The Cheltenham Festival is fast approaching and it will really be another glorious and wonderful event for the horse racing fans around the globe. This festival is very famous that almost 200,000 people crowd themselves at Cheltenham every 13^th to 16^th of March to witness the best horse racers and hurdlers compete for the biggest prize money that amounts to £3 million pounds. It is a four-day festival that avid fans of horse racing won’t want to miss. The highlight of this festival is on the 4^th day where the Cheltenham Gold Cup is being celebrated.

Cheltenham Festival had started way back 108 years ago, with the first celebration took place in 1902. The festival had been just a 3-day event until 2005. But the racing at Prestbury Park dates back a lot further, which took place on 1815. Horse racing had really been part of the culture of the United Kingdom as it had existed for 2 centuries. Pat Taafe was the most successful jockey ever since the festival started who had a total of 25 wins throughout his career. But his record is almost caught by Ruby Walsh who was only one win behind Pat Taafe’s record.

Today, the Cheltenham Festival comprises a total of 26 races on the entire four-day event. There are about six to seven races on each day and one championship race. Everyday, the first race starts at 1:30 p.m. and culminates the final race around 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. but it depends on the scheduled time and how many races. Over the 4 days, thousands of spectators visit the racecourse. Most of the jockeys who join the race are British and Irish but other nationals are gradually increasing for the past years. Gambling always goes with horse racing and in 2009, as high as 6 million pounds was being gambled.

The festival also means a lot to the Irish since it coincides to Ireland’s national holiday, St. Patrick’s Day, which gives a strong Irish feel to the event. There are also a lot of Irish trainers, jockeys and horses who always join the National Hunt racing for how many years and thousands of people from Ireland visit the Festival to see the race.

The highlight of the festival is the Cheltenham Gold Cup. Tickets for this event are always sold out even before the festival has even started since many people would really want to watch the race. It has also been eclipsed as the Grand National with regards to patronage and popularity. In 1924, the prize money was only £624 but today, the prize money can reach to a million or more pounds. Gone are the days when the Cheltenham Gold Cup has been regarded as a warm up for the Grand National.

The Gold Cup is held on the last day of the Cheltenham Festival which is one of the four championship races. Other races are Champion Hurdle, Queen Mother Champion Chase and the World Hurdle which happens on the first 3 days of the festival.