Cheltenham Racecourse has today announced a series of further enhancements to the customer experience ahead of the upcoming 2025/26 season and the Cheltenham Festival in March.
The improvements follow a number of successful changes introduced last year and for the 2025 Festival. Cheltenham Racecourse continues to focus on three key areas:
- Delivering a world class raceday experience for all attendees.
- Providing better value for money for all racegoers.
- Ensuring The Festival race programme is reflective of its status as the pinnacle of Jump racing.
Guy Lavender joined The Jockey Club as Chief Executive of Cheltenham Racecourse in January of this year and, having experienced his first Festival at the helm in March, oversaw a further review of the event at the end of last season.
Sharing his long-term plan for the Home of Jump Racing and outlining the changes being announced today, Lavender said: “We were pleased with the changes which were implemented last season and were generally very well received, both in terms of the race programme and customer experience.
“We said when these changes were announced that this is a process of evolution and not revolution and that we would sit down at the end of the season to look at where we can continue to make improvements.
“We were always very clear that the success of the 2025 Festival would not be determined by attendance, but by the experience we provided for our racegoers. We received some incredibly positive feedback from this year’s event which demonstrated that the changes we had made had worked and we are hugely encouraged by the ticket sales we have seen for next year’s Festival already.
“I have a clear view that the future should be built around a commitment to delivering world class racing at a world class venue and ensuring The Festival remains one of the standout events in the British sporting calendar.
“Cheltenham is the jewel in the crown of Jump racing, and we want racegoers to feel they are stepping into somewhere truly special from the moment that they arrive. That is why over the coming seasons we’ll explore everything from racecourse layout, our enclosure structure and membership offerings, to hospitality and food and beverage options.
“The changes announced today mark another meaningful step forward, but it is always important to listen to your customers and evolve, and I can guarantee that there will be further changes for 2027.”
Lavender explained that, while today’s announcement relates solely to the experience off the track, the race programme for next year’s Cheltenham Festival remains under review.
He added: “Today is all about what we are doing for our racegoers this season and the changes being made to improve their experience and their enjoyment of our events.
“We made a number of changes to the race programme for this year’s Festival and we were really pleased with the results. While we won’t be making any significant changes to the racing itself next March, we are currently still reviewing certain elements and if any tweaks are made we will communicate those as soon as possible.”
ENHANCEMENTS FOR THE 2025/26 SEASON
Building on 2024/25
Cheltenham Racecourse made a significant investment in improving the customer experience on course in 2024/25. This is the second phase of a multi-million pound project which continues to prioritise improving the experience for our customers, with a focus on car parking, the welcome our racegoers receive and customer service.
Reduced Capacity for Improved Experience
The overall capacity at the 2026 Festival will be reduced from 68,500 to 66,000 each day. This follows a full review of racegoer feedback and will allow us to sell to an optimal capacity and deliver the highest level of customer experience for everyone. We believe that reducing the capacity will not only help ease overcrowding in certain areas on the racecourse, whatever the weather, but also make for a more enjoyable experience for racegoers making their way to and from the racecourse.
Removal of Drinks Restrictions
Following successful trials in 2024/25 when we increased the number of areas where drinks were permitted on course, we have taken the decision to lift all remaining drinks restrictions in the Club Enclosure for the 2025/26 season. Customers found that being able to move more freely with drinks around the racecourse improved the overall experience during racing and reduced queues. Restrictions remain in place in areas for Officials only.
Price of a Pint
We regularly benchmark our food and beverage prices alongside other major sports venues and comparable events. Despite being subject to the same increases in goods and services as all industries, we have taken the decision to reduce the price of draught beers and cider including Guinness for the 2025/26 season. A pint of Guinness will be reduced from its 2024/25 price of £7.80 to £7.50, a change that applies across all 16 racedays at Cheltenham. This reduction takes the price of a pint of Guinness back to 2022 levels. We have also made some minor reductions to the price of spirits and have introduced Prosecco at Cheltenham for the first time to offer more variety for racegoers.
Redesign of the Tented Village and Bars
We want to deliver a better experience for all customers, particularly during inclement weather. With that in mind, a new covered food court will debut in the Tented Village, providing an expanded food and beverage selection in an under cover environment for Club and Tattersalls ticket holders. Two bars within the Main Grandstand, Cottage Rake and Mill House, will undergo refurbishment and reopen at The Showcase in October as one new bar named Prestbury View. This means that five of the seven bars in the Main Grandstand have been refurbished in 2025.
There will be additional food and beverage zones located around the racecourse, some of which will be under cover. In addition, the Vestey Food Court will be transformed into the Green Grazer, supporting local produce as part of our sustainability commitment.
PA System and Racecourse TV Improvements
In order to deliver a better raceday experience for our customers on course, we have made a major investment in the PA system ready for the new season. This will allow racegoers to hear the commentary more clearly at the Home of Jump Racing. Those joining us on course will see a difference on the big screens too. Upgraded Racecourse TV coverage is being provided by RaceTech in partnership with RaceIQ, giving racegoers more live information and data on screen during the day than ever before.
The Return of Ladies Day
For the first time since 2019, Wednesday of The Festival will be promoted as Ladies Day with the focus on growing the number of female racegoers. The popular Style Awards, offering more than £10,000 in prizes, continue as part of a celebration of racing and style supported by Official Fashion Partners Debenhams and Holland Cooper, along with feature race partners BetMGM and Boodles. The day will begin with live music and sparkling tips hosted by Rosie Tapner in The Centaur. Racegoers will enjoy expert insights from a dedicated racing panel, set to a backdrop of live music and fashion.
Ticket Pricing
As part of our commitment to provide better value for money for our racegoers our earliest on sale price for The Festival has been held since 2024. Additional discount windows have also been introduced, giving racegoers the opportunity to buy tickets at a reduced price for longer. Our pricing structure gives racing fans the opportunity to attend The Festival for as little as £35 when purchasing at the Super Early Bird rate. The additional pricing windows mean that ticket prices are the same or lower than the 2025 Festival for more than 10 months.
Pricing windows
- Super Early Bird: 17 March 2025 – 30 April 2025
- Early Bird: 1 May 2025 – 4 December 2025
- Advanced Sale: 5 December 2025 – 5 February 2026
- General Sale: 6 February 2026 – until 23:59 of day before raceday
We realise that the price of accommodation during The Festival is a significant issue for attendees. While this is out of our control, we have been actively engaging with hotel providers to offer more affordable rates. Last year we successfully introduced Room to Race, in partnership with the travel operator Venatour, offering more than 500 accommodation options at reduced rates for racegoers. We saw positive take-up and have expanded this initiative for the 2026 Cheltenham Festival, working with more hotel providers to offer an even greater variety of options.
Explaining why further changes have been made, Guy Lavender said: “Those attending major events expect a premium experience, from the welcome they receive as they approach the venue to the moment they leave. We made a number of changes last year and have continued to look at ways to improve both the range of options and quality of service and facilities for all of those who join us at Cheltenham.
“We know that value for money is one of the most important factors for people to consider when deciding which events to attend and that is especially the case at The Festival. I’ve said previously that value for money is not always driven by reducing prices and can often be achieved by improving the quality of the offering.
“There are certain things we can do on course like reducing the price of a pint and improving our facilities. However, there are other factors which influence people’s decisions on whether to attend, like hotel prices, that are not entirely within our control, which is why we are continuing to work with Venatour to secure better value for our visitors.
“We look forward to welcoming racegoers back when the season starts so they can see the enhancements the team have been busy making and as always welcome their feedback.”
