When it comes to horse racing, the UK has two of the most famous events anywhere in the world.
Second only to the Grand National, Cheltenham Festival has an even greater claim to fame – the time of year it’s held! Whilst everyone wants a bit of green on St Paddy’s Day, millions upon millions of racing fans watch the Cheltenham events unfold on television, attend in person, listen on the radio and watch the recap online, lifting a pint for the victor in a fun-filled gesture of camaraderie.
If you’ve never attended (or watched) the Cheltenham Festival, maybe this year will be your first. Whether in person, or placing a bet on Cheltenham festival with freebets.co.uk, you might be interested to know these 10 fun-filled facts about the festival that make it even more interesting than it already is.
1. Record Number of Pints of Guinness at the Cheltenham Festival – 265,000
Not everyone lifts a pint or two but can you imagine one four-day event in which more than a quarter of a million pints of Guinness are sold? Bearing in mind that not everyone imbibes, that’s a lot of ale to think about!
2. Bottles of Wine at the Cheltenham Festival – 120,000
Then there’s wine for those with a more distinguished palate. Imagine opening 120,000 bottles of wine in less than a week! It leads you to wonder if those bottles are sent to recycling or toted away to build a tower to be the talk of the town.
3. The Most Prize Money Ever in any Worldwide Jumps Festival – £4,150,000
It seems as though 2015 was a record setting year all the way around at the Festival. The most prize money ever awarded at a jump racing event – EVER – was at the 2015 Cheltenham Festival. Those £4,150,000 made some people very, very happy, and wealthy we might add.
4. An Amazing Impact on the Economy of Gloucestershire – £100,000,000
With all the talk about the economy in recent years, Gloucestershire should be happy with that amazing £100 million the Festival brings into the local economy each and every year. Some years it’s a bit more some years a bit less, but in all, the average is £100 million.
5. Talk about Rush Hour – 105,000 People in Four Days at the Cheltenham Spa Station
We all complain about rush hour traffic on roadways and in train stations. Imagine a four day period where 105,000 people travel through just one train station! That’s rush hour magnified many times over!
6. Just Your Average Attendance – 62,000 a Day!
Then there is attendance to consider. With more than 62,000 people in attendance each of those 4 days, that’s a huge number of people wandering through the area. It makes sense how the economy is boosted to such an extent when you look at the number of people coming for those four days.
7. Celebratory Champagne Sold – 20,000!
Can you imagine popping 20,000 bottles of champagne? It’s a wonder those pops don’t set the horses off as the opening shot when the gates are lifted.
8. More than 6,000 Workers Employed for the Cheltenham Festival
Out of work at the moment? Why not apply for a job at the Festival? Yes, it only lasts but a few days, however, for at least those days you will have a temporary job in a fun-filled environment. Why not get paid to have a bit of fun?
9. An Amazing 350+ Chefs Do the Culinary Honours
We’ve all heard the old adage about two cooks in the kitchen spoiling the soup. Now think about a kitchen with more than 350 chefs! No, they are not all in one kitchen, but 350 of them for a four day event? That is amazing, to say the least.
10. £150 Million Bet Each Day of the Festival
Then for those of you who want to try to capture a little of that luck of the Irish, join the others in line who bet an average of £150 million each and every day of the Festival. No wonder the prize money is so high and the crowds are so packed! A little piece of the pie would do nicely, wouldn’t it?
These are just 10 fun-filled facts about Cheltenham Festival. With dozens more, there is no wonder why Gloucestershire’s own Cheltenham Festival is a favourite and long-awaited event, each and every year.