The Cheltenham Festival will be back in full flow this week with 250,000 punters expected and a whopping £500million set to be bet on the horses.
This year’s event is the fastest selling ever, with tickets for Friday’s Gold Cup being snapped up in record time.
Racegoers will be chomping at the bit to return to the Prestbury Park course after the 2021 event was held behind closed doors.
That did not dampen the spirits of jockey Jack Kennedy, though after he rode Minella Indo to Gold Cup glory.
From the first race on Tuesday to the final furlong on Friday, 265,000 pints of Guinness, 45, afternoon teas and 8,000 gallons of coffee and tea expected to be consumed.
Ladbrokes spokeswoman Nicola McGeady said: “Every year the Cheltenham Festival gets bigger and bigger, but this could be the biggest yet, with crowds finally back on course after two years.
“The festival is a four-day betting bonanza, the biggest betting week of the year in fact, with the Gold Cup being the pinnacle event.”
The Jockey Club, which owns and runs Cheltenham Racecourse, was widely criticised for hosting the 2020 edition at full capacity, just days before the UK entered the first Covid lockdown.
Comedian Lee Mack was one of the more high-profile attendees to have contracted the virus at what was labelled a super-spreader event.
It denied any wrongdoing and this year it is doing its bit to support the British Red Cross Ukraine Appeal.
The final race of day one has been renamed The Ukraine Appeal National Hunt Chase, whole anyone donating £10 to the cause will go into a raffle to win hospitality tickets for Gold Cup day.
The Jockey Club’s Ian Renton said: “The festival is a major social highlight for a very large number of the racegoers in attendance.
“However, this year’s event is obviously taking place against the backdrop of major conflict in Ukraine.
“Racing has a tremendous record when it comes to fundraising and coming together in times when need is most keenly felt and we are aiming to help the Red Cross Ukraine Appeal as much as possible over the four days of the festival.”
The Irish are expected to dominate with Ladbrokes making it just 5/4 that there are 21 or more winners trained on the Emerald Isle over the week.
It is also 8/1 that the Irish train every single winner on St. Patrick’s Day.
