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Ahead of her first Cheltenham Festival since she retired from the saddle as a spectator, the trailblazing rider has fronted a campaign to promote Ladies Day

Rachael Blackmore has scored another victory at Cheltenham by helping increase the number of female racegoers attending the Cheltenham Festival. The trailblazing former jockey retired from the saddle after last year’s fixture, having ridden 18 Festival winners and also becoming the first female to win the Grand National.

Cheltenham Racecourse appointed Blackmore as Head of Ladies Day in November 2025, an ambassadorial role created to help encourage more women to attend the fixture by showing everything a day at the races has to offer. The campaign celebrated the return of Ladies Day to the Cheltenham Festival for the first time since 2019.

Blackmore visited local communities, met members of the public at shopping centres in Oxford, Birmingham and Cardiff, where she spoke about the Festival to regular racegoers and newcomers alike, posed for photographs and encouraged more women to experience the magic of the meeting.

According to the Jockey Club the campaign has paid off with new figures showing that 33 percent of ticket purchasers for Ladies Day on Wednesday compared with 25 percent in 2025.

Guy Lavender, chief executive of Cheltenham Racecourse, said: “We wanted to make Ladies Day an occasion that felt welcoming and exciting for everyone, and the response we’ve seen has been incredibly encouraging.

“To see female ticket purchasers increase from 25% last year to 33% this year shows that the campaign is already making a real difference.

“Having Rachael at the heart of it has been fantastic. Her willingness to get out into the community, meet people and talk about The Festival has helped bring the Cheltenham experience to new audiences.”

Blackmore, 36, retired from the saddle in May last year and this will be her first Cheltenham Festival as a spectator.

She said: “It’s been really enjoyable meeting so many people and talking about what makes the Cheltenham Festival so special.

“The build up to this year’s event has been very different for me but I have loved the new challenge that this role has given me. Cheltenham has been a huge part of my life, some of my best memories are here and I am proud to have been able to work with the racecourse to share that magic with the public.

“Whether someone follows racing closely or has never been before, it’s such a brilliant day out and I believe it has so much to offer to everyone. It’s great to see more women deciding to come along to Ladies Day this year. To see numbers go from 25% to 33% is fantastic and hopefully it’s something that will continue to grow.”