Organisers of the Cheltenham Festival are to reduce capacity and the price of a pint following criticism from spectators.The four-day meeting is the showpiece of the jump racing calendar, but it has experienced a marked decline in attendances with punters unhappy about cost.A pint of draught beer or cider will be reduced by 30p to £7.50 at all the course’s meetings this season.The Festival’s final day, featuring the Cheltenham Gold Cup, was sold out this year but some people complained of overcrowding on that day.Daily capacity will be reduced from 68,500 to 66,000, although no attendance on the first three days in 2025 topped 56,000.The price of drinks, and particularly Guinness – with an estimated 265,000 pints sold during the week – has been a particular sore point among punters.”We regularly benchmark our food and beverage prices alongside other major sports venues and comparable events,” said course chief executive Guy Lavender.”Despite being subject to the same increases in goods and services as all industries, we have taken the decision to reduce the price of draught beers and cider… for the 2025/26 season.”He said the reduction would bring prices down to 2022 levels.For comparison, a pint of beer at this year’s Wimbledon tennis was £8.45, while it would have set you back £7.75 at golf’s Open Championship.
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Cheltenham Festival: Capacity and price of pint to be reduced
