• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Cheltenham Betting Offers

  • Home
  • Free Bets
  • Meetings
    • New Year’s Day Meeting
    • Festival Trials Day
    • Cheltenham Festival
    • April Meeting
    • Race Night
    • Showcase Meeting
    • November Meeting
    • International Meeting
  • News
  • Articles
    • Stats & Trends

Cheltenham Decides Not To Add A Fifth Day To The Festival

November 9, 2022

fifth day number 5 on calendarAfter speculation that seems to have lasted for years, it has been confirmed that the Cheltenham Festival will remain a four-day event for the foreseeable future.

We wrote about the possibility of a fifth day being added as long ago as June 2021, with 2023 being the year that the speculation centred around.  There had been grumblings around a fifth day being added for many years even before that. Now we know that that won’t be happening, with the world of racing reacting in near-unanimous joy to that fact. For racegoers, the lack of a fifth day means that their bank balances won’t be hit by needing to pay for another day.

For jockeys, trainers and owners, meanwhile, the decision not to add a fifth day has been seen as a win for ‘common sense’. For their own part, the Jockey Club carried a six-month consultation into the possibility of adding a fifth day, listening to a wealth of voices that are involved in racing in one form or another.

Whatever it was that they heard from said voices, it was obviously felt by the Jockey Club that there wasn’t enough demand for a fifth day to be added to a Festival that many feel is the perfect size for what it actually offers.

Why A Fifth Day Was Touted

crowds-watch-the-festival-racing

Before looking in more detail about why a fifth day has been rejected, it is worth considering why it was even touted in the first place. Every time the Festival rolls around, there have always been voices calling for a fifth day. In many ways, this was mainly because people love the Cheltenham Festival so much, they don’t want it to end. When asked about a fifth day being added ahead of the 2022 Festival, the most successful British trainer of all time, Nicky Henderson, said that he could ‘see no reason why not’.

The move to become a four-day meeting took place in 2005, with seven races a day allowing for 28 races to be run during the course of the Festival. From Henderson’s point of view, a fifth day would only have increased the number of races on offer by two, putting six races on a day for a total of 30 events. It would’ve, in Henderson’s eyes, presented an opportunity for the Jockey Club to make more money. He said, “Royal Ascot benefited tremendously from it and, financially, can we afford not to do it?”

From the point of view of Cheltenham Racecourse, a fifth day would have allowed the capacity to be reduced across the other four days. Ian Renton, the Managing Director at Cheltenham, said that it felt as though the capacity was being pushed and stretched during the Festival in 2022.

The infrastructure was reaching its limit, meaning that the course needed to have a look at reducing the capacity on all the days in order for the racecourse to be able to cope with the number of people in attendance, irrespective of what it was that the weather was doing at any given moment.

Indeed, even prior to the announcement that a fifth day would not be added Cheltenham had already stated that Festival attendances will be reduced for the benefit of racegoers.  In a strange twist of events instead of having a fifth day to increase capacity at Cheltenham from now on it will be reduced.

Why It Has Been Rejected

moneyIt is difficult to say exactly why it is that the Jockey Club has decided not to add a fifth day to the Cheltenham Festival. There were many involved in the sport that felt as though the fifth day being added was a fait accompli, with the consultation merely put in place as a window dressing for a decision that had already been made.

Part of the reason why the ultimate decision was not to add a fifth day might come down to the fact that it wouldn’t actually have made the Jockey Club as much money as was hoped, largely because it would’ve been on a Saturday.  At other large meetings, such as Royal Ascot, the fifth day on the Saturday is seen more of a party day and doesn’t attract serious racegoers.  It is possible that Cheltenham wanted to avoid that, especially in light of bad press in recent years about drunken behaviour in the town in previous 4-day meetings.

The biggest money maker for any sporting event is corporate hospitality tickets, which are sold at a significant mark-up when compared to normal tickets. The problem is that it is much harder to sell such tickets on a Saturday, if for no other reason than the Festival would be competing with other sporting events such as football and rugby. On top of that, staffing costs are much higher on a weekend than they are on a weekday, meaning that any money that was made thanks to the addition of an extra day would be cut down by these extra costs.

Plus by going the other way and actually reducing the attendance for the current four days they actually make the Cheltenham Festival more of a premium event.  If it is harder to get tickets for the more many people will want tickets, as is the way with premium things.  It is highly likely Cheltenham didn’t want to add another day that would have detracted from the product as a whole.

Problems Remain

guiness village during st particks thursday on st patricks dayThough the decision has been seen as the right one from many in the industry, it is widely accepted that there is plenty that needs to change to improve the experience of racegoers heading to the Cheltenham Festival. One of the biggest criticisms of the addition of a fifth day was that it would further dilute the competitiveness of a Festival that is already struggling to offer genuine competition for races. There has been a decline in field size year-on-year for some time, which would only have worsened even if just two more races were added.

For a lot of people, the Festival already has too many races, which they believe is shown by just four runners taking part in the Grade 1 Turners Novices’ Chase in 2022. The presence of three other novice chases at the meeting means that many feel that losing the Turners would be no bad thing to the overall state of the Festival. If Festival organisers are serious about trying to find ways to improve the meeting, looking at how many races there are and trying to find ways to reduce them to six a day rather than adding two more to the roster.

As for punters, you might think that an extra day would be welcomed. After all, a record 280,627 people turned up to watch events over the 2022 Festival. The problem is that many didn’t enjoy the experience, not least of all because they were asked to pay £14 for a gin and tonic and £7 for a pint of Guinness. Given the fact that ticket prices, hotel costs and the expense of eating are all going up, it is likely that fewer people will be able to make the trip to Cheltenham this year, even before we think about the cost of living crisis engulfing the United Kingdom.

Ian Renton’s comment that the infrastructure was pushed to breaking point in 2022 is perhaps one of the key factors when it comes to the enjoyment of racegoers. It is good that the Jockey Club recognises the problems, but unclear what it plans to do about them. The decision not to add a fifth a shows that the organisation is keen to avoid a scenario in which it kills the goose that laid the golden egg, but can it also move to make the necessary changes to make it a more enjoyable experience overall, rather than just an expensive one?

Primary Sidebar

Cheltenham Free Bets

Meetings at Cheltenham

  • Cheltenham Festival
    • Champion Day
    • Ladies Day
    • St Patrick’s Thursday
    • Gold Cup Day
  • Festival Trials Day
  • New Year’s Day
  • November Meeting
    • Countryside Day
    • Gold Cup Day
    • November Meeting Sunday
  • Race Night
  • Showcase Meeting
    • The Showcase Friday
    • The Showcase Saturday
  • The April Meeting
    • April Meeting Day One
    • April Meeting Day Two
  • The International Meeting
    • International Friday
    • International Saturday

Race Types

  • Amateur Races
  • Championship Races
  • Conditions Races
  • Cross Country Races
  • Cup Races
  • Fillies' Races
  • Grade 1 Races
  • Grade 2 Races
  • Grade 3 Races
  • Handicap Races
  • Hurdle Races
  • Juvenile Races
  • Listed Races
  • Maiden Races
  • Mares' Races
  • Novices' Races
  • Premier Handicap Races
  • Standard Open Flat Races
  • Steeplechase Races
  • Trial Races
  • Trophy Races
  • Discontinued Races

Latest News

  • 2023 Cheltenham Festival Attendance Significantly Down On 2022
  • Why Is Horse Racing More at Risk from the Gambling Review?
  • Cheltenham Festival 2023 Review: Constitution Hill Is A Superstar, Mullins & The Irish At It Again
  • Soft Ground Expected For Cheltenham Following Snow
  • Will Willie Mullins Train More Winners Than Britain At The 2023 Cheltenham Festival?

Articles

  • Why Was The 2001 Cheltenham Festival Cancelled?
  • What Is The National Stud?
  • What Is A NAP?
  • Did The Romans Create Our Love Of Racing & Gambling?
  • The Biggest Bets Placed On Horse Racing
  • What Is The Maximum Field Size?
  • Careers In Racing
  • What Happens To A Horse When It Falls
  • Do Bookies Leave Racecourses Early To Avoid Paying Out?
  • Are There Any Truly Wild Horses?
  • Who Are The BHA?
  • Origins Of Steeplechasing
  • Is Horse Racing Too Traditional? Why Is It So Confusing?
  • Robot Horse Racing
  • Are There More Fatalities On Hard Ground In Horse Racing?
  • Types Of Jump Racing Fences
  • Biggest Comebacks In Horse Racing
  • Difference Between A Hurdle & A Fence In Jump Racing
  • What Are Hurdles & Fences Made From?
  • Why Are Race Distances Measured In Miles, Furlongs & Yards
  • Stag And Hen Do's At Cheltenham
  • Each-Way vs Place Betting: Which Is Better?
  • What Are Final Declarations
  • Does Illegal Horse Racing Still Happen?
  • What Is Pony Racing? How Is It Different To Horse Racing?
  • Ladies At The Races
  • What Do Nose, Head, Neck and Length Mean?
  • What Is A Furlong?
  • When Is A Race Declared Void?
  • False Starts In Horse Racing
  • What Are Official Ratings in Horse Racing?
  • Can You Run A Race With Only One Horse?
  • What Is Point To Point Racing
  • Best Day Of The Cheltenham Festival
  • How Much Does It Cost To Buy and Train a Racehorse?
  • Cheltenham Festival Ticket Types
  • How Much Does Racing Make From The Betting Levy?
  • Are There Less Horse Deaths In Racing Today?
  • Origins Of Jockey Silks In Horse Racing & Rules
  • Can A Jockey Remount A Horse?
  • What Happens If No Horse Wins A Race?
  • Why Do Horses Jump Fences?
  • How High and Far Can A Horse Jump?
  • Use Of The Whip In Horse Racing
  • What Are The Different Types Of Racehorses?
  • Who Sponsors Cheltenham Races
  • How Do Racehorse Owner Syndicates Work?
  • How Much Do Racehorses Weigh?
  • How Does Travelling Affect Racehorse Performance?
  • What PPE Do Jockeys Wear And Why?
  • Can Racehorses Overheat?
  • Benefits Of Owning Race Horses
  • What Is The Top Speed Of A Racehorse?
  • Do Racehorses Have Special Diets & Nutrition?
  • How Are Racehorses Transported & What Are The Rules
  • What Happened To All-Weather Jumps Racing?
  • What Was Tic Tac? The Sign Language For On-Course Bookmakers
  • The Road To Cheltenham
  • Retraining of Racehorses
  • What Happens To Retired Racehorses?
  • Horse Racing Mix-Ups
  • Youngest Jockeys In Horse Racing History
  • What Are Blinkers & Why Do Race Horses Wear Them?
  • How Long Do You Have To Claim A Winning Bet At A Racecourse?
  • Female Jockey Pioneers
  • Oldest Jockeys In Horse Racing History
  • Record Jockey Wins For Cheltenham Festival Races
  • Record Trainer Wins For Cheltenham Festival Races
  • Cheltenham Festival Races Record Horse Wins
  • Biggest Prize Money Races At The Cheltenham Festival
  • The Life Of A Racing Jockey
  • Races With The Most Fences At The Cheltenham Festival
  • How Often Do Mares' Win At The Cheltenham Festival
  • Average Winner Age Cheltenham Festival Races
  • Longest Races At The Cheltenham Festival
  • Cheltenham Festival's Newest Races
  • How Often Does the Favourite Win at the Cheltenham Festival?
  • Average Winner Odds Cheltenham Festival Races
  • Cheltenham Festival Stats & Trends
  • Veganism & Horse Racing
  • Horse Doping In Horse Racing
  • Most Feared Fences In Horse Racing
  • Jockey Injuries
  • How To Become A Jockey
  • Horse Injuries
  • What Is Going In Horse Racing
  • Richest Races In Horse Racing
  • What Is The Starting Price In Racing
  • When Is The Best Time To Bet Ante-Post
  • Impact Of Wetter Winters On UK Jump Racing
  • How Long Do Racehorses Live For?
  • How Much Do Jockeys Weigh?
  • Rules For Naming Race Horses
  • What Is A Dead Heat In Horse Racing?
  • Who Would Win A Race Between A Horse And A Dog?
  • What Makes A Good Jump Stayer?
  • What Is A Stewards Enquiry?
  • Why Are Horses Disqualified and Who Decides?
  • Courses At Cheltenham: Old, New and Cross Country
  • How Are Jump Horses Trained Differently To Flat Horses?
  • Longest Odds Winners In Horse Racing History
  • How Much Money Is Bet At Cheltenham?
  • How Much Is Cheltenham Worth To The Economy?
  • Top 5 Cheltenham Festival Owners
  • Accessibility At Cheltenham The Cheltenham Festival
  • Cheltenham Festival's Oldest Race Still Running
  • Biggest Female Trainers
  • Celebrity Race Horse Owners
  • Can Jockeys, Trainers & Owners Bet?
  • British vs Irish Trainers And Stables At Cheltenham
  • Things To Do & Places To Visit In Cheltenham
  • The Royal Family And The Cheltenham Festival
  • How Much Does It Cost To Be An On-Course Bookmaker?
  • How Much Money Do Race Horse Owners Make?
  • How Much Money Do Trainers Make?
  • Cheltenham Race Types
  • Cheltenham Hotels & Cheltenham Festival Accommodation
  • Top 5 Cheltenham Festival Trainers
  • Top 5 Cheltenham Festival Jockeys
  • Top 10 Cheltenham Festival Horses
  • How Much Money Do Jockeys Make?
  • Richest Jockeys In Horse Racing History
  • Getting To Cheltenham Racecourse
  • Cheltenham Festival vs Grand National, Which Is Better?
  • Cheltenham Racecourse History
  • Why Is The Cheltenham Festival So Big?
  • Cheltenham Festival History
  • The Prestbury Cup
  • Cheltenham Festival Quiz
  • Cheltenham Festival Top Trainer
  • Cheltenham Festival Top Jockey
  • Cheltenham Racecourse During The War
  • Ante-Post Betting - Risk vs Reward
  • Jump Racing Distances
  • How to Read a Race Card
  • How To Bet On Horse Racing
  • Disqualification, Non-Runners and Rule 4
  • Age, Sex and Weight in Horse Racing
  • History And About National Hunt Racing
  • A-Z Glossary Of Horse Racing Terms
  • Horse Racing News, Statistics & Blogs
  • Live Streaming of Horse Racing
  • Live Betting In Play On Horse Racing
  • Cash Out And Partial Cash Out On Horse Racing
  • Grades and Classes In National Hunt Jump Racing

Offers

  • Cheltenham Free Bets
  • Irish Free Bets
  • Acca Offers For Horse Racing
  • Extra Places Each-Way & Enhanced Each Way Terms Cheltenham Festival 2024
  • Horse Racing Loyalty Free Bet Clubs
  • Horse Racing Money Back
  • Best Odds Guaranteed For The Cheltenham Festival
  • Tote and Totepool Betting
  • Lucky Bets and Bonuses For Horse Racing
  • Non-Runner No Bet
  • Free Bets And Bonuses For Winners
  • Best Odds Guaranteed For Horse Racing
  • Faller & Fail To Finish Insurance For Horse Racing

Copyright © 2023 CheltenhamBettingOffers.com | 18+ Gamble Aware | Privacy & Cookie Policy