Cheltenham Festival, 12th March – Around 230,000 racegoers from all parts of the British Isles and further afield have made the pilgrimage to Prestbury Park for the 2008 Cheltenham Festival which began on Tuesday and runs through to its thrilling climax on Friday. During the course of the event, punters will consume 228,000 pints of Guinness and a lake of champagne. They will even be able to wager on the exact amount of Guinness that will be consumed this year, alongside all the other bets available to them.

Meanwhile, enthusiasts of online betting will gather in front of their tellies and consume a lot more than the home crowd. Armed with a laptop and a widescreen they will gather with friends and share the fun and celebration for which this festival is renowned. Online betting sites will surely bulge with the volume of bets made this week.

There’s too much fun to be had in the first three days to dwell too long on it but minds cannot be too far away from the Cheltenham Gold Cup on Friday. Provided the wind dies down a bit, this will be a once-in-a-decade racing moment when the champion, Kauto Star, is challenged by the fearsome Denman. There is no doubt that Denman will run an impressive race, but he will have to if he hopes to test the mighty Kauto.

Tuesday’s races all went the bookies way. The Champion Hurdle went to Katchit at 16-1 and favourites were no shows in all the other races too. With Wednesday’s racing cancelled due to forecast high winds everyone will be on tenterhooks to see whether the Gold Cup will actually run, meanwhile Cheltenham pubs will be anticipating a deluge of disappointed race-goers with a whole day to fill.