LUXURY AT ASCOT

Press, Volume C, Issue 29524, 27 May 1961, Page 4

LUXURY AT ASCOT

Neic Stand Cost £lm

(N Z.P. A. - Reuter—Copv rt» ht) LONDON. May 26. Racing experts who went to Ascot to inspect the £1 million grandstand before the big Royal meeting, which will open on June 13. returned enthusiastic. They agree there is nothing like it in Europe, that it puts most American stands in the (shade, and that the nearest tn.ng to it is the luxurious Hisleah stands in Florida. The stand is 190 yards long and in it 13.000 spectators can watch racing, have lunch, do their betting, watch the fashions in the Royal enclosure, and celebrate their winnings. There is no reason really to leave the stand at all. Its cantilevered roof, covering an area 40ft in front of the stand, is almost an acre in size. Under it are 1653 tip-uo upholstered seats and 280 private boxes each with its own dining room. The underside of the roof is lined with green glass fibre and this is easier for

the eves. Behind the seating and standing accommodation there are large halls providing betting and social facilities. These floors are linked to the ground by four escalators capable of moving 6000 persons hourly in either direction. The Duke of Norfolk, senior steward of the Jockey Club, announced, when giving details of course improve, ments. that steeplechasing under National Hunt rules might take place at Royal Ascot in the winter of 1964 "We are not trying to take the Grand National from Liverpool. We will start quietly and modestly and see how it goes," the Duke siad