Cheltenham chief: there's a desire for people to enjoy sport at its best at the moment

Another bumper crowd at Cheltenham on Saturday, coupled with the fact that tickets for the general enclosures for the final day of the festival in March are already sold out, are reasons for British racing to be positive, according to the track's supremo Ian Renton.

A crowd of 21,054 for the Cheltenham's nine-race Trials day card was the biggest for that meeting since 2017 and continued the positive start to the new year at Prestbury Park, where 38,374 watched the action on January 1.

While Renton acknowledged that away from the biggest meetings attracting a sizeable crowd continues to be a challenge for the sport, he thinks there are plenty of positives to take from the clear demand for top-class jump racing in Britain.

"We were delighted with Saturday, especially after the massive effort of all involved to make it happen," said Renton. "It's immensely rewarding when you put on what on paper looks like a really exciting nine-race card and it lives up to expectation. It was one of those brilliant day's racing outside of the festival."

Racecourse attendances for 2022 in Britain suffered a 14.4 per cent decline against 2019, although a bumper festive period saw a rise of 6.4 per cent compared to the equivalent fixtures three years ago and Cheltenham continues to attract strong support.

Renton said: "Generally crowds have been healthy and we've sold out on Gold Cup day earlier than ever before. Admittedly that's after we reduced the capacity by 5,000, but I think there's healthy support for top-class jumping.

"I think definitely we're seeing it's more difficult on the ordinary meeting on the ordinary day. I think there's a desire for people to enjoy sport at its best at the moment."

Not for the first time, Cheltenham's drinks prices came under fire last week after it was revealed that the £7.50 charged for a pint of Guinness at race meetings was £1.50 more than at a recent snooker event held at the racecourse. Despite that criticism, Renton believes a day at the races offers good value for money, especially for families.

"I think we probably don't make enough of under 18s being free, which makes a massive difference," he said. "Despite what is sometimes said in the media, I think it's extremely good value compared to many other sports. Outside the festival we've held admission prices unchanged this season and I think we provide extremely good value to attend some top-class racing."

Cheltenham's £7.50 price tag for Guinness was revealed as the most expensive at any racecourse in Britain and Ireland when topping the Racing Post's Racecourse Prices Index on Sunday and Renton addressed a rise in food and drink prices this season at Cheltenham.

He added: "We have put up the prices of food and drink. Some of that food and drink costs have gone up in the region of 17 per cent and we spend a lot of money on putting on the temporary facilities to provide bars at the bigger meetings. We have reflected that in the price, which we're holding through the festival.

"It's not cheap for a pint of Guinness but you'll pay that in a pub in central London and you'll pay that at an increasing number of other sporting venues."

Gold Cup day has typically sold out in mid-February in recent years, so having only hospitality available for the Friday by the end of January is another reason to be positive, according to Renton.

"That's really good and a sign of the continuing popularity of the festival," he said. "We now need to encourage everyone to recognise how fantastic the first three days of racing are.

"There's a small price increase, which averages around a £5 increase in most enclosures, at the end of the month, so anybody who wants to take advantage of the current prices should do so by Tuesday. As we get closer to the festival, with the reduced capacity we've brought in this year, there is the possibility other days will sell out as well."

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