Missed out on Cheltenham Festival tickets? Sunderland revealed as top five city to watch the races

We’re not horsing around! Sunderland has placed in the top five in a new study which ranks the best towns and cities in England to watch the Cheltenham Festival… in the local pub, of course.

Amongst other factors, the study compared which English towns and cities are home to the highest proportion of bars showing live sports, cheap pints of Guinness and stable internet connection. Pretty much everything you might need for a day of celebrating St. Patrick's Day and watching the Cheltenham Festival.

So, if you are a Sunderland resident who missed out on tickets to the Cheltenham Festival, then this research from The Winners Enclosure has confirmed that the next best thing is right on your doorstep.

Sunderland placed fifth in the ranking table, as this city was found to be the home of England’s cheapest pint of Guinness - just £3.62 on average. Sunderland might have ranked even higher were it not for the fact that not a single pub in the city has a ‘horse’ themed name.

Each location was given a score out of 50 based on 6 factors including the price of a pint of Guinness, the proportion of sports bars, Irish bars and bars with a ‘horse’ themed name, plus the estimated strength of 5G and broadband in the area, and the search volume for Cheltenham Festival related searches.

1. Stoke-on-Trent - 35 /50

2. Worcester - 33.2 /50

3. Doncaster - 33.1 /50

4. Coventry - 32.7 /50

5. Sunderland - 31.2 /50

Stoke-on-Trent came out on top as the best alternative city to watch the Cheltenham Festival. The city famous for its pottery was also found to serve up a pretty cheap pint of Guinness - just £4.02 on average. The study also found that an impressive 51.2% of bars in Stoke claim to show live sports on TV.

With a total score of 33.2, Worcester was revealed as the second best alternative destination to get stuck into the Gold Cup. The West Midlands city is a popular place to stay for Cheltenham Festival goers given its proximity to Cheltenham. Worcester also boasts a high proportion of 53.5% of its bars showing live sports. What’s more an eye-watering 1 in 65 people from Worcester have been found to be searching terms related to the Cheltenham Festival online in the last month.

Despite having a racecourse of its own, Doncaster dropped in at third for the best alternative destinations to watch the Cheltenham Festival, with a total score of 33.1. The South Yorkshire city is home to one of the cheapest pints of Guinness in the country, at just £3.89 on average.

Coventry placed fourth in the ranking table, with a total score of 32.7 for the West Midlands city. Surprisingly, Coventry is home to one of the highest proportions of Irish bars in England - an incredible 10.8% of all the bars in the city fall into the Irish bar category. The Guinness is not too badly priced either at £4.07 on average.

In addition to cheap pints of the black stuff, Sunderland can credit its total score of 31.2 on a very high ratio of sports bars. 44.3% of all Sunderland bars claim to show live sports on TV, putting the city in the top third for this category.

Other towns and cities to make the top 10 include Bradford, Liverpool and Portsmouth, proving that no matter where you are in the country, there’s always a good spot nearby to watch the races.

London just missed out on the top 10, ranking in 11th place with a score of 27.8 out of 50. While London had lots of options when it came to Irish pubs, the average price of a Guinness in the capital was the highest in the UK at £6.13.

Alex Beecham, Managing Director at The Winners Enclosure, said “While we know being in the grandstand on Gold Cup day is the place to be, millions across the UK will be looking to replicate the famous Cheltenham roar in their towns and cities across the country.

He continued, “In what always promises to be a major celebratory week in the calendar with the races and St Patrick’s Day, the results show that there are plenty of places around the UK where you can get in on the action.”

For more information about the Cheltenham Festival, please go to:

https://www.thewinnersenclosure.com/cheltenham-festival/tips

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