Cheltenham
Date of Review: 13th December 2024
RCA Reviewers: Dave & Ray.
Address: Evesham Road, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, GL50 4SH
Website: https://www.thejockeyclub.co.uk/cheltenham/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thehomeofjumpracing/
X(Twitter): https://x.com/CheltenhamRaces
Phone: 01242 513014
Email: cheltenham.reception@thejockeyclub.co.uk
Hotel Accommodation: https://www.expedia.co.uk/Cheltenham-Racecourse-Hotels.0-l6169978-0.Travel-Guide-Filter-Hotels
Track Layout: (Image acknowledged & credited to Timeform / At The Races)
Course Information: Cheltenham’s Prestbury Park is the home of three racecourses: the Old course, the New course, and the Cross Country course. All three courses are left-handed and finish with the famous “Cheltenham Hill”, which is a stiff uphill run to the finishing post, which has an elevation of approximately 13 metres from the three-furlong post. The steepest of any racecourse in Britain and Ireland. For this reason, the race is never over until it's over. Many a “sure thing” that looked to be cruising halfway up the hill has been collared close to the winning post and beaten. Wait for the fat lady to start singing before you begin counting your winnings.
The Old course is considered to be sharper and, therefore, a test of speed. On the new course, the hurdles course has only two flights in the last seven furlongs, so it is more of a test of stamina and endurance than jumping ability. Hold-up horses that come from the rear with a late run often do well, as there can be a tendency for jockeys to kick for home too soon and get caught on the hill.
The Cross Country course, which was introduced in 1995, is a rough figure of eight shape and a test of stamina for steeplechasers like no other, where the horses are required to jump over railed edges, old whisky barrels, cheese wedge-shaped obstacles, and several ditches and banks. Due to its unique characteristics, horses with previous good form around these types of courses should be noted.
The Racecourse Advisor Guide to Cheltenham Racecourse: Prestbury Park is located in the South West of England at the foot of Cleeve Hill in 360 acres of Cotswold countryside, and it is one of the most iconic venues in the world of horseracing. The nearest major city is Bristol, which is approximately forty miles away.
Location Map – Cheltenham Racecourse
Racing first took place in the area of Cleeve Hill that overlooks Prestbury Park in 1818, with the current location becoming the official venue in 1831. Over the next decade or so, the meetings' popularity increased, and a two-day meeting in July was established. The feature race was a three-mile Gold Cup run on the flat. The first Cheltenham Gold Cup run over fences was in 1924.
Significant investment started to be put into the racecourse in the 1970s and has continued ever since. The main grandstand was built in 1979 and extended on two occasions to house the growing crowds. The parade ring and weighing room were rebuilt in a separate area behind the stands with viewing facilities for over 4,000 people. A pre-parade ring was introduced in 1992. In 1997, the old Tattersalls enclosure was demolished and replaced with a new stand with tiered viewing and the Panoramic restaurant above it, which has sweeping views of the racecourse and beyond. A £3 million investment was made in 2004 with the building of a new grandstand in the Best Mate enclosure. A further £20 million was also invested in a new on-site conference and events centre. In 2005, the famous three-day Cheltenham Festival meeting held in March each year was extended to four days.
In 2015, another huge investment was made of £45 million to build the Princess Royal Stand, which included a new Royal Box and space for an additional 6,000 racegoers. The success of the Cheltenham Festival went from strength to strength, with total attendance figures over the four days routinely in excess of 250,000 people. For many fans of National Hunt/jump racing, “The Festival” is considered a pilgrimage, and they return year after year. However, in very recent years, crowds have declined slightly, and there is growing disquiet regarding the lack of competitive racing, small fields, and the pricing of tickets, car parking and hotels within the local area.
For this review, we deliberately avoided a race day at the Cheltenham Festival, which runs for four full days from the second Tuesday in March each year. Visiting “The Festival” is an experience for sure, and we did it year after year for decades. However, it's one we no longer enjoy. Over the years, in our opinion, it has morphed from one of the truly great race meetings into a theme park and the “Disneyfication” of the sport. We realised this a couple of years ago as we walked out of the Guinness Village to be confronted with a large Boodles the Jewellers concession on one side and a massive Bentley cars showroom on the other. In the middle was a huge Sunseeker yacht with a BBC Radio One DJ aboard playing a live set. We immediately knew at that point that “The Festival” was no longer about horse racing but all about conspicuous consumption. The people there were “on the circuit,” ticking off Cheltenham along with the Henley Regatta, The Boat Race, Wimbledon, Formula One, etc., and paying the prices to match, which are genuinely eye-watering. Each to their own, and live and let live, and all of that, but it’s not for us anymore, unfortunately…
Course Access: The racecourse is located north of Cheltenham town centre, on the A435 Evesham Road. The nearest motorway is the M5. Use the postcode GL50 4SH. The racecourse is very well signed from a long way out.
By Road: From the North: Leave the M5 at Junction 11. Follow the A40 towards Cheltenham. At the first roundabout (Arle Court), take the third exit. At the second roundabout, take the first exit following signs to Cheltenham Racecourse (Princess Elizabeth Way). Continue to follow signs for Bishops Cleeve and Park & Ride. At the PC World/McDonald’s roundabout, take the second exit towards Bishops Cleeve.
From the South: Leave the M5 at Junction 10. Follow the A4019 towards Cheltenham, then at the McDonald’s roundabout, take the 1st exit onto Kingsditch Lane. At the following roundabout, take the 2nd exit onto Swindon Road, turn left onto Windyridge Road, and then take the 2nd exit onto Swindon Lane. Head straight over the next two roundabouts to enter Cheltenham Racecourse.
By Rail: Cheltenham Spa railway station is approximately one mile from the town centre and three miles from the racecourse. So, it's a short taxi ride or a brisk forty-minute walk away. It's on the Bristol-Birmingham main line. The journey from Birmingham is around 45 minutes. From London, approximately two hours and two hours and twenty minutes from Manchester.
By Air: The nearest airport to Cheltenham is Birmingham (BHX), which is 41 miles away. Bristol (BRS) is 45 miles. London Luton (LTN) is 73 miles, and London Heathrow (LHR) is 76 miles. Light aircraft and helicopters can land at the racecourse but only by prior arrangement. Contact the racecourse for further details.
Parking: There is free car parking at Cheltenham Racecourse, with the exception of the Saturday meeting in November and the four-day festival in March. On the day of our visit, we parked in the “Green Car Park 5”, which is a large grass and gravel field. It was a bit chaotic both arriving and leaving, as the stewards in attendance didn’t really seem to know what they were doing. On leaving, there were two different “Exit” signs, one of which took you the completely wrong way and back into the field. The signage could and should be improved. However, once parked up, it’s a short walk to the Northern entrance, which is on the opposite side of the racecourse to the main entrance. Rating: 9/10.
Pricing: On the day of our visit, it was the Friday fixture of the two-day “Christmas Meeting.” The seven-race card consisted of one Class 1 race, four Class 2 races, and two Class 3 races, so there was a decent level of horses in action. The price at the gate for the Tattersalls/Club enclosure was £33.50, which isn’t cheap. However, if booked online in advance, tickets could have been had for £28.50. For a group of six people or more, the price was £25.64 each. For the Best Mate enclosure, the gate price was £15.00. If booked online in advance, the price was £12.00, and a booking for six or more people was £10.80 a ticket.
There was also a “Horses for Courses Tour” ticket at £43.50, which had to be booked in advance. This gave admission into the Tattersalls/Club enclosure and a 45-minute guided tour of the racecourse conducted by an experienced tour guide, with the proceeds being donated to charity (maximum of 20 people). Out of a thirst for knowledge and research, we went for this option (more about the tour later in the review).
There were also a couple of hospitality upgrade options, such as: The Gold Cup Restaurant is located next to the Hall of Fame in the main grandstand close to the parade ring. For £210.00 each, you get admission, a racecard, a reserved table for the day, and a three-course buffet-style meal and afternoon tea. However, please be aware that this restaurant does not have a direct view of the racecourse. It does have numerous TV screens dotted around where you can watch the action.
If you want to push the boat out a little bit further, then the “VIP Restaurant Experience” was available for £315.00 each. It is located in the grandstand enclosure, which overlooks the racecourse, and it has a separate balcony that overlooks the parade ring. For your money, you get admission, a racecard, a champagne reception, a four-course buffet-style meal, afternoon tea, and reserved seating at the racecourse.
Racecard: The racecard was £4.00, and we paid cash. So much for the strict “cashless policy” of the racecourse and the Jockey Club. It was heavy with 50 pages, but of those, 27 pages were full-page advertisements, so that’s 54%.
There was an introductory welcome that explained the events of the day and also where and when you could access the inner course for the viewing of the Cross Country race. It did have a fantastic double-page map of the course and facilities, and this also had a QR code to scan to allow the downloading of the Cheltenham Racecourse App.
We did use the App for navigation around the course, and it is very good indeed. We would like to see it more forcefully promoted, but at least it got some coverage in the racecard, which is more than can be said for other Jockey Club courses, and there was a one-third page advert showing this, but it didn’t really sell itself, well at all. (see picture below)
Racecard Screenshots – Cheltenham Racecourse
All in all, there was very little else other than the usual Timeform-extracted runners and riders, with the exception of a double-page spread showing the fence styles; all 17 different types get a little graphic, along with the layout and route of the Cross Country course. The App can be downloaded from the iTunes App Store or on Google Play for Android devices.
In our opinion, the standard tickets for the Club and Tattersalls enclosures were reasonably priced, especially if booked in advance online, and the pricing for the Best Mate enclosure is very good value (but all tickets are very seriously overpriced for the Festival meeting). However, the hospitality packages appear expensive for what you get relative to other Premier League-level racecourses we have visited. Welcome to Cheltenham… Rating: 8/10.
Catering: Here at Racecourse Advisor, we enjoy doing “racecourse reviews” rather than restaurant reviews. We do not pretend to be food critics. We aim to give you an overall idea of what is available regarding the culinary options and prices at the track on race days. The selection of food and drink outlets on the day was immense. You are not going hungry at this racecourse.
Let's start with the bars, which are dotted everywhere around the course.
A Selection of Bars – Cheltenham Racecourse
If you enter via the main entrance at the front of the course, then the first bar you will come across is located in The Centaur, which is a huge, purpose-built, multi-purpose/conference centre-style building that on the day had a bar and betting facilities open. Further down, as you head towards the parade ring, is the See You Then Bar. At the bottom of the parade ring is Quevega’s Bar and The Terrace Bar. In the Tattersalls enclosure there is the Persian War Bar, just to name a few.
The pricing was identical at each bar and was as follows: Draught Prava Lager at £7.70 a pint. Draught Guinness and Draught Aspall Suffolk Cyder at £7.80 a pint. A bottle of Premium Lager (330 ml) is £7.40. A bottle of Doom Bar bitter and a bottle of Rekorderlig Strawberry & Lime cider (500 ml) at £7.80 each. A can of Guinness 0.0 is £7.00. A bottle of non-alcoholic lager (330 ml) is £4.00. A glass of house red, white, or rose wine is £9.70. The house champagne is £80.00 a bottle, or if you are feeling flush, a bottle of Moet & Chandon Brut Imperial champagne will set you back £110.00 a bottle. The choice is plentiful, but the prices are the most expensive we have seen on a racecourse during our travels by some distance.
The food options are eclectic and diverse to suit virtually everyone. Once again, just a short selection of what was on offer on the day:
Food Vendors – Cheltenham Racecourse
If a pizza floats your boat, then a plain and simple Margherita is £10.00. More exotic versions, such as spinach, roquito peppers, & red onion version, are £12.00. Pepperoni, fresh chilli & cherry tomatoes £13.00. Fancy a goat's cheese, sun-blushed tomatoes & olives? Not a problem. That will be £14.00. Honey roast ham, rocket and parmesan with a balsamic glaze £14.00. A brie, roasted garlic, truffle oil & Portobello mushrooms pizza, or a nduja sausage, roquito peppers & red onions, both at £15.00.
There were a couple of vendors knocking out the ubiquitous hog roast baps with stuffing and apple sauce for £11.50. A beef brisket version with stuffing and horseradish sauce was £12.00. A sausage bap with crispy onions is £9.00. A simple dry-cured bacon bap was £7.00. A “meal deal” of a hog roast bap and a bottle of water was on offer for £15.00. It didn’t sound like much of a deal to us, to be honest, but there you go.
The next food vendor off the rank was selling shawarma, which, to you and us, is a posh version of a donner kebab. Chicken or lamb shawarma with tomatoes, onions, parsley, pickles and tahini sauce for £12.00. Falafel with tomatoes, pickles, fresh mint, parsley, and tahini sauce was £9.50. Grilled Halloumi topped with chips, tomatoes, cucumber, and mint was £11.00. Fries were £4.90 a serving. A “meal deal” of any of the above mains, chips, and a drink was £16.50.
Food Vendors – Cheltenham Racecourse
There was a Greek street food outlet which was serving up another version of the trusty kebab such as chicken gyros, with salad, tzatziki and chips for £12.00. A Halloumi version of the same was £10.00, or a mixed gyros for £14.00
Another outlet had a charcoal oven set up and was serving up delicacies such as baby chicken and fries with spinach or a sandwich of a 6oz rib eye steak in toasted sourdough with Dijon mayo, and beetroot leaves for £13.50 each. A breaded chicken burger in a brioche bun for £10.50. Fried calamari £11.00. Or a toasted sourdough sandwich with portobello mushrooms, Swiss cheese and a fried egg for £10.00. A portion of French fries was a mere £5.50 a serving.
Food Vendors – Cheltenham Racecourse
There was also a hot dog van selling “German Sausage,” such as a bratwurst in a baguette with sauerkraut for £11.00. A smoked sausage (Krakauer) with cheese for £11.00 or a spicy version of the same for £10.00.
Another van called “Scampi & Fries was knocking out salt & pepper squid and fries or crispy chicken strips along with whole tail scampi and fries for £14.00. A Gloucester old spot sausage & fries was £9.00. Next to this was “Steak it Easy,” which was a steak sandwich outlet that had “rare breed” thinly sliced Bavette steak, onions, mushrooms, and horseradish for £9.50. Or the same but with onions, peppers, and chimichurri sauce for £12.50. A “So-Cal” version with onions, peppers, Monterey Jack cheese, and chipotle mayo was also £12.50, as was the onions, mushrooms, brie, and black pepper mayo combo. Fries were £5.00 per serving.
If you wanted to be a tad more civilised and sit down and eat, then Quevega’s Bar had a variety of burgers and hot dogs, such as a cheeseburger with fries and a soft drink or a Gloucester smokey dog, hot dog with fries and a soft drink for £10.00 a pop. A chicken burger with all of the trimmings was £11.50. Crispy chicken wings for £5.50. A portion of fries was £4.50, and Quevega’s “dirty fries” were £6.50 per serving.
The Mandarin Bistro (left) & Quevega’s Bar
Towards the stand side of the parade ring was the Mandarin Bistro bar, which is a gastro-pub type of setup with formal seating that was serving a two-course meal for £65.00 and three courses for £85.00. It was also serving a brunch menu up to 12:15 pm, which did seem popular.
For £20.00 a head, you could indulge in smashed avocado with a sourdough croissant, dressed rocket, and Parmigiano Reggiano. Chalk Stream smoked trout with scrambled eggs, hollandaise sauce, toasted muffin, and baby watercress. An Arnold Bennet omelette with smoked haddock, chives, grated cheese, and hollandaise sauce. If that didn’t take your fancy, then an American drop pancake stack with smoked bacon and maple syrup was available. Getting closer to home, a “Big Breakfast” option was available of pork sausages, smoked bacon, plum tomatoes, fried egg, and sourdough crostini.
Overall, a broad selection with a wide variety of cuisines on offer, with something to suit most people. However, the strange thing was you could buy Italian, Turkish, Greek, German, and American food, among others, but a good old-fashioned British steak pie or fish & chips wasn’t in sight anywhere on the racecourse. Overall, the catering options at Cheltenham are excellent. However, in our opinion, they are expensive. Rating: 9/10.
Guinness Standard: Draught Guinness is available at all of the bars we encountered on the racecourse. We did indulge in a pint of it, in the See You Then Bar. At £7.80 a pint, it is the most expensive we have encountered at any racecourse we have visited so far. Served in those floppy plastic pint pots that you have to double up on just to be able to pick them up. It was OK but nothing special. We’ve had better, and we have had worse. Rating: 8/10.
Viewing: The overall viewing experience at Cheltenham Racecourse is truly excellent, regardless of where you are situated, as the racecourse is a natural amphitheatre at the bottom of Cleeve Hill. There are three main enclosures: Club, Tattersalls, and Best Mate. We viewed races in each of them on the day of our visit. Club Enclosure tickets enable you to access all of the public areas on the racecourse, including the Princess Royal Stand. The enclosure runs from just after the final flight to past the winning post. There is plenty of tiered terracing but not a lot of cover from the elements, should it be needed. There is a large TV screen positioned directly in front of the stand.
The Club Enclosure – Cheltenham Racecourse
The Tattersalls Enclosure is the largest stand on the course and is on three levels, with the best view being on the second level. Once again, plenty of tiered terracing but not a lot of cover from the front of the stand.
The bookmakers are located at the end of the stand, near the winning post. Even from the very front of both enclosures, the viewing is good, as there is a large, sloped concourse that runs all the way down from the stands to the racecourse itself.
The Tattersalls Enclosure – Cheltenham Racecourse
The third enclosure is the Best Mate stand, which is positioned opposite the Tattersalls Enclosure after the winning post. While this is the cheapest option of all of the enclosures, with the fewest facilities, it is arguably the one with the best view. You can get close to the winning post along the running rail. The stand itself has two bars at the very back, which are the Desert Orchid and Dawn Run Bars. Outside of these is a very large area of concrete-tiered terracing that runs down onto a large, tarmacked concourse area. At £12.80, if booked online in advance, this really is a very good VFM (Value For Money). It lacks the creature comforts and catering options of the other enclosures, but from a racing perspective, it shouldn’t be underestimated.
The Best Mate Enclosure – Cheltenham Racecourse
The Princess Royal Stand – Cheltenham Racecourse
For the Cross Country races, you are allowed to cross the racecourse and watch the race(s) from the middle of the course, which allows you to get close up to the action. It is a totally different experience to watch the race from the stands, and it is recommended. Rating: 10/10.
Parade Ring / Winners Enclosure: The parade ring at Cheltenham really is spectacular. It is located at the back of the stands close to the Princess Royal Stand. It is huge! It has a hedgerow and stools for seating most of the way around the perimeter. It also has high, tiered terracing for viewing for around 90% of its perimeter, the only exception being where the weighing room is positioned. The inside is turfed, and it looks immaculate. In fact, it looks too good to be true, and that’s because it is. The grass is partly synthetic. It is actually 4G (Fourth Generation), which is easier to maintain than real turf. 4G grass is used widely nowadays on football and rugby pitches.
The Parade Ring & Winners Enclosure – Cheltenham Racecourse
At a lot of racecourses, the parade ring is the focal point of the course. However, at Cheltenham, it dominates, and rightly so. There is also excellent viewing from The Terrace, where there are bars and food outlets, which are located above the ring. It also has a very large TV screen located at the far end. The winners' enclosure is at the front of the parade ring, and once again, it is big, as is everything at Cheltenham.
The pre-parade ring is located behind the weighing room. Like all things at Cheltenham, it is immaculate with the same 4G grass as the parade ring. The viewing from the front is excellent, with tiered terracing. It is definitely worth spending some time to see the parade ring, winners enclosure, pre-parade ring, and unsaddling enclosure at this racecourse. It is very impressive, and you won’t be disappointed. If we could mark this area 11/10, we would, it’s that impressive. Rating: 10/10.
The Pre-Parade Ring – Cheltenham Racecourse
At the back of the parade ring is an area called The Best Mate Plaza, which is near the north entrance of the racecourse, which is also worth a look. It has a life-size bronze statue of the legendary racehorse Best Mate, who won three consecutive Gold Cups at the racecourse in 2002, 2003, and 2004.
Statues of Best Mate (Left) & A P McCoy – Cheltenham Racecourse
There is also a life-size statue of the jockey Sir AP McCoy, who was the champion jockey on a record twenty consecutive occasions, every year that he was a professional. He rode a record 4,358 winners during his distinguished career. He won thirty-one times at the Cheltenham Festival, which included two Gold Cups and three Champion Hurdles. We recommend a visit.
Bookmakers / Betting Facilities: The main betting ring for the on-course bookmakers is in front of the Tattersalls Enclosure.
The Bookmakers – Cheltenham Racecourse
There are also on-course bookmakers located close to the parade ring and also on The Terrace above the parade ring. So no shortage of bookies! Also on The Terrace is a large William Hill concession. This, with the numerous Tote outlets, which are everywhere on the course, getting a bet on is the least of your problems. Rating: 10/10.
The Guided Tour: As mentioned at the start of the review, on the day of our visit, there was an option to book online, in advance, for tickets, which included a formal guided tour of Cheltenham Racecourse. Having done previous racecourse tours at York, Goodwood, and Warwick, we thought we would give it a go, and we are glad we did.
The tour commenced one and a half hours before the first race from the Best Mate Plaza and ran for around forty-five minutes. It took in the statues mentioned above and then over to the centre of the parade ring, an area that is normally reserved for the higher echelons of the horseracing fraternity. It got even better when we were allowed to go into the weighing room. We watched as the jockeys came and went and got weighed in for the first race and all of the administration that goes with it and is very rarely seen.
We were then shown a riding saddle and the weights that are carried in it when the horses are racing, along with a modern-day racing whip, which is now used by the jockeys of today. From there, we went into the Tattersalls Enclosure to see the record boards that show the winners and the connections of the famous races at Cheltenham, which date as far back as 1924.
There was then an option to visit the Cheltenham Hall of Fame, which is open to normal ticket holders, that shows the silks and colours of all of the Cheltenham Gold Cup winners, along with other numerous cups, trophies, and photographs of the great and the good of Cheltenham Racecourse. If you have an interest in horse racing, then we really do recommend you take this tour if the opportunity arises.
Friendliness of Course Staff: There was more than enough course staff at every point of the racecourse. The ones we encountered were very friendly, chatty and helpful. The racecourse was absolutely pristine in all areas. Rating: 10/10.
Pros & Cons: Cheltenham is a genuine world-class racecourse on every single level, and it has to be a “must-visit” for anyone who is interested in horse racing. It’s difficult to find fault anywhere, with the exception of the pricing and that includes the catering options. They are good, but you really are paying top dollar. If you are looking for value, then the Best Mate enclosure is the one for you. If you have only ever visited the racecourse during “The Festival,” then we strongly recommend you visit it again when it is a “normal” fixture. The difference really is chalk and cheese. It is a vast racecourse with a lot to do, see and take in outside of the racing.
As always at Racecourse Advisor, the question is would we come back and visit it again? In the blink of an eye, the answer is a resounding yes, and it won’t be too long before we do. We love it, and we think you will, too. Rating: 9/10.
VIP Watch: No VIPs were present on the day of our visit.
Wi-Fi / Internet Connection: We had no problem getting online via the free Jockey Club App.
Overall Racecourse Advisor Rating: 9.1/10.
The full day's racing results can be found here: https://www.sportinglife.com/racing/meeting/2024-12-13/cheltenham/108975
Facilities & location layout of Cheltenham Racecourse: (image acknowledged & credited to the Jockey Club Ltd.)
Aerial View of Cheltenham Racecourse: (image acknowledged & credited to Google Earth)
Disclaimer: The reviews contained in the content of this website are just the opinions of the authors. The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in the text belong solely to the authors and not necessarily to any other group or individual. Any content or opinion provided in our reviews is not intended to malign any party, group, club, organisation, company, individual or anyone or anything whatsoever on any matter.
