Cheltenham Festival will remain a four-day event beyond 2023
The Cheltenham Festival will remain a four-day event “beyond 2023” after “extensive consultation” which “included the potential to extend it”.
The Jockey Club said it had been a “finely balanced decision” not to add in a fifth day but cited “challenges from a turf-management perspective” and “the uncertain economic environment”.
Regional director Ian Renton said its 28-race, four-day format was “right”.
Cheltenham Festival is now Britain’s third largest sporting event.
And Renton said research gathered about its future would allow the Jockey Club to “evaluate all the insight with a view to improving facilities and investing in new on-course activations”.
“We care deeply about the long-term future of our sport and its role in society,” he said. “That’s a mission that enables us to think differently when making decisions.”