Cheltenham Festival 2011
The Cheltenham Festival is considered one of the most prestigious meetings in the UK racing calendar, and the race prize money is only second behind the Grand National. It is an event where numerous of the best trained horses from Britain and Ireland race against each other something that doesn’t happen often during the season.
It is expected that across the country more than £500 million will be wagered on the outcome of the 27 races. There will be around 500 horses competing at the Cheltenham Festival for approximately £3.67 million of win and place prize money. The Cheltenham festival takes place in March from Tuesday 15th to Friday 18th.
The Cheltenham festival meeting overlaps with Saint Patrick's Day and due to that as well as the fact that horse racing is very popular in Ireland it attracts many Irish visitors. The four days of the most anticipated and exciting National Hunt racing of the season are starting with the Supreme Novice on Tuesday, right through to the Gold Cup on Friday. Every single race at the Cheltenham Festival is very competitive with the best horses and jockeys giving their all for a piece of Festival glory. Cheltenham is often distinguished for its atmosphere, most particularly the "Cheltenham roar", which refers to the immense amount of noise that the crowd generates as the starter raises the tape for the first race of the festival.
Each day at the Cheltenham festival has a name to celebrate the occasion:
- Tuesday – Centenary Day
- Wednesday – Ladies Day
- Thursday – St Patricks Day
- Friday – Gold Cup Day
Cheltenham Festival full program |