Cheltenham Festival May be Extended to Include Saturday
It is looking increasingly likely that the 2012 Cheltenham Festival will include a Saturday.
Currently the Cheltenham Festival is held over four days in March cover Tuesday to Friday and coincides with St Patrick’s Day. Each day there is a featured race plus five or six supporting races. Although all the featured races are Championship chases, the Festival’s jewel in the crown is the Cheltenham Gold Cup which is held on the Friday.
The Friday is by far the most popular day to attend and the revenues generated on the Friday are approximately double the revenues that are generated on the Thursday, despite the fact that the Thursday is also Ladies Day.
Race for Change is attempting to bring horse racing up to date in order to make it more attractive to younger audiences. One of their suggestions is that the Cheltenham Festival should cover a Saturday so that people who can’t make it on a weekday can attend.
The organisers of the festival are delighted with the suggestion. Although in the past they have toyed with the idea of including a Saturday, rules relating to rescheduling fixtures have prevented them doing so. Race for change now intends to relax these rules to enable the Festival to be rescheduled.
The most likely outcome is leaving the Cheltenham Gold Cup on the Friday and shifting Thursday’s card to Saturday. The races currently held on Tuesday and Wednesday would be held on Wednesday and Thursday. Although the Saturday card will be a little less exciting than that on the Friday, this will be compensated by the fact that attending the festival on a Saturday will always be popular.
It is also likely that at least one and possibly two additional races will be added with the goal of running seven races on every day of the festival.
Favourite to win the Cheltenham Gold Cup is Kauto Star with odds of 8/11 at William Hill
All odds correct at time of writing and are subject to change
Place your bet now with William Hill
