Cheltz Fest 2021 Behind Closed Doors ?

[archie]

Maybe they can allocate Best Mate (at Tatts prices and with no catering) to those who can't be arsed having the jab or a test.

[Istabraq]

Was it an enjoyable experience?

Are you heavily restricted on which areas you can go?

It was great to be back on a racecourse FM, it felt odd having so few people around and of course Cheltenham is the track you associate with having crowds, atmosphere, hustle/bustle etc, I know one or two in here enjoy the reduced numbers but it did feel odd.

They opened one level of the grandstand and one level of the new stand, catering was impossible in the members bar in the new stand and there was only one outsourced catering van which had queues all day.
We ventured out to the seats at lev 3 in the grandstand and was promptly challenged by a jockey club official who said they were out of bounds, a slightly more offended member responded by reading out the e-mail sent by the racecourse saying members could use lev 3 seats.

It wasn't a day without its' issues but I'd rather have occasional confusion and jump through a few (unnecessary) hoops and be on a racecourse than be stuck at home watching...

[Istabraq]

Was the Best mate stand closed off Ista ? , didn't look like there were any spectator's there ??.

Yes BC, totally shut off which just goes to show why the blanket 2000 limit is a nonsense, Cheltenham as we know can accommodate 70,000 people, allowing for distancing the course could easily hold 15,000-20,000...

[BigChaang]

Wasn’t the case on Friday, 20-30 min wait for the entire day.
That was in the new stand - and, unlike the usual spot in the Grandstand, I’ll have to remember there’s still a furlong to run from that viewpoint !

Was the Best mate stand closed off Ista ? , didn't look like there were any spectator's there ??.

[Faugheen_Machine]

Wasn’t the case on Friday, 20-30 min wait for the entire day.
That was in the new stand - and, unlike the usual spot in the Grandstand, I’ll have to remember there’s still a furlong to run from that viewpoint !

Was it an enjoyable experience?

Are you heavily restricted on which areas you can go?

[Istabraq]

Table service FM, and pretty quick too.

Wasn’t the case on Friday, 20-30 min wait for the entire day.
That was in the new stand - and, unlike the usual spot in the Grandstand, I’ll have to remember there’s still a furlong to run from that viewpoint !

[Spectre]

2000-4000 Members let in for the Festival would be magical, for a one-off.

It would, but I must admit I missed the buzz and the atmosphere.

[Spectre]

Were the bars open? Sounds like heaven

Table service FM, and pretty quick too.

[Saxon Warrior]

It was eerily empty there today. If it’s like that for the Festival it’ll be fantastic.

2000-4000 Members let in for the Festival would be magical, for a one-off.

[Faugheen_Machine]

It was eerily empty there today. If it’s like that for the Festival it’ll be fantastic.

Were the bars open? Sounds like heaven

[Spectre]

It was eerily empty there today. If it’s like that for the Festival it’ll be fantastic.

[Lobos]

There's an article in today's Racing Post saying amongst other things that the number of Cheltenham Annual Members has reduced from around 8,000 to 3,600, so if crowds are allowed at the Festival, there are not quite the numbers hammering on the door for tickets that there were before.

Brilliant news for current members who should all get in and quite a few general tickets on sale as well.

[Imperial Commander]

There's an article in today's Racing Post saying amongst other things that the number of Cheltenham Annual Members has reduced from around 8,000 to 3,600, so if crowds are allowed at the Festival, there are not quite the numbers hammering on the door for tickets that there were before.

[charlie]

Tizzards usually start going well by April

Haha they are woeful atm.

[Outlaw]

Apparently (I haven't heard it) Tony Calvin half joked on the Betfair podcast that a large catering company were briefed about preparing for a Festival in April. I doubt this is big or relevant news yet, probably just a simple case of contingency planning in uncertain times, but thought it worth mentioning nonetheless. In the wake of vaccines being approved, buying another month to try and secure many many millions of pounds would make complete sense.

Tizzards usually start going well by April