What Is The Cheltenham Festival?

Emmanuel Wonder

March 14, 2016

Story by Joshua Mason

This week the sporting world of the UK will be engrossed in horse mania, with the famous Cheltenham Festival taking place. The annual horse event lasts for three days and will showcase the crème de la crème of horses and their human colleagues. At Garber Sports we like to showcase all sports and as this is the biggest celebration of racing in the UK, what better event to inform people on the sport of kings.

The Cheltenham Festival is a huge national event attracting fans from all over, not only the UK but Ireland too. The festival rarely has foreign horses running, but on the odd occasion there has been European representation. The festival takes place over St. Patricks Day and therefore it is used as a great excuse for drinking and though the suits and dresses make Cheltenham seem glamorous, that does not mean it is free of debauchery. The crowds certainly add to the folklore of the event as more than 230,000 people attend over the three days. All this interest leads to almost £250m being placed on the races. The noise created by the crowds on the final straight is known as the Cheltenham Roar.

The Gold Cup is the most famous race of all but in total nine Grade 1 races will be run over the three days, trainers and owners see it as the pinnacle in UK racing. The Gold Cup is second only to the Grand National in terms of prize money and the winning horse will get £550,000.

I spoke to Soulsaver owner David Wiltshire who told me, “While other races may have more prestige or money to run, the Cheltenham Festival is a celebration of horse racing and specifically UK racing. Owners like myself would love to win the Gold Cup more than any other because not only will it be in front of many people but also our peers.”

While the racecourse will attract the wealthy and famous in the crowd, you may also be able to spot some famous ones on the horses this year. Olympic medal winner Victoria Pendleton, who is more known for riding bikes, will be taking part as a jockey in one of the races on Gold Cup Day. The two other big races are the Champions Hurdle and the World Hurdle. For 2016 any potential bettors out there should be looking at no one else but trainer Willie Mulling, who seems to turn everything he touches to gold, as he has been the top trainer at the last three Cheltenham Festivals. In terms of horses though Don Cossack is favorite for the Gold Cup, and he is not one of Mullings’.

The Cheltenham Festival is not only a series of races but a celebration and giant party, befitting the sport of kings. Gio Muratore of Betting Tip Stars told me it was his favourite day of the year. If only to prove the wackiness of the interest in it just take a look at this horse, who had a three-piece suit made for him in anticipation for the festival. The promotional organiser said there will be enough Tweed at the event to cover 1.7 million metres. While fashion won’t be the most important thing to note about this weekend’s Cheltenham Festival, one thing is for sure: The Cheltenham Festival is the one event of the year when the bizarre and archaic traditions of horse racing actually look in their place.