Brits have swapped Cheltenham for Costa Blanca with an enormous inflow of followers hitting Benidorm to benefit from the racing away from the expensive competition in Gloucestershire.
Punters dressed up in comical outfits and hit the Benidorm strip for the beginning of the four-day competition on Tuesday, a rising custom lately with resort bookings rising by a staggering 225 per cent.
Whereas Cheltenham organisers have sought to make beer extra reasonably priced after criticism final 12 months, reducing the worth of Guinness to £7.50 a pint, Benidorm’s provide of £1.70 a pint seems too good to show down for 1000’s of Brits.
Holidaygoers have been seen carrying conventional jockey outfits and downing pints within the solar whereas the races bought below approach 1,300 miles north – the place the climate is at present 11 levels and overcast.
It’s not simply a budget booze that has enticed Brits to embrace Benidorm moderately than Cheltenham. Burgers can be found at over half the worth of the £12 value on the competition, whereas flights price a fraction of the prepare fares demanded of travellers going from London to Gloucestershire.
Entrance to bars on the strip is free, whereas a ticket for the day at Cheltenham will price between £47 and £180.
Hundreds of Britons have flocked to Benidorm for the beginning of Cheltenham – together with these males in Paddy Energy-sponsored swimming trunks
Punters are travelling to Spain moderately than Gloucestershire as a less expensive different
Pints price as little as £1.70 within the Spanish metropolis, in comparison with £7.50 on the official occasion
Racing followers have been seen carrying fancy costume as they loved the primary day of the four-day racing bonanza
There are numerous massive display TVs exhibiting all the races, reside DJ units and pool events on provide.
The competition provides Benidorm a working begin to St Patrick’s Day (March 17) a usually hectic time within the space the place vacationers benefit from the vacation.
Brits reportedly make up over 40 per cent of Benidorm’s guests over the course of a 12 months. Almost 900,000 UK travellers visited the town in 2024.
Cheltenham bosses are battling to spice up attendances after final 12 months’s figures dropped at an alarming price.
In 2025, 218,839 folks flocked to Prestbury Park – a lower of greater than 10,000 on the earlier 12 months when simply south of 230,000 attended.
Final 12 months’s Girls Day, which is on a Wednesday, noticed simply 41,949 come via the gates – the bottom crowd determine for a single day in 1 / 4 of a century.
Many punters blamed the rising prices of attending and having fun with Cheltenham as the principle issue for no-shows, with a pint of Guinness in 2025 virtually on the £8-mark at £7.80.
And in response to all the above, the worth of a pint of Guinness at this 12 months’s Pageant has been slashed by 30p to £7.50. In the meantime a half-pint is £3.75 – 15p lower than final 12 months.
That full-pint value discount, spearheaded by chief govt Man Lavender, means the favored alcoholic beverage is identical value it was in 2022.
A Guinness half-pint has decreased by 15p to £3.75 as Cheltenham tries to draw extra followers
Racegoers pictured having fun with a £7.50 pint of Guinness forward of the primary day at Cheltenham
Talking in September about that now-ratified choice, former MCC chairman Lavender stated: ‘The worth of a pint of Guinness is a peculiarly emotive difficulty for many individuals, nevertheless it’s essential.
‘You’ll be able to’t benchmark it, Cheltenham is its personal occasion nevertheless it was fairly clear that this was one thing folks cared about. Subsequently, my view was that we should do one thing about it.
‘Somewhat than put their costs up, which I anticipate each different venue to do, I felt we must always cut back these costs and carry these prices ourselves. That is a choice we have taken to implement for the entire of the season.
‘For those who take a look at different sports activities and occasions, I believe there might be only a few which are matching that value level. It is a deliberate, purposeful transfer in the direction of delivering higher worth for racegoers. It is not about promoting extra pints, it is a sign of intent that we’re responding to the challenges round worth. I hope it will be effectively obtained.’
In addition to Guinness, there are various different value modifications – albeit small – in comparison with final 12 months.
Guinness 0.0 is cheaper too with a pint now £7.30 and a half-pint at £3.65 barely lower than final 12 months’s costs of £7.40 and £3.70.
For many who want to get on the spirits, there may be excellent news too with 25ml of Morgan’s Spiced, Smirnoff, Gordon’s Gin and Gordon’s Pink Gin all lowered by 20p to £7.
A 330ml bottle of premium lager or a 500ml can of Doom Bar are nonetheless the identical at £7.40 and £7.80 every. A 25ml shot of Jamesons can be nonetheless £7.30.
Nonetheless, for many who want to drink an alcohol free lager they face inflation by 10p with a 330ml bottle now as much as £4.10. Wines have additionally elevated by 30p to £10 for anybody fancying a home white, home crimson or home rose.
