Cheltenham crowds up on final 12 months thanks to chop worth Guinness and nice racing
Cheltenham crowds were up 8,000 year-on-year – despite bosses slashing the racecourse’s capacity by 10,000.
Racing chiefs reduced the maximum number of fans that could attend the festival by 2,500 on each of the four days to make it a more comfortable viewing experience. But despite the capacity cut fans poured in.
Official figures showed 226,223 racegoers attended the horse fest – up 8,000 on last year. More than 67,000 saw jockey Paul Townend win the Gold Cup for a record fifth time on Friday when he romped home on Gaelic Warrior. Cheltenham chiefs introduced a series of measures to improve the festival experience.
They brought back Ladies’ Day for the first time in seven years – boosting the percentage of women in the crowd from 25% to 33%. The cost of a pint of Guinness was cut by 30p to its 2022 price of £7.50.
And trackside boozing was permitted for the first time. They also opened 50 bars across the racecourse – including one that stretched for 225ft – in a bid to cut queueing.
Cheltenham racecourse’s chief executive Guy Lavender said the impact of the changes had been ‘pleasing and rewarding’. He said: “We’ve seen four days of highly competitive racing, a great atmosphere and increased crowds.
“It has been especially pleasing and rewarding for the whole team to see how positively the changes that were introduced this year have been received by racegoers.
“The week has been a great reminder of how special our sport can be and the increased attendances are testament to the popularity of this racecourse and the Cheltenham festival.
“It is the pinnacle of jump racing and the team here deserve great credit for delivering a terrific four days.”
Before the meeting he said the decision to serve cut-price Guinness – Britain’s most supped ale equating to one in nine pulled pints – was ‘important’. It is due to go up by 4p a pint in pubs from April 1.
Guy 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.”
Revellers supped a record 400,000 pints of ‘The G’ during the festival. More than 400 chefs dished up 200 tons of food every day ferried to the course in a daily convoy of 11 18-ton trucks.
Bookmakers said £600m was wagered on a host of too-close-to-call big races.
William Hill spokesman Lee Phelps, said: “The Cheltenham festival never fails to amaze and excite punters and bookies alike and it’s been a sensational week. Wednesday was something different altogether.
“It’s no exaggeration to say that it was William Hill’s most profitable ever day at the Cheltenham festival.
“That turned the tide massively in our favour, and thanks to two winning days since, we’ve had a sensational week. Definitely one of our best ever festivals.”
