The Jockey Club, organisers of Cheltenham Festival, has announced that record ticket sales have resulted in all Gold Cup Day general admission enclosures being sold out before the end of January, for the first time ever.
General admission ticket sales across the four days of the horse racing event are up by some 37% compared to the same period in 2019, with a further surge in hospitality package sales.
Horse racing events across the country have also witnessed an unprecedented demand for tickets, with the Grand National Day at Aintree almost selling out. Only tickets for The Embankment area and hospitality packages are available for the event, which takes place on April 9.
Overall, general admission ticket sales for the entire three days of the Grand National Festival are up 19% compared to the same sales period in 2019, which was the last time the event was staged with a crowd.
The Jockey Club has also revealed that admission ticket sales at various fixtures between August 1 and December 31 last year had increased by 7%, when compared to figures prior to the pandemic.
Nevin Truesdale, chief executive of The Jockey Club, said: “The Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup and the Randox Grand National are two of the biggest sporting events in the calendar, so we’re delighted that they will once again take place in front of proper crowds.
“As an organisation which reinvests all its profits back into the sport under our Royal Charter commitment, this news is not only a huge boost to The Jockey Club – it’s massive for horse racing as an industry.”
He added: “We know that the past two years have been a time of real uncertainty for everyone, so it’s fantastic to see people’s eagerness to get back to our racecourses and their confidence to book tickets for our events months in advance, returning.”
The Jockey Club is set to stage more than 330 events in 2022 across 15 racecourses, including the Cheltenham Festival and Randox Grand National, as well as the Cazoo Derby Festival, which is part of Her Majesty The Queen’s official Platinum Jubilee Celebrations in June.
Image: Pardeep Bhakar on Unsplash
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