Matt Brocklebank and Tony McFadden give their reaction to reports in the Racing Post that consideration is being given to staging the Cheltenham Festival from Wednesday to Saturday.
Saturday switch could help arrest dwindling crowds
‘If it's not broke, don't fix it', so the old adage goes. But an attendance figure of only 41,949 on the Wednesday this year suggests that the Cheltenham Festival, if not broken, is creaking and in need of attention.
That Wednesday crowd was the lowest for any day of the Festival since 1993 and not even at two-thirds capacity. More worryingly, given the trajectory of attendances on Wednesday, you couldn't say with confidence that last season's crowd will represent the nadir.
Attendances were down across the board at the meeting last season, but the disparity between days one and two at recent Festivals has been notable. The difference was 9,934 in 2023, 13,410 in 2024 and 12,813 last season - it hasn't always been this way as the gap was only 156 for the first four-day Festival in 2005.
The status of being the first day of the meeting brings with it increasingly significant value and starting the Festival on a Wednesday would provide a shot in the arm to its ailing attendance. Of course, regardless of when you stage the meeting, you'll still have the issue of day two being somewhat overshadowed. But having that second day on a Thursday, when only two days of leave is required to secure a long weekend from work, would be much more attractive to most prospective racegoers than the current status quo.
Staging a day of the meeting on the weekend also opens up the Festival to those unable to take time off work during the week, such as teachers, or those who enjoy the sport but wouldn't book annual leave to go racing. The 2025 attendance figures painted a sorry tale and racing cannot afford to take a 'die-hards only' approach.
The impact of clashing with the Premier League and the Six Nations is, of course, something that must be considered if moving a day of the Festival to a Saturday; especially as it would likely result in Cheltenham's Saturday coverage being bumped to ITV4. But I suspect competing with other entertainment options for eyeballs at the weekend may be less formidable a task than continuing to take on the Monday-Friday, 9-5. Tony McFadden
Dangerous game to risk upsetting loyal fans
The Jockey Club insist conversations over a potential switch to a Wednesday-Saturday Festival are only at the concept stage along with several other ideas and options, but for me there is a sense of inevitability about the proposals as, like Tony indicates above, from a purely commercial perspective, something major will probably be done to try and turn the tide and those declining attendance figures.
In terms of the long-term impact that might have, I can’t imagine having to change channel to ITV4 will be enough to put anyone off watching from the comfort of their own sofa on a Saturday afternoon, and I don’t mind the idea of squeezing the Midlands National into that programme somewhere along the line too, but no matter what day it’s on, it’ll still cost a fortune to go to the Cheltenham Festival, it’ll cost even more if you’re wishing to stay in a hotel or Airbnb anywhere close by, and regardless of the ridiculous money spent at the Tattersalls Book 1 sale in Newmarket recently, most people living in the real world in this country are finding it harder and harder to make ends meet.
So, we all know the leisure pound that racecourses rely on is under great strain and I think those charged with getting Cheltenham back to where it once was are obviously up against it. However, for me, you’re potentially going to turn more and more of the ‘die-hards’ to which Tony refers off the meeting if moving the final day to Saturday and that’s a dangerous game as it is precisely those people – the true jumps racing fans – who have been propping the game up for so long. Not just at Cheltenham but all through the winter months elsewhere too.
Some would suggest that the return to a three-day Festival, cutting some of the ‘filler’ races and turning the major Grade 1s into more competitive championship events, which is what they were initially designed to be, would actually make the meeting more appealing to a wide range of people.
Thursday to Saturday, anyone? Perhaps that’s what efforts should be leading towards, but I won’t be holding my breath on that score as the balance sheets do tend to win out in the end. Matt Brocklebank
More from Sporting Life
Safer gambling
We are committed in our support of safer gambling. Recommended bets are advised to over-18s and we strongly encourage readers to wager only what they can afford to lose.
If you are concerned about your gambling, please call the National Gambling Helpline / GamCare on 0808 8020 133.
Further support and information can be found at begambleaware.org and gamblingtherapy.org.