This week is a big one, with Royal Ascot starting today. I never meant to take the break I did from this blog, but life got busy and my motivation to write completely disappeared. Now I’m back, and I’ve made a commitment to myself to write a blog every week — partly just for fun and partly to see where this goes.

Over the last year I started working at a stud yard, and it has taught me so much about the behind-the-scenes side of racing, although that probably won’t be something I go into too deeply in these blogs. In the last year a lot has changed in racing, but at the same time not much has changed at all — I suppose that’s just the nature of the sport.

To me, racing matters more now than it ever has before. If racing stopped, my job would no longer exist. I still love the stories behind the horses and owners, the atmosphere at the races, and celebrating with strangers when a horse I’ve backed wins — or commiserating together when they lose.

But now I look at racing differently. I can watch horses compete and celebrate their success because I’ve looked after them. I’ve given them breakfast and dinner, had the occasional cuddle with them, and also been annoyed when they decide they no longer want to listen to me. Seeing these horses simply being horses one moment and then winning at Cheltenham Festival or possibly Royal Ascot a few months later is incredible to witness.

Even on smaller race days, the wins and losses feel different now. Working behind the scenes has completely changed the way I see racing because I can genuinely appreciate the amount of work that goes into it. Every day I work around some superstar horses, but in the yard it doesn’t matter who they are or what their name is — at the end of the day they’re horses, and they all need the same care and attention.

Whilst I won’t go into detail about my job in these blogs, it has changed the way racing matters to me, and I’m grateful for that.

In just a couple of hours Royal Ascot will begin, bringing together people from all walks of life and from all over the world to celebrate racehorses, have fun, and probably drink far too much alcohol. Today I’ll be watching comfortably from home, while for the rest of the week I’ll be working and catching the races whenever I can.

There are 35 races across the week, including 18 Group races. Today’s card includes seven races, beginning with the Group 1 Queen Anne Stakes.

The current superstar of the meeting is Bow Echo, who runs today in the St James’s Palace Stakes after winning the 2,000 Guineas and could easily become the next star of flat racing. Australian sprinter Overpass also runs today in the King Charles III Stakes, while Thursday’s Gold Cup currently has 11 declared runners. The 1,000 Guineas winner will line up on Friday in the Coronation Stakes.

There are a few horses I’ll be betting on this week, although mostly for the personal reasons I mentioned earlier rather than because I genuinely think they’ll win. If they do, it’ll just make it even better. Whilst some people will be betting a house deposit on these races, I’ll happily stick to my £1.50 each-way bets and probably enjoy myself just as much — only with far less stress.

Although the week is centred around the horses and racing itself, there are always smaller rivalries and storylines unfolding too: father versus son with Aidan O’Brien and Joseph O’Brien, stablemates taking each other on, rematches, and owners running multiple horses in the same race.

If I’m honest, I can’t wait to see how the week unfolds, where everyone stands by the end of it, and most importantly, what the rest of the summer season brings. And somewhere amongst all the noise, betting slips, champagne, and celebrations are the horses that make all of it possible.

I hope you all enjoy reading these blogs as much as I enjoy writing them and sharing my love of racing with you.