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The Cheltenham Festival is introducing a plethora of major changes to battle against a sharp decline in audience after March’s four-day meeting saw 11,000 fewer spectators than the previous year, which was largely blamed on the cost of living crisis.
Racegoers, participants, stakeholders and members of the media took part in The Jockey Club’s review, which has led to sweeping changes on everything from races, to drinking, ticketing and car parking.
Five of the Festival’s 28 races will see an overhaul, which The Jockey Club notes will provide “more competitive racing and a better experience,” reported by Sky Sports.
Both the Turner Novices’ Chase and National Hunt Chase will become novice handicap chases, with the former taking place across two-and-a-half miles. The latter is now intended for horses rated 0-145 with professional jockeys allowed to run.
The Glenfarclas Cross Country Chase was changed to a conditions race eight years ago and will go back to also being a novice handicap. Winners of all series qualifiers will guarantee their participation in the Ryanair Mares’ Novices Hurdle and the Pertemps Network Final Handicap Hurdle if they adhere to weight limit rules.
Prize money has also risen by £115,000, while the number of qualifying runs for non-novice handicaps has increased by one to now sit at five for hurdles and four for chases.
"All the changes are geared towards making the races more competitive,” said Ruby Walsh, Cheltenham’s most successful jockey in history. “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.
"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,” he added. “The important thing to remember is that those making these changes have done so in the best interests of jump racing and The Festival."
Attendees may be pleased to hear course-side drinking restrictions will be eased slightly in the Tattersalls and Best Mate enclosures. A selection of meals and additional seating will also be added in a bid to thin out crowds in the bar areas, which can be slow to serve and become overpopulated.
A less frustrating bar experience is also being backed up by a National Express park and ride system that will offer pick-up from 20 locations. This coincides with changes to parking, which became a muddy mess after a downpouring of rain at the last Festival, making it difficult to move vehicles that had become stuck. Significant areas of cover will be added to shield from the elements taking over once again.
All changes will be reviewed after the next Festival to ensure they are both implemented properly and having the desired impact, a process that impresses 14-time champion trainer Paul Nicholls.
“On the whole these changes sound very sensible,” said Nicholls. “Everybody has different opinions and you cannot please everybody at the same time, but I think we have to try and make the racing as competitive as possible as that is what the Cheltenham Festival is all about.
"One thing I have been impressed with is the way Cheltenham Racecourse has approached the changes by saying we will look and see what effect they have in the years ahead and then maybe review again - it is all part of an ongoing process. As I have said before, anything which makes racing more competitive can only be a good thing."
Ian Renton, The Jockey Club’s managing director, said they have “prioritised listening to our racegoers” after freezing ticket prices and offering discounts for groups of six, as well as 20 per cent discounts for those who attend multiple days.
The next Cheltenham Festival is scheduled to begin on March 11, 2025 and will conclude on March 14. Many of the on-course tweaks will be implemented by Cheltenham’s first fixture of the new season, which begins on October 25.
