Cheltenham anticipating drop in Festival attendance

Cheltenham chief executive Guy Lavender admits the track is anticipating a dip in attendances at next week’s Festival, but has vowed to put customer experience at the forefront as the track seeks to encourage racegoers back to the meeting.

While Lavender expects “more than 200,000” racegoers over the four-day fixture, he believes the number will be down on last year’s Festival total crowd, which was just short of 230,000.

In an open letter, he said: “I think that it’s important to mention up front that we are expecting fewer racegoers to be joining us in person this week than in recent years. The decline is not catastrophic but nor are we seeing growing attendances. I am sure that this will result in some commentary, both in the media and on social media platforms.

“However, if there is one thing I want those reading this to take away, it is that we will define success this week and beyond by whether we are delivering unforgettable days out for our customers and improving the experience for everyone in attendance and watching on at home.

“We want to ensure everyone has a Festival to remember for the right reasons, whether that be our local community or those travelling to be with us.”

Lavender, who took up his Cheltenham role in January, emphasised the “investment and changes” the Cheltenham team have made, hailing an “improvement in the race programme from an entries perspective”, but underlining that more will be done.

He also acknowledged the need to provide “better value” for customers and said he is “keen to explore” how the cost of hotels and accommodation could be addressed as the issue is “impacting on attendance” at the meeting.

Lavender concluded: “For now, though, I want to leave you in no doubt that whether you are a racegoer, sponsor, trainer, jockey, owner or a member of stable staff, our number one priority will be to provide you with the best possible experience. I feel very confident that we can do that really well this year.”