The three-day Cheltenham Festival is the definitive race meeting of the National Hunt Season. Betting on the twenty races runs into millions of pounds and the Cheltenham Festival is followed almost fanatically by a massive amount of racing enthusiasts. Each year the attendances continue to grow and over the duration of the racing meeting crowds easily exceed 150,000, combined with the watching television and radio audience it is easily one of the world's most anticipated racing spectacles.

The first Cheltenham Festival meeting took place in 1902 and since then has continued to gain prominence within the racing calendar. The National Hunt season is now hard to imagine without the build up to Cheltenham, the expectation grows and the excitement begins many months before the first Cheltenham race goes under starting orders. The volumes of betting that takes place during the Cheltenham Festival is nothing short of staggering with millions of pounds changing hands between bookmakers and punters in every race. Cheltenham Festival racing is of paramount importance to the UK racing industry and without the three day meeting National Hunt racing would never be the same again.

The quality of the entrants for the jump racing action is fantastic in each and every race, but of course the feature races attract the most attention. The Champion Hurdle ran on the Tuesday is the first showpiece event and is followed on the Wednesday with the Queen Mother Champion Chase and on Thursday with the Cheltenham Gold Cup. With the supporting Steeplechases, Hurdling and Handicap races Cheltenham deservedly remains as the most important National Hunt meetings of the year!

Click here for the latest 2004 Cheltenham Festival Betting