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 £400,000. The Gold Cup in 2016 was run as ""The Gold Cup in Honour of The Queen's 90th Birthday"". Since 2011, Ascot has staged British Champions Day, the climax to the British Champions Series, an event designed to increase the sport's public profile and to rival Arc weekend and the Breeders' Cup in terms of attracting the best horses. The first event was staged on 15 October 2011 and was generally regarded as a success, though overshadowed by controversy regarding new regulations on the use of the whip. Winners on British Champions Day have included Frankel, who won the Queen