A number of British horse racing fans are opting to attend big meetings in Ireland over the UK as they find them cheaper and better value for money.
Leopardstown is gearing up for it's festive meeting, which will see a number of punters travel to the Dublin venue from the UK, as will the Dublin Racing Festival at the same track in early February.
Josh Toole, 31, from Suffolk, sparked debate on Twitter earlier this week when he revealed he had purchased a weekend pass for the Dublin Racing Festival for less than half the price of admission to the Club Enclosure for one day during the Cheltenham Festival, a meeting he will not attend next year because the cost of going to the Cotswolds has become "too much".
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A two-day pass for the February meeting costs €50, while it is £98 (€112) for a daily club ticket for Prestbury Park, a price which rises to £118 (€135) on Gold Cup day.
There are cheaper value tickets available for Cheltenham, but ultimately the Club enclosure is where you need to buy for if you want the best views of the racecourse, as well as being able to view the parade ring.
"The value at Leopardstown is ridiculous for what you get", stated Josh, who will visit the Dublin track for a third time next year. "To get two days of top class racing, eight races one day and seven the other, for £45 is crazy when you compare it to what's on offer over here.
"With Leopardstown for us, you fly over, get a taxi into the city in 20 minutes, stay in the city and then you're out at Leopardstown on the tram within about half an hour. It's really easy. It's ideal for us Brits coming over to make a weekend of it.
"I would rather do the Dublin Racing Festival because it's better value for money, arguably the racing is as good and for us coming over, it is like a little holiday. Three nights in Dublin, it's not just the racing, you go out and have a few drinks in the evening. You guys probably take it for granted over there but it's a different vibe in Ireland. Everything is so laid back. We speak the same language but other than that it's very different I think. It's just more enjoyable and it's better value for money."
Among the replies to Josh's tweet was one from Kyle Kerby, who said: "It’s good value, I paid £80 for flights and hotel was cheap enough. Rather go over there then Cheltenham now too."
Another reply read: "Will be doing this in 2024. @CheltenhamRaces this March will prob be my last. Shocking value. Customer experience and service between the 2 are apparently poles apart."
One other racing fan, Neil Tolson, added: "I am at a loss as to why anyone goes to Cheltenham to get totally ripped off. Racing at Leopardstown at Xmas and DRF is a far better experience."
The Dublin Racing Festival first took place in 2018 and continues to get bigger and better every year.
Josh explained: "The Dublin Racing Festival hasn't been going long, but it seems to get more and more popular every year. You get the best horses there every year. Willie Mullins runs everything there, all his good ones. Okay sometimes they're short-priced favourites but then again the gambling side of it isn't everything."
But for those who do like a punt, the Dublin meeting has been a happy hunting ground for backers over the years.
This year saw six out of eight favourites win on the second day of the meeting, which included a treble for Willie Mullins and Paul Townend, as well as a hugely popular win for Rachael Blackmore and Honeysuckle in the Irish Champion Hurdle.
"That reception she got last year was as good a reception I've ever seen on a racecourse", said Josh. "The noise of the place when she won and then that charge back to the winners enclosure. Before she'd even crossed the line, I started making a move towards the parade ring and by the time I got there, it was already 10-12 people deep. It was ridiculous."
And it will be even louder if she gets her head in front in the Grade One again next year in what looks sure to be her last ever run in Ireland.
It is that unique atmosphere that continues to attract racing fans from overseas to the Dublin 18 venue.
Jack Corcoran, 22, from Manchester, came to Leopardstown for the first time this year and has booked up to return in February.
And although he will also attend Cheltenham in 2023, he feels the Dublin Racing Festival is hands down better value for money.
Jack said: "You just get a real feel in Ireland that everyone is there for the horse and it's just more of an authentic racing crowd, whereas in the UK, I think the races are seen more as a day out and people go for a piss up.
"In Ireland, people go racing for the horse and it definitely changes the atmosphere in the crowd.
"This year when Honeysuckle won, when she came in you just felt that everyone understood what it meant, everyone was there for racing, everyone was there for the horse and I feel that's what Ireland does much better than over here, as well as the value for money."
Josh added: "Over here, on a Saturday particularly and admittedly more in the summer than during the winter, you get a lot of people out for the day drinking and people aren't necessarily there for the racing, whereas going to the DRF you feel that everyone is there for the racing. Everyone's having a drink as well, but they are there mainly for the racing and you don't always feel that over here. The Friday of Cheltenham is literally just full of people getting smashed."
Accommodation prices also continue to soar in Cheltenham and the surrounding areas during the Festival, while pubs and restaurants up the price of food and drink, with the racecourse charging £7 (€8) for a pint of Guinness in a plastic cup this year. In comparison, a pint of Five Lamps Pale Ale is €5.90 at Leopardstown.
At the time of writing, the cheapest available accommodation in Cheltenham on Booking.com between March 12-18 is £900 (€1,033), while a room at a Holiday Inn costs a jaw-dropping £3,600 (€4,127).
Meanwhile, on the weekend of the Dublin Racing Festival, a hotel room in the city can be purchased for just over €200 for two nights, while a room at the Holiday Inn at Parnell Square is €339 for the same dates.
Jack said: "You would class Dublin as quite an expensive city, but when you're comparing it to Cheltenham, it works out so much cheaper. For four of us for the weekend we got a hotel for £300 (€344) at Parnell Square. In Cheltenham we paid over £1,000 for the four of us so when you work it out how much per person per day, the value in Dublin is just crazy.
"Dublin's not cheap by any stretch, but just the logistics of it and the value for money far outweighs going to Cheltenham. It's just a much more enjoyable experience, you feel more relaxed and less stressed.
"The Dublin Racing Festival, for me, is probably the standout meeting of the year now and probably the one I look forward to most in terms of in the National Hunt calendar.
"The Dublin Racing Festival will never replace Cheltenham, but I do believe that your core racing supporters will start looking elsewhere for better value and that could become a big worry for British racing and Cheltenham in particular."
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