Cheltenham Festival confirms surprise move not to add fifth day

The Jockey Club said on Monday that the Cheltenham Festival, the showpiece meeting of the National Hunt season, will remain as a four-day event from 2024, confounding widespread expectation among fans and professionals alike that an additional six-race card, creating a five-day Festival from Tuesday to Saturday, was all but inevitable.

The decision to keep the Festival at four days follows a six-month consultation process during which the Jockey Club said on Monday that it “engaged with thousands of stakeholders, including racehorse owners, trainers, jockeys, racing staff, Jockey Club colleagues, loyal racing fans, broadcasters, the local community and commercial partners.”

A number of possibilities are thought to have been considered for extending the current four-day meeting, with seven races on each afternoon.

A move to six races per day, adding two races to the overall schedule, was seen as the most practical option. Since there are two courses at Cheltenham, however, currently staging two Festival days apiece, in practice this would have seen four extra races on either the Old or New course, and concerns over whether the racing surface could cope with the burden appear to have tipped the balance against a fifth afternoon.

“While we explored the financial benefits and an opportunity to reach new audiences,” Ian Renton, managing director of the Jockey Club’s west region, said on Monday, “we also found a number of counterpoints to this. For example, it is clear that it would be challenging from a turf management perspective, without further work on the track, and on balance we still feel 28 races over four days is the right format.

“This research allows us to do much more than simply answer the question of whether