People enjoying the races are not just losing money on the horses, they are also seeing their bank balances drained at the bar. A pint of Guinness is available for a gob-smacking £7 while a pint of Carling is £6.90.
A pint of cider or a bottle of Doom Bar Bitter is also costing punters £7. The Cheltenham Festival is back in all its glory after being held behind closed doors in 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
There are record numbers due to attend the festival this year and it's estimated that around 260,000 pints of Guinness will be downed over the four days, GloucestershireLive reports. This works out at £1,820,000 being spent on the black stuff.
But while the price of a pint of Guinness was a talking point, with some branding it 'outrageous', many on Twitter agreed that it was the Carling at £6.90 that was the real shocker. Today (March 17) the Festival enters its third day with Ladies' Day ahead of Gold Cup Day on Friday.
Neil Hedgecock tweeted: "£6.90 for a pint of Sockwash really is taking the rise." Jimmy Burgess responded: "Makes the Guinness look like good value doesn’t it!"
Andrew O'Connor said: "Scandalous prices. I won't be drinking today when I go." But Adam Hathaway wasn't put off, declaring: "To be fair, I got charged £6.60 in a pub recently and the pint was awful. I'll suffer the seven quid tomorrow."
Shorts at the bar are sold as a single 25ml measure. Prices for a rum, whiskey or gin start at £6 without a mixer so it is no wonder some festival lovers are getting the drinks in before they arrive at the racecourse, with one photo showing a punter holding a double gin and tonic priced at £14 quickly going viral across social media.
Those who like a glass of Champagne on the day will see their wallets hit even harder. A 200ml bottle of fizz at the Moet and Chandon bar at Cheltenham Racecourse is £29. And for those who spare no expense at the races, a 200ml bottle of rose would cost the racegoer a cool £32.50.
A Cheltenham Racecourse spokesperson told the Sun newspaper: "We work hard to absorb inflationary costs wherever we can. However, current inflation rises in relation to goods and labour have led to an increase in prices for some of the items we serve.
"Despite this, our prices are comparable to other major events, with all our profits reinvested back into British Horseracing."
