Racing: Racing fans under starter's orders
Horse racing fans were flocking to Cheltenham today for the start of the town’s eagerly anticipated National Hunt Festival.
The world-famous event, which brings thousands of visitors and an estimated £40m (€65m) trade to the Gloucestershire spa town, was cancelled last year due to fears of foot-and-mouth disease.
But the 20-race three-day steeple chasing festival at Prestbury Park is back, attracting visitors from across the globe as well as the annual invasion of devoted racing followers from Ireland.
After the opening ceremony today, Istabraq will be hoping to win the Smurfit Champion Hurdle for a record fourth time.
Wednesday’s highlights include the Queen Mother Champion Chase, the Royal & Sun Alliance Hurdle and Chase, and the Coral Cup Hurdle.
Thursday, tickets for which were sold out in January, sees the climax of the week - the Cheltenham Gold Cup - the most important race of the season.
The racecourse’s commercial manager, Peter McNeile, said the event is a sell-out with each day’s 50,000 tickets now gone.
‘‘We are all very excited. Last year was an emotional whirlwind for the whole of the racing business and we were completely taken aback,’’ said Mr McNeile.
‘‘We were pretty gutted by the whole thing which affected jockeys, trainers and stable staff alike. This year is about etching a place in racing history, about coming back.
‘‘In terms of the racing business the event is pivotal to the season and taking it away is like having the FA Cup without the final.
‘‘Financially speaking the festival is a countywide phenomenon and people all over Gloucestershire open up their doors and benefit. The repercussions are huge.
‘‘For Cheltenham the Gold Cup sets the tourist standard for the year ahead and gets the ball rolling at the back end of winter ready for spring and summer.’’
Cheltenham Borough Council’s deputy for culture and local economy, Hedley Thompson, said the festival was to be bigger than ever this year, bringing much activity and £40m (€65m) to the town.
‘‘We are revving up for a great festival this year. People started to come to the town last week and the hotels are filling up fast,’’ he said.
‘‘What happened last year was a major tragedy - it was really sad and made the town feel very vulnerable.
‘‘But with 150,000 festival-goers we get £1.5m (€2.4m) in hotel revenue, £12m (€19m) in local spending and some £20m (€32m) generated in betting alone.’’
