May 2019 – Cheltenham Racecourse has officially been declared the greatest racecourse in the world by the Racing Post, the UK and Ireland’s dedicated racing media outlet.
Taking in competition from racecourses across the world, the Home of Jump racing was announced in the number one position recently – something which the racecourse are of course hugely proud of.
Racing Post editor Tom Kerr said: "When we were compiling the list for our Greatest Racecourse series we spent hours debating the merits of different tracks around the globe, considering their atmosphere, history, facilities, quality of racing and overall wow-factor.
"However while we had some mighty disagreements over the order one thing was consistent from day one: we all agreed Cheltenham was going to take the top spot. It is a legendary racecourse in an incomparably beautiful setting, is the home of utterly thrilling racing and has seen some of the most epic showdowns in sporting history.
"Cheltenham has become a must-visit racecourse not just for racing fans, but for anyone with even a passing interest in sport."
Ian Renton, Regional Director of the south west region of The Jockey Club added, “We were delighted when it was announced that the Racing Post had nominated Cheltenham as the Greatest Racecourse in the World. With eight different countries represented in the top ten nominated racecourses, the list is truly representative of all the great racecourses around the world and we are very pleased and greatly honoured to be chosen to top this list.”
The racecourse hosts 16 racedays a year, including The Festival™, presented by Magners, which takes place in March each year and attracts over 260,000 racegoers. A survey undertaken by the University of Gloucestershire found that over those four days over £100million was spent in the Gloucestershire economy.