Cheltenham Festival Vs. The Royal Ascot
Similarly to a page we did a few years ago on The Cheltenham versus The Grand National, today I want to look at the Royal Ascot and Cheltenham and look at what they do the same, what they do differently and which is better. While some fans of horse racing prefer smaller horse racing festivals, a lot of the bigger and more dedicated fans prefer these bigger ones.
So if you are a big fan of horse racing and are trying to decide which to go to, I hope this information can help you.
Royal Ascot Synopsis
Royal Ascot is one of the biggest horse racing festivals in the world and this includes the betting side of this. Royal Ascot is a huge event with around 300,000 people attending during the 5-day event. Royal Ascot broke records for being the first European horse racing festival to reach an attendance number of 500,000 which is mainly because of the popularity and influence of the event.
People from all around the world come to this horse racing festival for betting, drinking and dressing up and I believe this is one of its greatest appeals. The idea of getting dressed up with friends and watching horse races is the reason why horse racing is so popular.
Royal Ascot is a huge social event with people looking at the UK horse betting odds and trying to win some money with the other 300,000 people who attend. A lot of alcohol is purchased at the Royal Ascot with hundreds of thousands of drinks bought each year, the amount of money spent by attendees means that when we next go, it will be a better experience because of the money the organizers make from purchases.
Cheltenham Synopsis
Cheltenham is a huge festival with some of the biggest horse races happening at Cheltenham, this includes, The Cheltenham Gold Cup, The Queen Mother Chase and the Champion Hurdle as a few examples. These are all known as some of the biggest horse races in the sport and some of the most sought-after.
Cheltenham taking place in Gloucestershire has resulted in this city having a major economic overhaul, with around 100 million making its way back to the city. In a similar fashion to the Royal Ascot, we will look at the 2014 drink statistics to show how much of a social event this festival is. In 2014, 120,000 bottles of wine and 265,000 pints of Guinness were bought, most likely resulting in a lot of drunk people. Again, this money is used to make the festival fun for us and improve things year by year.
The Differences
The Royal Ascot is a different horse racing festival than a lot of others with it having a more high-class feel to it. In 1711, the Royal Ascot was introduced by Queen Anne and since its inception, these Royal Family links have been strong. Whereas, Cheltenham attracts a whole host of racing fans, whether it’s the diehard horse racing fans or the intermediate fans who are only there because of Cheltenham’s history.
The main race of the Royal Ascot is The Gold Cup Which is a flat race that has been around for over 200 years and is iconic in the world of horse racing. This race is on a flat surface and 2 miles long. The opposite of this race is Cheltenham’s biggest race, The Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup, which is a hugely prestigious contest in jump racing which is opposite to the Gold Cup.
Which Is Better?
This is a personal preference question and a hard one to answer. The type of person you are depends on which you will prefer. If you are looking for a more sophisticated horse racing experience, where you can get dressed up in fancy clothing and have a lot to drink, Royal Ascot is better.
However, for the more everyday Horse Racing fan, who wants to consume a lot of alcohol and do some (responsible) gambling, Cheltenham is your choice. As someone who is lucky enough to have been to both, I can say that my experience at Cheltenham was vastly different and better than the Royal Ascot.