Cheltenham chief admits Festival ticket sales are down for second year running

Cheltenham had bumper crowds for the Festival meeting in 2022. Photograph: Tom Jenkins/The Guardian

The attendance at this year’s ­Cheltenham festival, which opens on Tuesday, is likely to fall short of last year’s disappointing figure, Ian ­Renton, the track’s managing ­director, said on Monday.

In an interview with Nick Luck on Racing TV, Renton conceded that “we are going to be a few down on last year”, when the attendance dropped by 14% from the four-day record of 280,267 in 2022.