FEATURE XXXXXXX
WELCOME
I t is both an honour and a pleasure to introduce our Preview magazine, as we gear up to the greatest jumps Festival in the world, now only two weeks away!
Over the last month, I have been lucky enough to visit some of our leading trainers, including Willie Mullins and Nicky Henderson; two of the most accomplished, competitive and nicest men you could ever hope to meet. Walking around their yards,
This year will be my first Festival where I transition from being an enthusiastic racegoer to having the privilege of leading this incredible event and racecourse. Having recently moved from
talking to their brilliant teams and families and seeing horses such as Galopin Des Champs and Constitution Hill at close quarters really brought home to me the enormous sense of anticipation and competition which we are about to witness. The Festival is often referred to as the Olympics of our sport and it very much felt like that to me. In the pages ahead you can read about Nicky’s Champion Hurdle story, 25 years on from his first win, and racing’s own sibling rivalry with Sean and James Bowen, as well as practical information to ensure you have a great day out and don’t miss a thing. Finally, I wanted to emphasise our total commitment to making sure your visit, whether that be for one or four days, is the very best that it can be. All of our team are ready to welcome to you to one of the greatest sporting events on the planet and make sure you have a brilliant time. I can hardly wait to hear the Cheltenham roar! Regards,
running Lord’s Cricket Ground to Cheltenham Racecourse, I am struck both by the similarities of what we need to achieve in delivering brilliant experiences for you but also the differences; not only in the sport itself but in the size and scale of the operation. Over the course of the four days, we will welcome over 200,000 racegoers from all over the world, watch 28 exhilarating races, invest in the equivalent of 17 football pitches’ worth of trackway for car parks and prepare 40,000 covers in our hospitality areas. In the Autumn 2024, The Jockey Club announced a number of key improvements that will be made for the Cheltenham Festival 2025. These changes were introduced as the beginning of a multi-million-pound investment following feedback after last year’s event from racegoers, fans, owners, trainers and the media. Whether you’re ticking us off the bucket list or have been coming for years, we want your experience with us to be unforgettable for the right reasons. From more trackway being laid than ever before in our car parks, to upgraded bar facilities, we want the Cheltenham Festival to be world class on and off the track.
GUY LAVENDER | CHIEF EXECUTIVE CHELTENHAM RACECOURSE
cheltenham.co.uk 3
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