Cheltenham ask racegoers to arrive early after Microsoft outage

Cheltenham has urged racegoers to arrive early on Friday for the first day of the November meeting as a worldwide Microsoft outage could cause issues with digital tickets.

Outlook and Teams have suffered disruption since Thursday evening and while Microsoft has said the outage has not been caused by a cyber security issue, efforts to restore full service have so far proved unsuccessful.

The November meeting is the second biggest fixture outside of the Festival and racegoers who have purchased digital tickets could be affected.

As a result, Cheltenham are asking those without paper tickets to arrive early.

A statement released on social media from Cheltenham read: “We’re aware that there is currently an issue with Microsoft platforms. If you have purchased a ticket using an account associated with Microsoft and are yet to download your e-ticket, please arrive at the racecourse in plenty of time and our team on course will be able to assist.

“Tickets are still available to purchase on the gate today. We’re looking forward to welcoming you to our opening day of the November meeting.”

The British Horseracing Authority says it is working to “ensure that racing continues without disruption” in light of the outage.

A BHA statement said: “Like many other organisations we have been impacted by the global outage at Microsoft that is affecting many of its services, including Outlook.

“This means that emails to and from the BHA are not currently working. If you need to contact us urgently, please do so by phone.

“Racing Admin is working as normal. We are also working with racecourses and others to ensure that racing continues without disruption.”