there are some really good ideas in there, which we look forward to discussing as part of the industry strategy meeting on September 19 and 20. The RCA is far from against change – we just want to make the right change. The meetings will feature higher prize-money with the aim of showcasing the best races in a bid to increase fan engagement, improve revenues, recruit and retain owners and encourage the best horses to be trained and raced in Britain.

For the 2023 fixture list, we were already running out of time, but what's not published yet is the race programme, so there's still an opportunity to introduce new ideas. Efforts to create more competitive racing through improved field sizes by reducing the size of the fixture list and race programme, including the removal of 300 jump races and 20 jump meetings, bringing the overall schedule for 2024 down to 1,468 meetings He added: "It has allowed for bold, positive decisions to be made, while ensuring that the views of everyone affected have been properly considered.

Racing

Harrington said: "We think it is really important that there is transparency around that and that we are not disappearing and saying trust us, it worked. We are going to be publishing in the next couple of weeks a range of measures that show this is what we think are the top-line objectives, the reason why we are doing this. The published list may well increase slightly as it does not include fixtures for the Sunday Series or the Racing League, which will be added if and when they are confirmed.