Cheltenham Racecourse today announces an exciting new partnership with leading sports tour operator Venatour, which will allow racegoers at The Festival (Tuesday 11th March – Friday 14th March in 2025) to purchase tickets, hotels, travel and entertainment online in a one-stop shop process known as Room To Race.

Available by the end of September via a new bespoke website, Room To Race will offer packages for purchase online that can include flights (if required), hotel stays, racecourse transfers, as well as racecourse entrance tickets and hospitality packages. Other extras available include airport transfers, chauffeur transfers, helicopter transfers and exclusive tickets to evening events.

There will be packages on offer for all budgets, with a choice of 3, 4 and 5-star hotels. The hotels are located as close to the racecourse as possible, aiming to keep those attending The Festival within the Cheltenham and Cotswolds area to benefit the local community. Each hotel will have a Venatour Racing /Jockey Club Racecourses member of staff on hand to answer any questions and help to enhance their experience.

The bespoke nature of Room To Race will ensure that it offers a personal and exclusive experience as well as value for money and the convenience of being able to book everything in one place for an all-inclusive price.

Venatour has its headquarters at Gloucestershire Airport in Cheltenham and has huge experience in organising similar packages for racegoers attending horseracing events across the globe along with other sports such as rugby and cricket.

Ian Renton, Managing Director, The Jockey Club, said: “We are thrilled to announce this exciting new partnership with Venatour today.

“Our research has shown us that it is the inconvenience of purchasing all the individual components separately that prevents some racegoers from making a multi-day visit to the Cheltenham Festival. Following the 2024 Festival, we held meetings with many of the local hotel and accommodation providers to discuss how we can ensure our racegoers are able to stay and enjoy the local area at the best price, so we are delighted so many of them have decided to come on board with this offering.

“We hope that the new Room To Race service for The Festival will remove that inconvenience, as well as offering value for money and great service.

“Venatour’s tremendous record in racing and across other sports played a huge role in this partnership coming together and we look forward to working closely with them to offer Festival racegoers the very best and hassle-free experience.”

Marc Blackford, Director of Horse Racing, Venatour, said: “We are delighted to have partnered with Cheltenham Racecourse and The Jockey Club on Room To Race, this new and exciting concept. Our offices are located only a few miles from the racecourse and as seasoned Jump racing fans ourselves, we are excited to be involved in the pinnacle event of Jump racing and to be bringing racegoers the opportunity to source all their racing requirements in one place. We look forward to offering our racegoers the ‘personal service’ that we are renowned for and enhancing their race day experience.

“This is a new concept for UK racing and we look forward to expanding the concept further in partnership with The Jockey Club in future years.”

Helen Mole, Head of Place Marketing and Inward Investment at Cheltenham Borough Council and Marketing Cheltenham, said: “The Cheltenham Festival is hugely important to the local economy bringing in significant numbers of visitors each year.

“The more visitors who stay locally, the better this is for local businesses so we are pleased to hear of these new packages which will hopefully encourage more visitors to stay and enjoy our wonderful Regency town and the Cotswolds.”

About Venatour
Founded in 2012, Venatour is one of the UK’s leading sports tour operators and travel companies, catering to the most discerning sports fans across the globe.

We offer a broad range of exciting tours designed and put together by our talented team of sports tour operators and travel experts.

So, whether you are interested in horse racing, rugby, cricket, golf, F1 or something more unusual, we can create packages guaranteed not to disappoint.

Our expert team of sports tour operators have a plethora of knowledge built over many years in the industry. With our very own British and Irish Lion, Gareth Chilcott, at the helm, you are guaranteed the perfect sporting experience you’ve always dreamt of.

Whether you have always dreamed of watching the Gold Cup at Cheltenham, the Breeders Cup in the US, watching your rugby team raise the World Cup in France, or exploring New Zealand with an England Cricket Tour thrown in for fun, our experienced sports tour operators can make all the necessary arrangements to guarantee you tickets to the big events, hotels in the right part of town, and flights to suit, so that you get that perfect sporting experience.

For more information, please visit www.venatour.co.uk