Jockey Club mulls five-day Cheltenham Festival
March event will remain as is for 2022 as organisers explore potential for day of racing on Saturday
The Jockey Club is considering extending Cheltenham Festival to five days from four.
At present, the annual March meeting showcases four days of 28 races between Tuesday and Friday.
A potential extension would also include Saturday, bringing Cheltenham in line with Royal Ascot which was extended to five days in 2003.
The move would boost racing finances after a desperate year due to the Covid-19 pandemic, while the addition of a Saturday celebration would aid another Jockey Club strategy in attracting a younger demographic to the sport.
Despite this, no concrete decision has been made to extend the festival and the four-day format will remain unchanged for the 2022 event.
A spokesperson for The Jockey Club said: “It is always interesting to listen to the debate around a fifth day and the last time this was discussed in earnest in public some key stakeholders in our sport expressed their desire for a fifth day.
“We will always explore every option to improve the festival and support British racing, but we have made no decision to extend the length of the festival.”
Cheltenham was originally a three-day fixture until a fourth day was added in 2005, when the flagship Gold Cup race was switched from Thursday to Friday.