Cheltenham Festival Breaks Crowd Records

Cheltenham Festival broke attendance records over the course of the 2013 event last week, the Jockey Club has announced, with the first three days of the meeting attracting their largest crowds since the Jump racing spectacle increased to four days in 2005.

The fourth day finale also sold out, with the total capped at approximately 3,000 less than last year.

A total of 235,125 racegoers attended the Festival, with a sell-out crowd of 67,570 enjoying Gold Cup Day on Friday. 

The 2012 event attracted a record 236,700 racegoers over the four days, up from 210,000 in 2009, which was the largest crowd for a four day sporting event in Britain last year.

Paul Fisher, group managing director of Jockey Club Racecourses, said: ‘We’re extremely pleased that the Cheltenham Festival continues to go from strength-to-strength. Record crowds during the first three days and a sell-out fourth day suggest the appeal of Cheltenham and British racing’s sports stars continue to grow. These results are a credit to the efforts and hard work of Jockey Club Racecourses’ South West Regional Director, Ian Renton, and the whole Cheltenham team.’

‘To protect the customer experience, we reduced Friday’s sell-out capacity to 67,000. I’m confident we would be reporting another record year for the meeting’s total attendance without this positive step for racegoers and I’m looking forward to the world’s best horses capturing the imagination and attention throughout the year.’

Cheltenham Festival attendances