Every horse racing fan in the world, especially from the UK and Ireland, cannot wait for the Cheltenham Festival to begin. This highly popular horse racing event attracts hundreds of spectators on the race courses. All of this is due to its long history that spans 164 years.
However, to keep up the excitement and entertainment on a higher level, the Festival went through numerous changes. In this article, we will discover and analyze some of the changes that occurred at the Cheltenham Festival over the past decade.
Horse-Welfare Concerns and Changes
At the 2018 Cheltenham Festival, the spectators were in shock following 6 horses’ deaths over the course of 4 days. This leads the BHA to conduct an investigation into equine safety.
The BHA published a review at the end of 2018 and provided 17 recommendations for the future Festival fixtures. Jump races were also among the mentioned races in the review. Some of the recommendations included reducing the field size numbers as well as pre-race veterinary checkups.
However, these sad events continued the following year where 3 horses died during the Festival. One of them was Sir Erec, who suffered fatal injuries on the final day of the event. This incident led to yet another BHA review.
Changes Related to the Horse Races at the Cheltenham Festival
Over the years, the horse racing events at this popular event have undergone occasional changes. Some of them may confuse the fans at first, but they are slowly catching on and acknowledging the new additions.
Certain changes can even the way punters understand the horse races. That is why some of them may even rely on certain betting tips to help them place the right bets. If you’re a person that looks for such advice then you may want to check out the Day 3 tips of the Cheltenham Festival.
One of the changes that recently occurred and surprised fans was the change regarding the Cross Country Chase. This horse racing event went from a handicap race to a conditions event.
Next, the horses must make a top 6 finish in a qualifier race in order to appear at the Pertemps Final. Not long ago, the best 8 horses were eligible to participate in these events.
Another new addition at the Cheltenham Festival that occurred recently concerns the gap between the horse races. Today, there is a break of 40 minutes between all races. This allows the spectators to settle in, the organisers to inspect the course, and the veterinarians to conduct checkups.
The Cheltenham Festival registered its new Trull House Stud Novices’ Hurdle for mares as the Dawn Run Novices’ Hurdle. It now features the name of the legendary Irish Thoroughbred racehorse. She was the most successful horse in the National Hunt racing history.
One of the latest changes concerning the Cheltenham Festival will occur on the second day of the 2024 event. This year, the opening Grand 1 race that featured the name Ballymore will now be referred to as the Gallagher Novices’ Hurdle.
The Cheltenham Festival Attendance in Recent Years
Possibly the biggest changes that occurred at the Cheltenham Festival concerned the overall attendance at the events. The average attendance of this Festival was around 250,000 for years.
However, in 2019, the Cheltenham Festival managed to break the record after recording 266,557 visitors. But, this record didn’t hold too much, as in 2022, the overall attendance reached 280,627.
Yet, the numbers dropped last year as the Festival generated 241,600 total visitors. The percentage drops per day go from 7.27% up to 21.79%, depending on the race day.
It’s worth noting that, the Cheltenham Festival can hold more than 72,000 spectators per day. However, the organizers find it hard to maintain such numbers throughout the 4-day events. This is especially true on the second day, which attracts the lowest attendance.
On the last day of the 2022 Cheltenham Festival, the Gold Cup Day, there were 73,875 visitors. This was a brand-new record for attendance on a single day at the featured Festival.
The numbers were also big during the third day of the 2023 Cheltenham Festival, St. Patrick’s Day. At this event, there were 73,754 visitors.
