Cheltenham racecourse said on Friday that it has started formal consultations with owners and trainers over the possibility of adding a fifth day to its big Festival meeting in March. A report in the Racing Post [£] suggests that the Jockey Club, which owns the course, could seek to squeeze even more money from its biggest cash cow from 2024.
The Festival expanded from three days to four – Tuesday to Friday – in 2005 and speculation over the possible addition of a fifth afternoon has been a talking point in the meeting’s aftermath for several years. Royal Ascot and Glorious Goodwood, both Flat racing festivals in the summer months, are currently the only five-day meetings in the British calendar.
