Cheltenham Festival chiefs slash price of a pint of Guinness and bring back Ladies Day

Cheltenham chiefs are cutting the price of Guinness, among a raft of measures announced to improve the popular annual racing festival.

Ladies Day will return on the Wednesday of race week, which will be held from March 10-13 next year, while the crowd capacity will be reduced in response to customer feedback.

As well as cheaper beer at all meetings, Guinness will return to 2022 price levels, coming down 30p to £7.50. Prosecco will be available for the first time and punters can take their drinks anywhere following the removal of restrictions.

Guy Lavender, who joined racecourse owners The Jockey Club as Chief Executive in January of this year, said: "We know that value for money is one of the most important factors for people to consider when deciding which events to attend and that is especially the case at The Festival.

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“There are certain things we can do on course like reducing the price of a pint and improving our facilities."

Some fans complained that last year's Gold Cup day was overcrowded, with 68,026 people in attendance and the daily capacity has been cut to 66,000 going forward.

But it was the only afternoon of the four to draw more than 55,000 and numbers have generally been falling since the post-Covid record of 280,627 for the whole week three years ago.

The 41,949 who visited on the Wednesday in 2025 was the lowest figure for any card at the fixture since 1993 - and it has now been rebranded Ladies Day for the first time since 2019.

“Cheltenham is the jewel in the crown of jump racing, and we want racegoers to feel they are stepping into somewhere truly special from the moment that they arrive," Lavender said.

"That is why over the coming seasons we’ll explore everything from racecourse layout, our enclosure structure and membership offerings, to hospitality and food and beverage options."

Ticket prices have been another big talking point and customers have longer to secure cheaper entry fees. At a super early bird rate, which ended in April, Best Mate enclosure tickets for the first three days was £35. It is now £47 until December 4, while Gold Cup day is £64, £82 in Tattersalls and £117 in Club.

Due to the cost of the fixture and high prices of hotels, thousands chose not to go in 2025, with some heading to Benidorm to watch the action on big screens in the sunshine instead.

At the track, a new PA system is being brought in to make commentary clearer, while there will be more shelter to make a day at the races more comfortable when there is bad weather.

"I’ve said previously that value for money is not always driven by reducing prices and can often be achieved by improving the quality of the offering," Lavender added.

“There are certain things we can do on course like reducing the price of a pint and improving our facilities. However, there are other factors which influence people’s decisions on whether to attend, like hotel prices, that are not entirely within our control, which is why we are continuing to work with Venatour to secure better value for our visitors.”