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The Gloucestershire horse racing event has been around for over 160 years. Cheltenham Festival is known as the biggest National Hunt horse racing event, exceeding the Grand National at Aintree.

Through the week of the event Gloucestershire is expected to see over 280,000 people as well as millions watching the event from their home.

Last year’s event had many highlights and downfalls as a meeting cancelled due to bad weather, let’s hope Gloucestershire has fair weather for a glorious 2020 festival.

Millions of pounds will be wagered during Cheltenham week by keen punters with betting shops and online as bookmakers bracing themselves for the biggest betting week in Britain.

The event will start on Tuesday, March 10 until Friday, March 13. Over the course of the week, there are seven races each day, with the 28 top-class events worth in excess of £4.5million in prize money.

Those looking to emulate historical winners such as Arkle, L’Escargot, Desert Orchid, Best Mate, Kauto Star and Denman including 2019 winner Al Boum Photo, dual King George winner Clan Des Obeaux and real up-and-comer Lostintranslation, with those looking to catch an early bet with Cheltenham ante post betting would be wise to get the best odds available.

More than half of the races at the Cheltenham Festival this year are scheduled at Grade One level.

Supreme Novices’ Hurdle
The Supreme race will kick the festival off; this race is the premier novice hurdling event in National Hunt racing with past winners such as Go Native and Hors La Loi III both have gone on to great things later in their careers so this race is anyone’s to win.

Arkle Trophy
Named after one of, if not the greatest jumper of all time, the Arkle is another Grade One novice race on day one, this time for chasers rather than hurdlers over the two-mile trip.

It’s a huge race but it’s thought of as one that will reveal who we’ll be cheering on in future Champion Chase’s and Gold Cups, with previous winners such as Moscow Flyer, Sprinter Sacre, Douvan and Altior.

Champion Hurdle
The feature race of day one represents the culmination of hard work from the two-mile hurdlers along with their breeders, owners, trainers, jockeys and grooms.

The Champion Hurdle is regarded as one of the top ten races in Britain with the prize money of £450,000.

With previous winners such as Night Nurse, Sea Pigeon, Dawn Run, See You Then, Istabraq, Hurricane Fly and Buveur D’Air who have taken the prize home and, in some instances, multiple wins.

RSA Chase
This is another novice event, a 3-mile chase which features horses that are chasing the biggest prize the Cheltenham Gold Cup.

In recent times the likes of Denman and Bobs Worth have claimed the RSA Chase prize before going on to Gold Cup glory, so keep a sharp eye on this year’s competitors.

Queen Mother Champion Chase
While the Arkle is the main prize for novice two-mile chasers, the Champion Chase is the big one in this division it’s the feature race for day two – Ladies Day.  At £400,000 the prize money for the Champion Chase is fitting for one of the “big four” week day races, this day is about much more than the racing!

Cheltenham is a sporting highlight of the year, but this is also an event known for its interesting outfits and at no other time during the week will they be on show as boastfully as Wednesday.

The Queen Mother, as it’s affectionately known by many, produces only top-class winners and many will hope Altior will be back to defend his crown in 2020.

Ryanair Chase
Otherwise known as the Festival Trophy, the Ryanair is relatively new on the scene having only been around since 2005 but as a Grade One chase it is of huge importance within the sport.

The two-and-a-half-mile race makes it an ideal test for those not possessing the pace for the Queen Mother, nor having the class or the stamina for the Gold Cup and at £350,000 it actually surpasses Thursday’s “feature” race when it comes to prize money too.

Last year’s win by Frodon was considered by many to be the “race of the year” as he battled all the way to the line under Bryony Frost.

Stayers’ Hurdle
The world’s most important hurdle event a Grade One race over three miles with a prize of £325,000.  Last year’s winner Paisley Park was a popular scorer in the betting ring and currently remains the favourite to come back and defend his crown in March.

Cheltenham Gold Cup
The Gold Cup is the biggest race in National Hunt racing in terms of quality, surpassing even the Grand National.  It’s worth £450,000, this will run on Friday and remains the one race all trainers and jockeys want to win.

The Gold Cup doesn’t just carry with it a big name and reputation, it is the biggest examination of a thoroughbred in jumps racing. 

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