'I can't wait, I love it' - meet the bookmaker set to dominate Royal Ascot ring

Royal Ascot will have a new dominant force this year in John Hooper, who is set to have the same sort of influence in the betting ring as the likes of Aidan O'Brien and Frankie Dettori have on the track.

That is because the on-course bookmaker owns four of the 12 pitches that will be operating for the crowd that is set to be capped at just 4,000.

Under the restrictions dictated by the pandemic, only the top 12 pitches have the option of trading at the royal meeting this year and Hooper, who owns seven pitches at Ascot in total, has four of the seven most expensive spots on the rails for the five-day spectacular starting on June 15.

"I can't wait, I just love Royal Ascot as an occasion," he said. "It won't be as it normally is but at least we'll be there. It's better than not going. It's still going to be a great day out and the racing is marvellous. You get some very good horses running and it'll be a nice week.

"I don't envisage it being very busy. They have a lot of boxes and they very rarely make it down to the ring as they have facilities up there, so I don't expect the business to be extraordinary.

Royal Ascot: betting ring will operate far below full capacity this yearCredit: Edward Whitaker

"With 12 bookmakers and 4,000 people you'd think it would be, but at a normal Royal Ascot you have one bookmaker to every 280 punters, that's the ratio in a normal year, but of the people there this year it's going to be weighted very heavily to those who aren't walking around on the ground floor."

Hooper returned to the ring at Windsor on Monday, the first day this year that spectators were allowed back into courses in England.

He said: "Along with the rest of the country we've all suffered, but it's really good to be back racing and hopefully it continues to expand.

"It's great to be out of the house. I was at Windsor on Monday and there were some large wagers and I think it might actually result in getting more punters back on racecourses."

Read more on Royal Ascot:

Royal Ascot limit of 4,000 spectators leaves no room for general admission

Don't give up on Oxted, Teal insists as he eyes King's Stand for sprint star

'He's lost none of his zip' – Battaash on course for King's Stand defence

For all our exclusive free bet offers and must-have daily promotions click the free bets button or go to racingpost.com/freebets