Richard Hughes (jockey) a change in the rules regarding horse welfare. On 13 October 2011, it was announced that Hughes was giving up his racing licence and quitting the sport out of protest at the ban. Hughes did not follow up on this threat and on 15 October 2012 he equaled Frankie Dettori's record of winning seven races in a single meeting by winning seven out of eight races at Windsor Racecourse. The following month, he claimed his first British flat racing Champion Jockey title with 172 winners over the season. In May 2013, after a long wait, he won his first British
Ascot Racecourse 2015, the newly created Commonwealth Cup became the eighth Group One race at Royal Ascot, replacing the Buckingham Palace Stakes. In 2016, total prize money across the five days of Royal Ascot was £6,580,000. This was £1,000,000 more than the prize money on offer at the meeting in 2015, representing an overall increase of 18%. Races with notable prize money increases for 2016 included the Prince of Wales's Stakes (£750,000 from £525,000), the Queen Anne Stakes (£600,000 from £375,000) and the Diamond Jubilee Stakes (£600,000 from £525,000), while the other Group One races all had their prize money increased to