Cheltenham Festival organisers have stayed true to their word by lowering the price of a pint of Guinness at this year’s races.
As detailed by Daily Mail Sport in September, the decision to lower the prices came as a means to entice racegoers to return to the four-day event after a reduction in attendance.
In 2025, 218,839 people flocked to Prestbury Park – a decrease of more than 10,000 on the previous year when just south of 230,000 attended.
Last year’s Ladies Day, which is on a Wednesday, saw just 41,949 come through the gates – the lowest crowd figure for a single day in a quarter of a century.
Many punters blamed the increasing costs of attending and enjoying Cheltenham as the main factor for no-shows, with a pint of Guinness in 2025 almost at the £8-mark at £7.80.
And in response to all of the above, the price of a pint of Guinness at this year’s Festival has been slashed by 30p to £7.50. Meanwhile a half-pint is £3.75 – 15p less than last year.
Cheltenham Festival have reduced their pint of Guinness prices by 30p to £7.50 this year
Racegoers pictured enjoying a £7.50 pint of Guinness ahead of the first day at Cheltenham
A Guinness half-pint has decreased by 15p to £3.75 as Cheltenham tries to attract more fans
That full-pint price reduction, spearheaded by chief executive Guy Lavender, means the popular alcoholic beverage is the same price it was in 2022.
Speaking in September about that now-ratified decision, former MCC chairman Lavender said: ‘The price of a pint of Guinness is a peculiarly emotive issue for many people, but it’s important.
‘You can’t benchmark it, Cheltenham is its own event but it was quite clear that this was something people cared about. Therefore, my view was that we ought to do something about it.
‘Rather than put their prices up, which I expect every other venue to do, I felt we should reduce those prices and carry those costs ourselves. That’s a decision we’ve taken to implement for the whole of the season.
‘If you look at other sports and events, I think there will be very few that are matching that price point. It’s a deliberate, purposeful move towards delivering better value for racegoers. It’s not about selling more pints, it’s an indication of intent that we’re responding to the challenges around value. I hope it’ll be well received.’
As well as Guinness, there are many other price changes – albeit small – compared to last year.
Guinness 0.0 is cheaper too with a pint now £7.30 and a half-pint at £3.65 slightly less than last year’s prices of £7.40 and £3.70.
Crowds fell by more than 10,000 at Cheltenham in 2025 compared to a year earlier
The drinks prices of this year’s Cheltenham (above) compared to last year’s (below)
For those who wish to get on the spirits, there is good news too with 25ml of Morgan’s Spiced, Smirnoff, Gordon’s Gin and Gordon’s Pink Gin all reduced by 20p to £7.
A 330ml bottle of premium lager or a 500ml can of Doom Bar are still the same at £7.40 and £7.80 each. A 25ml shot of Jamesons is also still £7.30.
However, for those who wish to drink an alcohol free lager they face inflation by 10p with a 330ml bottle now up to £4.10. Wines have also increased by 30p to £10 for anyone fancying a house white, house red or house rose.
