Tickets for the 2025 Cheltenham festival have been frozen to 2024, the organisers confirmed today.
The four-day event in March saw its lowest attendance across the week in at least a decade. While ticket prices have been frozen and new offerings of discounts for next year’s race meeting.
Organisers have also announced changes to some races during the festival. Which they hope will increase interest after 2024 saw the lowest attendances in a decade.
Race Programme
Six key changes are being made to the Cheltenham Festival race programme from 2025. Alterations are made to the conditions of five individual races at the event as well as new requirements for horses running in non-novice handicaps.
- The 2m 4f Turners (Golden Miller) Novices’ Chase will be replaced by a Grade 2 Limited Novice Handicap Chase over the same distance.
- The National Hunt Chase will become a Class 2 Novice Handicap Chase (0-145), with amateur rider restrictions for jockeys removed to allow professionals to take part.
- The Glenfarclas Cross Country Chase will be changed from a conditions race to a Limited Handicap.
- The race conditions for the Ryanair Mares’ Novices Hurdle will be changed to remove the penalty structure, resulting in a level weights contest.
- From 2023 any horse finishing in the first four of a qualifying race for the Pertemps Network Final Handicap Hurdle has been eligible for the race at The Festival. From 2025 the race conditions will be altered to provide a guaranteed run in the Pertemps Final for all winners of series qualifiers (provided they are within the weights at declaration stage).
- Currently horses must have run at least three times (chases) or four times (hurdles); to be eligible to run in non-novice handicaps at The Festival. From 2025, this will be increased to four chase and five hurdle runs.
In addition to these changes The Jockey Club will be increasing prize money over the four days by £115,000. Taking the total on offer at the Cheltenham Festival to £4,930,000 in 2025. Prize money for all the Cheltenham Festival races will be published in due course.
Race changes to begin from October
All changes to the race programme will be in place for the 2025 Cheltenham Festival; which takes place from Tuesday 11th March to Friday 14th March inclusive in 2025.
Indeed, most of the initiatives for racegoers will be implemented from the racecourse’s first fixture of the 2024-25 season; the showcase meeting on October 25th and 26th 2024. However, all will be rolled out in time for the festival itself.
The organisers are also planning changes to ticket prizes and to the race day experience including park and ride facilities.
