Highest Ever Crowd For Cheltenham Opening

11 Mar 2015 | sigadmin

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A record 63,249 people descended on Cheltenham Racecourse for the opening day, in what could be a record overall week for the four-day event.

The largest crowd for the first day of the four-day Festival was recorded last year when 57,083 attended. The all-time record for the opening day of The Festival was 61,132, which came in 2002 when it was a three-day spectacle.

Crowds at the home of jump racing watched a victory for Faugheen in the Grade 1 StanJames Champion Hurdle feature race of the day.

Meanwhile, bookmakers Sky Bet estimated Annie Power’s fall on the last in the OLBG Mares’ Hurdle served as a swing worth over £25m to bookmakers.

The Festival’s record total crowd of 237,369 came in 2012, prior to Jockey Club Racecourses reducing capacity on Gold Cup Day, however early indications based on advanced sales suggest further attendance records may fall this week.

Next year, racegoers for The Festival 2016 will enjoy a new grandstand as part of The Jockey Club’s £45 million development at Cheltenham.

Several parts of the project have already been completed and are in use at The Festival 2015, including viewing steppings, three new bar areas, 156 toilets and a bridge over the horsewalk to allow more movement of spectators.

Ian Renton, who runs Cheltenham Racecourse as South West regional director for Jockey Club Racecourses, said: “We’re absolutely delighted to break our all-time record attendance for the opening day of The Festival. Racegoers have enjoyed thrilling racing action, the sun has shone and we’ve had some tremendous feedback on the new facilities we’ve opened.

“Interestingly for this year we’ve seen the number of bookers for The Festival with addresses in Ireland has doubled year-on-year and our hospitality sales have grown by 40% in just the last two years, which has all contributed to today’s brilliant crowd.”