New Cheltenham Racecourse grandstand to open in November

The new grandstand will be opened by the Princess Royal on 13 November

A new grandstand at Cheltenham Racecourse will be opened next month, it has been announced.

The Princess Royal will officially open the new stand on the first day of the Open race meeting on 13 November.

The final part of a £45m redevelopment at the course will house restaurants, bars and a new Royal Box.

The ground floor of the stand will house a new bar named after Lord Vestey, who was chairman of Cheltenham for 21 years until 2011.

The stand is the final part of a £45m redevelopment to be completed

A champagne bar on the first floor will be named after the horse Big Buck's, who won four World Hurdles at the Cheltenham Festival and a record 18 consecutive races.

Other projects, including a refurbished weighing room and a new first aid room, have been completed at the course over the past 19 months.

Ian Renton, from the Jockey Club, said: "Since we started the project in earnest immediately after The Festival in 2014, all of those involved in this new development have worked tirelessly to deliver such a fantastic new grandstand in readiness for this season.

"The feedback on those parts of the redevelopment that we have opened to date has been incredibly positive, and I am sure that those who experience all that the new stand has to offer over the coming months will agree that this is a stand of which Cheltenham and its racegoers can be really proud."

The new 6,500-capacity grandstand replaces an old building that was built in the 1920s.

The annual Cheltenham Festival always attracts huge crowds to the racecourse