Published on 10th November 2022

Four jockeys in colourful silks racing astride their horses.

Arrangements for this weekend’s November races includes additional measures to ensure the impact of the event in the town is effectively managed.

The Cheltenham Racecourse November Meeting 2022 will take place from Friday 11 to Sunday 13 November 2022. Though the November Meeting is smaller in scale than that of the festival in March, it is still expected that spectator numbers in excess of 30,000 will visit and stay in Cheltenham this weekend.

The council and police have listened to the feedback and concerns from local communities who are most affected by local horse racing events. For the November Meeting, additional toilets have been ordered particularly along the Evesham Road and in the town centre as well as extra signage. These locations suffered significant issues with anti-social behaviour in the form of public urination and littering.

In addition to the extra toilets, there will be a visible presence of council and police officers in the town centre and along the Evesham Road to deter anti-social behaviour. The racecourse has also announced its ‘Love Our Turf’ campaign which aims to encourage positive behaviour from racegoers before, during and after race days. 

Cllr Martin Horwood, cabinet member for customer and regulatory services, said: “Cheltenham is world-renowned for horse racing events and the town welcomes thousands of visitors each year. As a result some local residents and communities experience a significant impact and sadly also anti-social behaviour.

“We have listened to the concerns and complaints from these affected residents and communities and acted to do what we can to minimise the impact on these residents and communities.”

“After big events such as the November Meeting, the council, together with the police and The Jockey Club, will review planning and arrangements made and will seek to make further improvements looking forward to March next year.

“I encourage residents to speak their local ward members if they have any comments or concerns to feed in to the post-event review.

“I’d like to thank police and Jockey Club in particular for making the town safer and more enjoyable during race week.”

Chief Inspector Carl Bourne, Gloucestershire Constabulary, said: “We welcome the positive steps which are being taken following feedback from the local community.

“The races bring in thousands of visitors each year, and anything which can be done to help reduce anti-social behaviour and minimise the impact on local residents is crucial.

“We will continue to work with the racecourse and our partners to ensure the large-scale events run as smoothly as possible for all.”

In addition to the arrangements put in place for the November Meeting, officers from the council and police’s licensing teams will undertake inspections of licensed venues, taxis and the sexual entertainment venues to ensure compliance and maintain high public safety standards.

For media enquiries, contact: communications, telephone 01242 264231 email [email protected].