High Court grants Cheltenham permanent injunction against ticket touts

Ticket touts have been banned permanently from operating at Cheltenham following a landmark High Court ruling on Tuesday.

It follows the season-long injunction Jockey Club Racecourses gained in October, banning ticket touting for the duration of Cheltenham's 2018-19 racing season.

The granting of the permanent injunction prohibits the buying and selling of tickets by touts and the selling of tickets to touts by any person, including anyone assisting in that activity.

Breaching the injunction will be punishable by imprisonment, a fine and/or the seizure of assets.

Racecourse director Ian Renton said: "We are absolutely delighted to secure a permanent injunction against touting at Cheltenham.

"This landmark ruling follows the success of the temporary injunction the courts put in place for the current season, which has reduced the incidence of touts at the racecourse to an absolute minimum.

"We are very pleased to have now been granted a permanent injunction, which will be of great benefit to our racegoers who have been seriously inconvenienced by the actions of touts for many years."

Renton added: "Other sports have been watching these developments closely, and I am sure will wish to introduce something similar."

Ian Renton: 'We're absolutely delighted to secure a permanent injunction against touting'Credit: Dan Abraham

This year's Cheltenham Festival witnessed a significant reduction in the number of touts operating around the racecourse, with Renton estimating that just 20 touts had been present on the Wednesday of the festival, as opposed to around 150 the year before.

The success of the measure prompted Jockey Club Racecourses to seek a permanent ruling, a move fully supported by Cheltenham Borough Council and Gloucestershire Police.

John Steel QC, who has represented JCR in the case, said: "This is a great success for Cheltenham racecourse and the Jockey Club, and will act as a massive deterrent to any tout considering operating at Cheltenham racecourse at any time in the future.

"Anyone doing so may be found in contempt of court and subject to the custodial sentence that this entails."

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