‘£100 a ticket and toilets like a First World War latrine’ – Why racegoers are abandoning Cheltenham Festival
Overcrowding, expensive beer, and the exorbitant cost of attending the race are all putting off festival regulars this year
Cheltenham Festival is the showpiece event of the jumping season, and one of the few times a year when horse racing breaks into the consciousness of the public outside hardcore fans.
Attendances top 200,000 each year, but since record-breaking numbers descended on Prestbury Park in 2022 for the first post-pandemic edition, the crowds have steadily declined – and this year even more seem set on staying away.
Long-term National Hunt fan Jack Hawthorne is swerving this year’s Festival, and he’s not the only one.
“For years I used to go to Cheltenham, but I’m afraid the course has priced out several of us and it’s simply not enjoyable with all the crowds,” he said, repeating a sentiment that several racegoers told The Independent.
This week’s meeting is seeing smaller crowds for the third consecutive year, with a little under 42,000 turning out for ‘Style Wednesday’ compared to 65,000 in 2022, and 5,000 down on last year’s figure.
It’s a trend mirrored across the other days of the four-day Festival, and one which chief executive Guy Lavender anticipated in an open letter to fans before this year’s spectacle began. His letter described the decline as “not catastrophic”, but insisted, “we will define success this week and beyond by whether we are delivering unforgettable days out for our customers.”
“A few friends and I find a local pub instead, pay less for our Guinness and can use the loo when we need it!” Hawthorne said.
“It’s a real shame, but we just can’t justify the cost and it’s pointless and largely impossible trying to find some accommodation in the near vicinity which is fairly priced.”
The Independent analysed hotel prices in Cheltenham during the week of the festival compared to the following week. No double rooms for Thursday night in Cheltenham itself – ahead of Gold Cup day at the festival on Friday – were available for less than £190 a night on one popular booking website, with the majority going from over £300 and one particular luxury hotel chain offering a double for an eye-watering £729. Staying overnight the following Thursday, 20 March, would set two adults back £127 at the same chain, or as little as £45 elsewhere in town.
Pint prices – £7.80 for a Guinness at the racecourse’s numerous bars, a 30p increase on last year’s bill – and the soaring costs of travel also weighed on the minds, and purses, of the racegoers we spoke to.
“You spend £5 a pint at a pub outside, then you go in and a drink costs you £32 for a round of four,” said Leslie Mullan, who has come for three days from Ayr in Scotland with three friends.
The 58-year-old also questioned the pricing strategy for tickets. Like many events, Cheltenham Festival offered an early bird ticket, as low as £37, following the end of last year’s festival – but the price increased as tickets sold.
Dynamic pricing, as it is known, has hit headlines multiple times in recent years for the exorbitant numbers involved, most notoriously when Oasis tickets went on sale late last year for £200 more than advertised.
“It seems daft raising the ticket prices up to the event when they must see the attendance is down,” said Mr Mullan. “Surely the price should go down to get more people inside.”
Tickets have been frozen since last year, but many advance tickets reach triple figures – and they’re even more expensive on the day. At the time of writing, Thursday tickets for the Best Mate enclosure went from £67, with Tattersalls Enclosure tickets going from £84.60 online.
A 45-year-old racegoer, who wanted to remain anonymous, painted a bleak picture, saying: “£100 a ticket and the toilets are like a First World War latrine.
“Everything is expensive, the festival becomes a money-maker. It needs to be looked at.”
Over the past decade more and more fans have chosen to experience the festival 1,300 miles away in Benidorm instead, with the overall costs lower and just as much – or even more – of a party atmosphere on the Costa Blanca than in Cheltenham.
Dave Challoner, from the West Midlands, is another Cheltenham regular, but he echoed concerns over the expense of making the trip, and said that he had noticed a change in the atmosphere this year.
“I used to bring my grandad before he passed away and it was a great opportunity to have a terrific day out with him,” he told The Independent. “We had some brilliant days together at the Festival so it’s always been a place that’s very close to my heart.
“I have come with my dad this year and we are lucky we were given a couple of admission tickets this year, otherwise we might have had to sit at home and watch it.
“I know Thursday is the calm before the storm with Gold Cup day on Friday, but it does seem appreciably quieter this year. Four and a half quid for a coffee is a bit rich too, but I guess that’s what we’ve come to expect.”
Not everyone felt the festival was worse off, or indeed even noticed the thinner crowds. And this edition appears to have picked up steam as it’s gone on: St Patrick’s Day attendance this year was 53,366, not far off last year’s figure of 53,918.
20-year-old student Fred Wallace paid £100 for tickets for Style Wednesday and St Patrick's Day and booked a two-night stay in a hotel for £400.
“It actually felt busier [than previously],” Wallace said, despite the 5,000 drop in numbers. “You can't beat the atmosphere here for racing, it's the best in the country.
“I reckon if they cut the price of the Club Enclosure by £25 that would draw more people in and pick up the attendance. It's the cost of living isn't it, it's impacting a lot of people.”
But the dip in numbers, while a problem for the organisers to solve and a symptom of how much the cost of living crisis is hitting consumers, isn’t all bad. Some people The Independent spoke to said the reduced crowds made for a more enjoyable experience – something which could, counterintuitively, encourage more spectators to return next year.
Festival regular Alan Hinton, from Bicester, said: “Cheltenham is one of the first things to go in the diary each and every year. I have to say it has been a better experience this year because crowds are down a little.
“Getting to and from the course has been a much easier task and I’ve noticed that the staff in general have been a lot friendlier and welcoming than in past years which is good to see.
“I’ve also been a little surprised that it’s been much easier to get a drink as the queues in the bars are nowhere near the level they were a year or two ago. Mind you, at £7.80 a pint, I doubt I’ll be visiting them too regularly!”
Cheltenham member David Beard agreed: “It is noticeably quieter this year, and the days are much more enjoyable because of it.”
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