Cheltenham Festival is a horse racing meet-up in the United Kingdom at Cheltenham Racecourse, Gloucestershire. This festival was once a two-day meeting and has now grown to a four-day conference. The festival takes place annually in March and lands at the same time as St.Patricks Day, which makes it popular with Irish visitors. This is a popular festival with prize money second to the grand national. A great deal of money is gambled, and millions of pounds are bet over the week. The atmosphere is very famous, including the ‘Cheltenham Roar’, which refers to the huge amounts of noise that the crowd causes as the starter raises the line for the first race of the festival. This festival is one of the most celebrated events in the national Hunt calendar, welcoming the world’s best horses, trainers, and jockeys.
The groundwork for this festival was laid almost 100 years before the first-ever race took place in Cheltenham as early as 1815. At first, it was named the Grand National Hunt meeting and took place in several locations, starting in Nottingham Hill before moving to Cleeve Hill. In 1904/1905, it was staged at Cheltenham as a new course was established at Prestbury Park. It was the same between 1906 to 1910. It was again held at Warwick. In 1911, National Hunt Committee decided that the races would return to Prestbury Park after major improvements were made by the company, and it has now remained there to the present day, with that year being classed as the first Cheltenham Racecourse as we think of it today.
Frederick Cathcart the Chairman of Cheltenham Racecourse in 1908 and was a headman of the reason that the Chase moved to the venue in 1911. After Frederick’s death, the Cathcart Challenge cup (the Gold Cup) was named in his honour.
There are 28 races overall with grade one events which include the Champion Bumper, Triumph Hurdle, Ryanair Chase, Supreme Novices’ Hurdle, Neptune Investment Management Novices’ Hurdle, Arkle Challenge Trophy, RSA Chase, World Hurdle, and the featured face; the Gold Cup, the four main races are Cheltenham Gold Cup, Champion Hurdle, Queen of Mother Champion Chase and Stayers Hurdle. In 2005, this is when they introduced the fourth day, meaning there would be one championship race on each day, resulting in the Gold Cup on Friday. The Cheltenham Gold Cup was first run as a jump race in 1924; a prize of £625,000 was awarded to the owner of the winning racer. Over the years, the prize money has come a long way, it is run over three miles and two and a half furlongs, the event is open to horses that are five years old and higher, and now Cheltenham races today, the prize is £1 million. Seven years after the Gold Cup was established, it was joined on the listing by the Champion Hurdle, which is the main hurdling event in the National Hunt’s calendar. Named in honour of the Queen, who was a big supporter of the horse racing industry, in 1980, Queen of Mother was one of the last races worthy of mentioning; the race was then created as the National Hunt Two-Mile Champion Chase in 1959. Badsworth Boy was the most successful horse to run it over the years, winning titles in 1983/1985.
People bet on the rider and the horse that they think has the highest chance of winning; this is done all year round until the event takes place in March every year. The best Cheltenham horse racing tipster is David Dooley from the UK. You can find his tips and others for the most popular horse races on the internet, and some Cheltenham tipsters offer them free, with no sign-up or personal details required. The best betting sites for people to tip their favourite jockey and horse are bet365, Betfred, William Hill Horse Racing, and Betfair Horse Racing. They usually ask for a starting price of £10 to have a higher chance of receiving a bonus. The race course is 12,320 yards of running rails surrounding the track, 5,00 bundles of birch used every season, 28 jump races at the festival, and 22 fences jumped during The Cheltenham Gold Cup. The race course is 40,000m. There are five feature races during the festival, including the Cheltenham Gold cup, Betway Queen Mother Champion Chase, Unibet Champion Hurdle, the Ryanair Chase, and The Paddy Power Stayers Hurdle.
New Customers only. Bet £10* & Get £30* in Free Bets. Sign up, deposit between £5* and £10* to your account and bet365 will give you three times that value in Free Bets when you place qualifying bets to the same value and they are settled. Free Bets are paid as Bet Credits. Min odds/bet and payment method exclusions apply. Returns exclude Bet Credits stake. T&Cs, time limits & exclusions apply.
Today, Cheltenham Festival is one of the most popular horse-racing events there is; around 134,000 people use the Cheltenham Spa train station over the four days, 80,000 people use the shuttle bus service between the Racecourse and town centre, 36,6000 vehicles are parked, 100 helicopter movements per day, 50 staff coaches per day, sourced from all over the country, as far away as London, Cardiff, Swansea, Birmingham and Coventry, 30 extra flights put on by Ryanair on the Dublin to Birmingham route during the festival period.
On The Cheltenham Gold Cup day, 71,500 attended and the average attendance over the four days was 65,000. There are 350 chiefs on site and 350 managers; there is around 3,800 catering team operating the event each day, 8 furlongs of bar counters, 30 temporary kitchens, and 74 mobile catering units.
Cheltenham tickets go for around £50 per day, depending on where you want to be seated and what you want to be included with your ticket; day one starts on the 14th of March and goes on until the 16th. There are different packages available to buy, which are Tattersalls enclosure, ticket priced £62 this includes;
- parade ring
- finishing line
- tented village
- side view of the furlong
- covered Grandstand
- winners enclosure
- side view of the final fence
- Guinness village
Club Enclosed, ticket priced £93, which includes a view of the pre-parade rig, view of the parade ring, views opposite the finishing line, side view of the furlong, side view of the final fence, covered Grandstand, view of winners enclosure, a tented village, access to steps on the front of The Princess Royal Stand, Guinness village and The Orchard and much more.
Club and festival lounge package, ticket priced £183 and is usually located in the centre of the tented village, close to the heart of the action, and provides their racegoers with the ideal base for the day. This includes non-reserved seating, a retail bar, food outlets, TVs, tote betting facilities, free race cards, and complimentary tea and coffee. Racecourse view seating, tickets priced £159; members holding racecourse view seats will have exclusive access to the Crest Bar. This ticket includes access to Sovereign and crest bars on level 3, a reserved seat in the Grandstand with a view across the finish line, easy access to the betting facilities and bars, the best place at the racecourse to witness the roar, and the ideal base for the day to escape crowds and watch the Cheltenham racing.
Tattersalls and racecourse view seat, which usually sells out first, includes tattersalls admissions, and also club and racecourse view seat, including club admissions.
Guinness Grandstand tickets are priced, at £112, with extra viewing steps, bars, bands, and other entertainment; this ticket is situated opposite the last fence and gives an excellent view of the races.
Cheltenham Hospitality packages, priced at £420, let you have the opportunity to watch world-class jump racing from one of their award-winning restaurants whilst enjoying service of the highest standard to provide you with a dining experience from the heart of the Cheltenham Racecourse to overlooking the winning line, this includes, club admission ticket, car parking (1 per 2 people), official racecard, TV racing coverage, Betting Service, Hospitality team to ensure the smooth running of your day, and process include VAT.
Core on-course Hospitality package, ticket priced, £135 bringing all the quality and innovation from the Core by Clare Smyth, which includes a club admission ticket, Dom Perignon or Irish cocktail reception, stunning 6-course tasting menu, three winners to pair with your tasting experience, premium beers, wines, and soft drinks, In person appearance with Clare Smyth, a Racing tipster to highlight top runners and riders, unique Clare Smyth merchandise area, and preferred car parking area (1 per 2 people).
Moscow Flyer Restaurant Package, ticket priced at £420, includes a club admission ticket, a two-course hot buffet with local produce designed by our executive chef, light afternoon tea, complimentary car parking, TV racing coverage, and betting service.
Festival Restaurant Package, ticket priced at £465, includes a club admission ticket, morning coffee and biscuits, a four-course a la carte lunch with local produce designed by our executive chef, afternoon tea, complimentary car parking, TV racing coverage, and betting services.
Tickets that are in high demand are the Gold cup Restaurant Package, a ticket priced at £575, which includes a club admission ticket, morning coffee and biscuits, Grande Marque Champagne reception, Innovative chefs table buffet, afternoon tea, complimentary bar including fine quality, Bordeaux and Burgundy wines, beers, spirits, and soft drinks, car parking, TV racing coverage, betting services, and non-course facing restaurant.
Horseshoe Pavilion Restaurant Package, ticket priced £605 includes, a club admission ticket, original coffee and biscuits, champagne reception, four-course a la carte lunch with local produce, designed by our executive chef, afternoon tea, complimentary bar including house wines, beers, spirits, and soft drinks, complimentary car parking, racecard, TV racing coverage, betting services, and hospitality team to ensure the smooth running of your day.
New Customers only. Bet £10* & Get £30* in Free Bets. Sign up, deposit between £5* and £10* to your account and bet365 will give you three times that value in Free Bets when you place qualifying bets to the same value and they are settled. Free Bets are paid as Bet Credits. Min odds/bet and payment method exclusions apply. Returns exclude Bet Credits stake. T&Cs, time limits & exclusions apply.
Champions Walk Restaurant Package, ticket priced at £635 includes a club admission ticket, morning coffee and biscuits, champagne reception, charcuterie selection, four bowl taster menu, pudding club/dessert table, cheese table, afternoon tea, complimentary bar, car parking, TV racing coverage and betting services.
Four Eighty Restaurant, ticket priced at £735, includes club admission ticket, cocktail on arrival, three-course choice menu, cheese board, afternoon tea, complimentary bar, race card, car parking, TV racing coverage, Betting services, and hospitality team to ensure the smooth running of your day.
Final Fence Restaurant Package, ticket priced at £745, includes club admission ticket, champagne reception, morning coffee and biscuits on arrival, four-course grand buffet, afternoon tea, complimentary bar, TV racing coverage throughout the day, tote betting service, and complimentary car parking.
Cleeve Suite Package, ticket priced £780, includes a club admission ticket, morning coffee and biscuits, champagne reception, four-course set menu lunch, afternoon tea, complimentary bar, car parking, TV racing coverage, and betting services.
The Horse and Groom Package, ticket priced £870 which includes a club admission ticket, coffee and breakfast bites on arrival, a three-hour meal a la carte pub lunch, best of British savoury afternoon tea, complimentary bar, car parking, TV racing coverage, and betting service.
Chez Roux Restaurant Package, ticket priced £915, which includes a club admission ticket, morning coffee and biscuits, Moet champagne reception, Canapés, an Exquisite four-course menu, afternoon tea, recommended wines, beers, spirits, and soft drinks, complimentary car parking, TV racing coverage and betting services.
There are also singular car parking tickets available, priced at £20, to ensure you have secured a car parking space.
On the last day of the festival, the tickets are more expensive as it is Gold Cup Day, which is the most popular day for people to come and watch the Cheltenham races. The day ticket sells for £70. Tattersalls is priced at £77, Club enclosure priced at £108, Club and festival lounge is priced at £228, and Guinness grandstand is priced at £142; on high demand, the Tattersalls with Guinness grandstand ticket is usually the first to sell out. Cheltenham hospitality package ticket is priced at £475, Core on course ticket is priced at £1750, Moscow Flyer Restaurant Package ticket is priced at £475, Festival restaurant ticket is priced at £605, Champions Walk Restaurant package ticket is priced at £790, Horseshoe Pavilion Restaurant package ticket is priced at £810, Four eighty Restaurant package ticket is priced at £975, Cleeve suite Package ticket is priced at £995, The Horse and Groom package ticket is priced at £1020, Final Fence restaurant package ticket is priced at £1050, Chez Rouz restaurant package ticket is priced at £1475. The Gold Cup restaurant package is priced at £745.
There are also hotels near the location that you can pay for the week’s one-night stay.
New Customers only. Bet £10* & Get £30* in Free Bets. Sign up, deposit between £5* and £10* to your account and bet365 will give you three times that value in Free Bets when you place qualifying bets to the same value and they are settled. Free Bets are paid as Bet Credits. Min odds/bet and payment method exclusions apply. Returns exclude Bet Credits stake. T&Cs, time limits & exclusions apply.
