CHELTENHAM FESTIVAL STATS, FACTS AND FIGURES
After going ahead behind closed doors in 2021, crowds will flock back to the Cheltenham Festival this year. Bars and restaurants will be full and the grandstands will be doing their best to keep their roofs on with the famous "Cheltenham Roar" expected to be louder than ever.
Have you ever wondered how many gallons of coffee are drunk during the four days? Or perhaps the length of running rails around the track?
Here are all the facts, figures and stats from recent Cheltenham Festivals.
RACING
✦ The record prize money for The Festival™ 2019 was over £4,590,000. The most of any Jump festival in the world, over £1,000,000 per day
✦ £625,000 was the prize money available for the Cheltenham Gold Cup
✦ 12,320 yards of running rails surrounding the track
✦ 5,000 bundles of birch used every season
✦ 1934 – the year Golden Miller became the first horse to win both the Cheltenham Gold Cup and the Grand National in a single season
✦ 28 Jump races run at The Festival™
✦ The number of times an Irish-trained horse has won the Cheltenham Gold Cup is 25
✦ 22 fences jumped during the Cheltenham Gold Cup
✦ The most wins by a jockey in one year at The Festival™ is 7 by Ruby Walsh in 2016
✦ 6 – most consecutive victories by a horse in any Cheltenham Festival race - Quevega in the Mares’ Hurdle between 2009 and 2014
✦ 5 feature races run during The Festival™, including the Cheltenham Gold Cup, Betway Queen Mother Champion Chase, Unibet Champion Hurdle, the Ryanair Chase, and The Paddy Power Stayers’ Hurdle
✦ The shortest distance raced at The Festival™ is 2 miles
✦ The first female jockey to win a Grade 1 race during The Festival™ was Katie Walsh in 2018, winning The Weatherby's Champion Bumper. Both Bryony Frost and Racheal Blackmore won Grade 1 races in 2019
✦ £625,000 was the prize money available for the Cheltenham Gold Cup
✦ 12,320 yards of running rails surrounding the track
✦ 5,000 bundles of birch used every season
✦ 1934 – the year Golden Miller became the first horse to win both the Cheltenham Gold Cup and the Grand National in a single season
✦ 28 Jump races run at The Festival™
✦ The number of times an Irish-trained horse has won the Cheltenham Gold Cup is 25
✦ 22 fences jumped during the Cheltenham Gold Cup
✦ The most wins by a jockey in one year at The Festival™ is 7 by Ruby Walsh in 2016
✦ 6 – most consecutive victories by a horse in any Cheltenham Festival race - Quevega in the Mares’ Hurdle between 2009 and 2014
✦ 5 feature races run during The Festival™, including the Cheltenham Gold Cup, Betway Queen Mother Champion Chase, Unibet Champion Hurdle, the Ryanair Chase, and The Paddy Power Stayers’ Hurdle
✦ The shortest distance raced at The Festival™ is 2 miles
✦ The first female jockey to win a Grade 1 race during The Festival™ was Katie Walsh in 2018, winning The Weatherby's Champion Bumper. Both Bryony Frost and Racheal Blackmore won Grade 1 races in 2019
TRAVEL
✦ 134,600 people used the Cheltenham Spa train station over the four days
✦ 80,000 used the shuttle bus service between the Racecourse and town centre
✦ 36,500 vehicles parked over the four days
✦ 100 helicopter movements per day
✦ 50 staff coaches per day, sourced from all over the country, as far away as London, Cardiff, Swansea, Birmingham and Coventry
✦ 30 extra flights put on by Ryanair on the Dublin to Birmingham route during The Festival™ period (around 20,000 customers will use Ryanair)
✦ 80,000 used the shuttle bus service between the Racecourse and town centre
✦ 36,500 vehicles parked over the four days
✦ 100 helicopter movements per day
✦ 50 staff coaches per day, sourced from all over the country, as far away as London, Cardiff, Swansea, Birmingham and Coventry
✦ 30 extra flights put on by Ryanair on the Dublin to Birmingham route during The Festival™ period (around 20,000 customers will use Ryanair)
ADMISSION
✦ 1,500 attended Cheltenham on Cheltenham Gold Cup Day
✦ The average attendance over the four days is 65,000
✦ The average attendance over the four days is 65,000
CATERING
✦ 45,000 bread rolls were eaten at The Festival™ 2015
✦ 45,000 afternoon teas served to customers at The Festival™ 2015
✦ 40,000 hospitality guests served over the four days of The Festival
✦ 8,000+ gallons of tea and coffee served
✦ 350 chefs on site
✦ 9 tons of potatoes consumed during The Festival™
✦ 5 tons of smoked and fresh salmon consumed at The Festival™
✦ 3,800 catering team operating the event each day
✦ 350 chefs catering each day of the event
✦ 350 managers running the event each day
✦ 500 students from over 14 colleges work at The Festival™ each day
✦ 8 furlongs of temporary bar counters
✦45,000 hospitality meals
✦ 24 marquees including the longest triple-deck structure in Europe, with over 2.5 miles of internal walls
✦ 9,000+ gallons of tea & coffee consumed
✦ 5 tons of cheese consumed
✦ 240 private boxes
✦ 15 restaurants
✦ 30 temporary kitchens
✦ 74 mobile catering units
✦ 45,000 afternoon teas served to customers at The Festival™ 2015
✦ 40,000 hospitality guests served over the four days of The Festival
✦ 8,000+ gallons of tea and coffee served
✦ 350 chefs on site
✦ 9 tons of potatoes consumed during The Festival™
✦ 5 tons of smoked and fresh salmon consumed at The Festival™
✦ 3,800 catering team operating the event each day
✦ 350 chefs catering each day of the event
✦ 350 managers running the event each day
✦ 500 students from over 14 colleges work at The Festival™ each day
✦ 8 furlongs of temporary bar counters
✦45,000 hospitality meals
✦ 24 marquees including the longest triple-deck structure in Europe, with over 2.5 miles of internal walls
✦ 9,000+ gallons of tea & coffee consumed
✦ 5 tons of cheese consumed
✦ 240 private boxes
✦ 15 restaurants
✦ 30 temporary kitchens
✦ 74 mobile catering units
THE RACECOURSE
✦ 40,000m2 – the volume of space that is built for the four days in the Tented Village and the triple-decker that sits alongside the racecourse
✦ 2001 – the only year, besides the periods during the two World Wars, that The Festival has been cancelled (due to foot and mouth disease)
✦ 1000 – members of the press accredited for The Festival™ each year
✦ 250 - number of rails bookmakers on site each day
✦ 3 – the three-storey temporary structure installed for The Festival™, beyond the Guinness Village, is the biggest, three-tiered temporary structure in Europe
All stats supplied by The Jockey Club
✦ 2001 – the only year, besides the periods during the two World Wars, that The Festival has been cancelled (due to foot and mouth disease)
✦ 1000 – members of the press accredited for The Festival™ each year
✦ 250 - number of rails bookmakers on site each day
✦ 3 – the three-storey temporary structure installed for The Festival™, beyond the Guinness Village, is the biggest, three-tiered temporary structure in Europe
All stats supplied by The Jockey Club
