Cheltenham delighted as festival ticket tout numbers decline sharply

Ticket touts operating around Cheltenham were significantly reduced in numbers for the opening two days of the festival as the racecourse’s High Court injunction came under its sternest test so far.

In October last year Cheltenham won a landmark ruling preventing touts from operating on racecourse property, with the threat of a custodial sentence for anyone found breaching the injunction.

Around half a dozen touts were doing business with racegoers by one of the entrances to the track on Wednesday, but Cheltenham boss Ian Renton said those buying and selling tickets were massively down on 12 months ago.

“There were about 20 touts operating around the racecourse yesterday, who were removed," he said. "To put into context, we’d have had around 150 in the area last year.

“It may well be that only when there's serious action taken against the individuals do they stop operating entirely. However, the fact is while we’ve not totally eradicated the touts, there's a massive reduction in numbers, and that’s giving racegoers a hugely more enjoyable experience.”

One tout estimated the number of individuals conducting business had dropped by about 80 per cent compared to last year, but added: “All we’re doing is offering a service, just like if you’re buying a can of Coke or Mars Bar. We’re buying tickets from people and then we’re selling them, that’s all.

"Some people might think we’re a nuisance, but I don’t think most seem to mind that much. We’ve got families and they need to eat, so we’re not going anywhere.”

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