Prices to be frozen in response to fall in crowd numbers

Cheltenham Festival organisers have pledged to improve car parking and freeze ticket prices for next year after attendances dropped on three out of the four days this week.

A downturn in numbers watching National Hunt racing’s blue-riband meeting was blamed on “the huge effect that the ongoing cost of living crisis is having”.

Racegoers cited sky-high accommodation rates, food and drink prices and waterlogged car parks as a reason for attendances falling for consecutive years.

Concern was acknowledged by Ian Renton, managing director of Jockey Club Racecourses, who said the challenging economic conditions were having an impact.

“The Cheltenham Festival remains the pinnacle of jump racing and a marquee event in the sporting and social calendar, but we, and all businesses operating in the leisure and hospitality industry, know only too well the huge effect that the ongoing cost of living crisis is having on consumer behaviour,” he said.

Some racegoers blamed hotels for increasing room rates by upwards of 700 per cent for Festival week. Last Sunday, one hotel was quoting a rate of £89, which went up to £779 by Thursday night.

Crowd trends have changed starkly since 2022, when organisers were toying with extending the event to five days. A post- Covid bump that year brought record interest in the event, and Cheltenham eventually announced a limit on crowds after spectators claimed the concourses were too busy. But since those record highs, the last two years have brought back- toback falls on the Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.

Numbers dipped to 53,918 on Thursday – a fall of more than 7,000 on the previous year. Tuesday was marginally lower than last year’s 60,321. On Wednesday, numbers dropped from 50,387 to 46,771. Yesterday restored some sense of normality by being a 68,500 sell- out for the Gold Cup.

“Whilst we’ve seen slightly lower numbers in terms of general admission this week, hospitality sales continue to go from strength to strength,” Renton said, before promising to avoid any early-bird price increases for next year. “We want to ensure we are accessible at a variety of price points. Tickets started from £37 when first on sale last March, a price which will be held when 2025 tickets go on sale on Monday.”

However, after a week in which Cheltenham was accused of not being “nimble” in responding to the wet weather, causing chaos in the car parks, Renton said lessons would be learned.

“We will begin our usual washup process for all aspects of the Festival in the coming weeks, including looking at effective solutions to improve our car-parking facilities, in order to ensure we continue to provide enjoyable and memorable experiences for our loyal racegoers and those who may be coming racing for the first time.”

Tractors were needed to pull out cars stranded after racing on Tuesday. Drivers had paid £ 30 for a parking space.

As well as improving the car park, spectators would like to see the return of bars taking cash.

“It’s absolutely mad that you can win big at the bookies and then not be able to spend your cash on the bar,” Mark Bryan, 48, from Macclesfield, said. “Cheltenham is shooting itself in the foot.”

Craig Braithwaite, 60, from the New Forest, added that local businesses should take part of the blame for putting some racegoers off this year.

“Last night, in town I paid £20 for two drinks,” he said. “And our hotel room for two nights: £530. It’s gone too far this year.”

Earlier this week, ITV commentator Richard Hoiles had launched an outspoken attack on organisers for failing to respond quickly enough to heavy rain.

Drivers were left battling mudbath grass areas for around two hours after racing on Tuesday. Then, on Wednesday, a preplanned 8am inspection prompted the cancellation of the Glenfarclas Cross- Country Chase as a result of water not draining sufficiently from the course in the centre of the track.

“We need to be more nimble,” Hoiles said as he reflected on the situation during a discussion with host Ed Chamberlin on ITV Sport’s Cheltenham coverage.

Any drops in attendance throughout the week are a concern for Jockey Club accountants. One senior industry source told Telegraph Sport that projected profits for the meeting could be halved if crowds proved to be down by as much as 7,000.