'Lots of people are doing it and you can understand why' - race fans plump for Costa del Cheltenham over the festival

A video of holidaymakers watching the Cheltenham Festival on a big screen at a Benidorm hotel has been viewed more than five million times on X and offers a window into a growing phenomenon.

The festival remains a popular attraction, but attendances are down and some of those missing are deciding to trade the Cotswolds for the Costa del Sol and similar spots, viewing a trip to the continent as a cheaper, sunnier alternative to attending the four-day meeting.

In Spain there is a warm welcome for Cheltenham lovers. The Mad Ass, an Irish sports bar in Benalmadena between Torremolinos and Fuengirola, began promoting itself as a place to watch the festival in mid-February, while down the coast in Fuengirola Christy's Irish Gastropub screened all 27 races, from the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle on Tuesday to the Martin Pipe on Friday.

Steven Orme, a postman in his early 50s from Wigan, has attended the festival with a group of friends for 25 years but was not there this time, deciding to watch from Costa Adeje in Tenerife instead.

He flew out with two friends the day before the festival  and paid £600 for flights and accommodation in a villa – the same figure he said he would spend on tickets alone for the four-day meeting.

Orme said: “It was really good and we've already said we're doing the same next year. We were there on Monday afternoon and we found a bar that would have the racing on. They had big tellies and we asked if we needed to book a table – they said no, just be here an hour before the first and you'll get one.

"That was us for the week. Every day we got a table, they had food on and we watched the racing and had a really good week. There were a lot of people watching the racing and I have friends who went to Benidorm and they said that was rammed. We got bets on okay, we had the sun and I had a few winners as well.

"The villa and the flights cost me about £600 last week and when we've been going to Cheltenham we've had seats in the grandstand and ended up paying about £800 for the four days' tickets. It's a bit of a no-brainer for us now. We're all jump racing fans and always will be but it got to the point where they were pricing it silly.

Packed stands at Cheltenham last week - but some race fans are questioning whether the festival still offers valueCredit: Alan Crowhurst

"That's why we made the decision to do something else. We gave it a go and we've all come back and said we'll be doing it again next year. In some ways that's a shame because I've had a lot of good years at Cheltenham and have some lifetime memories, but you wonder if you are getting value for money and I don't think you are any more at Cheltenham."

Lee Wilson and Jack Flaherty, two racing-mad neighbours and veteran racegoers from Surrey, flew out with nine friends the day before the festival bound for Benalmadena.

Wilson said: “It was a fantastic week. We’re talking about doing it again next year because it was far preferable to sit outside in the sun and watch the racing on the television. 

“It’s getting quite popular and the bars were quite busy, almost to the point of you needing to get into them between 10.30am and 11am to secure a good table. We had a great spot in front of the screen, but another group tried getting in there 30 minutes before the racing started on Gold Cup day and that wasn’t happening. 

“I would have preferred a few extra hours in the morning to have a look around and chill out a bit, but we couldn’t because everywhere was so popular. We were paying £3 for drinks and the prices were ridiculously good.”

The attendance across Cheltenham’s four days dropped by 11,000 and early prices have now been frozen for 2025, but Wilson believes that may be too late, particularly with falling field sizes and the dominance of Willie Mullins making many races uncompetitive.

He said: “I’ve been going 26 years now and I just can’t see how Cheltenham can reclaim the crowds. The attendance was down this year and the prices have driven a few people away, but it’s not just the attendance, I think the festival itself was quite underwhelming. In the Gallagher Novices’ Hurdle, five of the seven runners were Willie Mullins horses.

“If you ask me now about either going to the festival or going to Plumpton in May, I’d be picking the latter. The racing is competitive enough, you’ll get good weather and it’s easy access.”

Trials day at Cheltenham: a bigger attraction for Rory Dowd and friends than the festival

Key account manager Rory Dowd used to travel to the festival from Ireland but this year decided to go to Tenerife with a group of friends. The 36-year-old said the cost of Cheltenham had become prohibitive.

He said: "I’ve been to the festival ten times and my grandfather went 40 times, but the cost is too high. We came over for Trials day in January and that was brilliant. The hotel we stayed in for two nights was €491 and the same hotel for the same number of nights during the festival was €2,194."

Dowd and his friends booked a table at McGuires Irish bar, which served lunch and a beer on arrival on each day of the festival for €50.

"I’ve seen that lots of people are doing the same as us and you can understand why. I do still go to Cheltenham, just the lesser meetings like Trials day, and we already have our hotel booked for that next year.”

Read these next:

Cheltenham Festival average field sizes down 15 per cent with fewer than 400 horses facing the starter 

'We’re already in a big mess’ - Cheltenham is haemorrhaging spectators and that could have very costly consequences  

'We're not being complacent' insists Jockey Club chief after total Cheltenham Festival attendance drops by 11,000 

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