In 2011 Cheltenham celebrated a century of hosting the world’s most famous National Hunt Festival and despite the financial crisis which continues to grip horse racing the celebrations were as noisy as ever.
Due to a decline in betting revenues in a struggling economy, horse racing is an endangered sport and as prize money, sales prices and television figures continue to drop the industry appears to be in something of a freefall since the credit crunch.
However, racing fans are resilient and there will be little sign of the industry’s troubles this March when the Cheltenham Festival leaps into life at Prestbury Park.
With £5.75 million in prize money on offer over 26 races and with more than £500m set to be wagered on the four-day showpiece, the meeting’s twin motivators, money and high-quality racing action will lure in hardcore fans and the brash new money which is now absent at other meetings.
For racing fans and the 200,000 people that attend Cheltenham, the Festival offers an unrivalled path of excitement and whatever the prize money on offer, the action is always sure to be explosive, exhilarating and thoroughly intriguing. The monumental clash between the top English and Irish horses helps encourage the sport’s more battle-hardened punters to make the trip to Gloucestershire and the war that ensues with the bookmakers is even more epic than action on the track.
To many it is the odds on offer that make the meeting, but some of racing’s most loyal spectators are captivated simply by the incredible standard of the event and many will be able to recall their favourite Festival race. Perhaps the older ones were there for the epic Gold Cup contests in the 1960s between the incomparable Arkle and brave Mill House; others will have marvelled at Dawn Run and the achievements of Desert Orchid, whilst Kauto Star's triumphant second Cheltenham Gold Cup in 2009 will also rank highly for many.
For these racing enthusiasts the economic downturn will never get in the way of their love for the sport, but racehorse ownership is for the mega-rich and while many will be happy just to be there in March, the ultimate prize comes by being welcomed into Cheltenham’s winner’s enclosure.
For those who manage to own a winner at the meeting the rewards are great, but racehorses are a luxury item and the bloodstock industry is far from recession-proof. As a result horse racing suffers from the dwindling amount of foals being purchased and some of the sport’s leading trainers are forced to work through the season with less horses than ever before.
Indeed, it is the Cheltenham Festival that keeps many owners engulfed in the sport and the founder of Ryanair, Michael O’Leary, continues to pump money into racing despite the financial pummelling the recent crisis has served him.
The Irish entrepreneur loses approximately £1million a year aiming his horses at the Festival, but his reasoning behind his dedication to the cause is what keeps the meeting roaring through such depressing times. "It's a religion where I'm from," he explains. "A true Irishman will grow up to follow Cheltenham first and the Catholic Church second.”
Whichever side of the Irish Sea you are travelling to Cheltenham from, to many the Festival will always be the highlight of the sporting calendar and however severe the economic crisis racegoers will continue to flock to the course for four days of pulsating action on the Cotswolds.
For true racing fans the action on the track represents the ultimate test of horse and jockey, for those arriving with flash new money the war with the bookmakers is as exciting and as energy-sapping as the races themselves and for the owners the emotions experienced when landing a winner at the Festival outweighs anything they have spent getting there.
As a result 200,000 racing fans will return to Cheltenham in March and for one week racing’s crippling problems will be forgotten and the nation will embrace ‘The Greatest Show on Turf.’
