Cheltenham Racing Festival
All the racing communities from all over the world meet at Cheltenham Festival for the National hunt racing in the middle of March every year. The uniqueness of the event is brought by many British and Irish horses racing against each other which otherwise are rare around the year. This event continues for four days. The first race is marked by the “Cheltenham roar”, the noise made by the crowd at the starting of the race adds thrill and excitement to the whole fest.
The racing festival dates back to August 1818 when the first races where held on the Cleeve Hill. Spectre was the first horse to have won the race. However, later in 1902, the venue got changed to Cheltenham, which remains the same till date. The first racing festival at Cheltenham was celebrated with great pomp and show. In the year 1924, horse name ‘Red Splash’ won the first Gold Cup. It is now one of the premier sports event held at UK like the Wimbledon, the FA cup etc. The Festival generates revenue almost equal to £50 Million for the local restaurants, clubs and shops.
Year after year, the number of spectators increase tremendously and the number could even exceed 200,000 this year according to certain sources. The price of a ticket ranges from £20- £80 and the revenue generated by gate passes is almost £7 million. There are runners from France, Germany and Eastern Europe along with Britain who add an international flavor to the complete festival. You can learn more about this festival at www.cheltenham-races.com.