Ticket costs at next year’s Cheltenham Festival will remain at 2024 levels as those in charge of National Hunt racing’s biggest fixture try to stem slipping attendance figures.
The Jockey Club, which owns Cheltenham, unveiled a series of changes to the programme on Thursday that also aim to boost competition at the festival.
As expected, the Grade One Turners Novice Chase has been turned into a Grade Two limited handicap, while the Glenfarclas Cross-Country Chase has also been turned into a limited handicap.
The Ryanair Mares’ Novices Hurdle will be a level-weights contest with the penalty structure removed, while horses will have to have run at least four times over fences, and five times over hurdles, to be eligible for non-novice handicaps.
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Professional jockeys will be allowed ride in the marathon National Hunt handicap chase which will become a handicap, while Pertemps Hurdle qualifier winners will be guaranteed a run in the final.
A £115,000 (€138,000) boost will take overall festival prize money to £4,930,000 (€5.9 million).
The moves are a response to charges that competitiveness at the most prestigious and high-profile fixture of the season has declined in recent years, something that is also believed to have impacted on attendances.
Just shy of 230,000 was the official attendance over the four days last March, down from 240,603 in 2023. Over 280,000 were at the 2022 festival.
As well as freezing ticket prices, other good news for the thousands of Irish racegoers who go to Cheltenham is that anyone purchasing a ticket for one day will get a 20 per cent discount on other days, bar the Gold Cup. Groups of six can also save 10 per cent when booking together.
Other steps from the Jockey Club include upgraded bar facilities, hot and cold meal offers, and a new park and ride system with double the coaches going to Prestbury Park.
The moves come after an extensive review by the Jockey Club and the track’s managing director Ian Renton said: “There have been three distinct strands which have been impossible to ignore – value for money, the need to provide the best experience possible, and the competitiveness of the race programme.”
Britain’s champion trainer Paul Nicholls has described the changes as “very sensible” while the festival’s most successful ever jockey, Ruby Walsh, was also supportive.
“All the changes are geared towards making the races more competitive. The aim is to attract as many of the best horses as possible to run at the Cheltenham Festival and for them to run in the right races,” said Walsh
“Cheltenham is the pinnacle of jump racing, and these changes help to maintain that. Of course, there will be some people who think these changes go too far and there will be some who think they don’t go far enough. The important thing to remember is that those making these changes have done so in the best interests of jump racing and the festival,” added Walsh.
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