It's one of British sport's iconic moments: the roar that erupts at the start of the Cheltenham Festival's opening race. March 14 is here, with promises of thrilling encounters, glory for the victors and heartache for gallant losers.
The Festival has a rich and vibrant history and is about much more than simply betting, evoking a party spirit as punters don their finest garbs and get the champagne flowing. Ladies day promises to be a flurry a fascinators and fabulous frocks, on Wednesday, and all eyes will be on the jewel in the crown of the festival: Friday’s Gold Cup day.
Cheltenham in Numbers:
- 220,000 pints of Guinness are consumed each year across the four days of The Festival
- 25,000 beef burgers and hot dogs are consumed by racegoers
- Attendees much their way through THREE tonnes of smoked salmon
- Ruby Walsh is the most successful jockey in the history of Cheltenham
- It's estimated £100million is put on the horses during the fixture
For the inside track on horse racing grab a subscription to Racing Ahead which provides an unrivalled service to punters, including Paul Ferguson's and Ben Morgan's in-depth preview of the action, Jonathan Powell's assessment of the strong hand held by Colin Tizzard and Andy Newton's exclusive analysis of Cheltenham trends. And if nostalgia is your thing, Yesterday's Hero recalls he incredible feats of Vincent Brien.
