Cheltenham racegoers set to sink 400k pints of Guinness as pageant bosses slash worth
Racing revellers are under set to sup a record 400,000 pints of Guinness at Cheltenham after festival chiefs slashed its price days before a nationwide hike.
The four-day horse fest is set to become a £1bn booze’n’betting spectacular after The Jockey Club confirmed it will cut the cost of the black stuff to£7.50 – last seen four years ago – from £7.80.
Fans will also be able to booze trackside for the first time – triggering potential Guinness showers every time a favourite horse romps home. The price cut comes after Irish stout chiefs announced the cost is set to go up by aroundhttps://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/latest-news/paid-720-guinness–jaw-36824405
on April 1.
One fan with Cheltenham tickets for all four days said: “We really will be drinking in the last chance saloon.”
Festival bosses said they will open 50 bars across the racecourse to cater for up to 240,000 fans set to spill in this week. The longest will stretch for a staggering 225ft – nearly half a furlong of the famous course.
The booze bonanza – plus the return of Ladies’ Day on Wednesday after a seven-year absence – is set to draw a record crowd. More than 400 chefs have been hired to rustle up 200 tons of food every day.
It will be ferried to the course in a daily convoy of 11 18-ton trucks. Bookmakers reckon £600m could be wagered on a host of too-close-to-call big races.
Most are so competitive one bookie said even giants of the sport such as Kopek Des Bordes, Majborough and Lossiemouth are not guaranteed wins in what is set to be the most competitive Cheltenham’s ever.
Legendary jockey Ruby Walsh, 46, who dropped by the Daily Star’s offices with the Cheltenham Gold Cup ahead of the event, said the historic saddle shindig was horseracing’s ‘ Premier League ‘.
Ruby, who rode a record 59 Cheltenham winners and lifted the Gold Cup twice in a glittering 24-year career, said: “It was the one time when I felt like what it might be like to play in the Premier League – 70,000 people, crowds, atmosphere, noise, expectation, pressure.
“The noise that that creates, the atmosphere, the feel of it. It was just so different. It’s the quality of racing, the competitiveness and the venue. And it’s the drama. Every sport needs drama.
“If you’re purely into the sport the best horse wins the Gold Cup. It is the pinnacle – the one you dream about winning.”
He said the Guinness cost cut was odds-on to make the atmosphere a winner. He joked: “Drink prices? Look, you drink 18 pints, you get one free.”
But he warned it may be tough picking winners, adding: “I think it’s going to be really tricky for punters. I’m not sure which horses win. You’re not hanging your hat on anything, well I’m not anyway.”
Bookies hope the tight races will trigger a betting bonanza. Cash has been piling in on legendary football manager Harry Redknapp’s The Jukebox Man which is set to run in Friday’s Gold Cup.
The Ladbrokes King George winner is now 4/1 second-favourite and batter the bookies if it romps home. Old Park Star was the hottest backed horse in the opening race today (TUes).
While champion Irish trainer Willie Mullins’s Kopek Des Bordes is one of the best-backed of the week in the Arkle at 6/4. Nicola McGeady, of Ladbrokes, said; “Cheltenham is the Olympics of horse racing and this year punters are coming out swinging.
“Between the ‘Mullins Machine’ and the big gamble on Harry Redknapp’s The Jukebox Man we are looking at four days of high-stakes drama.”
New Cheltenham boss Guy Lavender said the decision to serve cut-price Guinness – Britain’s most supped ale equating to one in nine pulled pints – was ‘important’. He said: “The price of a pint of Guinness is a peculiarly emotive issue for many people.
“You can’t benchmark it. Cheltenham is its own event but it was quite clear that this was something people cared about. Therefore my view was that we ought to do something about it.
“Rather than put prices up, which I expect every other venue to do, I felt we should reduce those prices and carry those costs ourselves. If you look at other sports and events I think there will be very few that are matching that price point.
“It’s a deliberate, purposeful move towards delivering better value for racegoers. It’s not about selling more pints – it’s an indication of intent that we’re responding to the challenges around value. I hope it will be well received.”
Guinness maker Diageo announced it was having to put up the price next month to ‘carefully manage the rising cost of doing business’ – but had kept rises to a minimum.
“This increase allows Diageo to continue investing in our brands to bring high-quality stout and spirits to market, and to support investment in initiatives to drive mutual growth for our customers across the hospitality sector,” a spokesman said.
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