£500 million Festival bonanza

More than £500 million is expected to be bet on this week’s Cheltenham Festival.

The meeting gets under way on Tuesday, with more than £40 million likely to be wagered on Friday’s Gold Cup, which features a clash between outstanding stablemates Kauto Star and Denman.

David Williams, of Ladbrokes, said: “There’s nothing quite like Cheltenham. It’s the biggest betting week of the year by a country mile. The money swilling around has to be seen to be believed. We’re used to dealing with big sums but even we stony bookies take a gulp when we tot the numbers up.”

Plenty of money has already been wagered on Betfair’s ante-post markets, with matched bets passing £5 million.

There has been more than £2 million matched on the Gold Cup market, with Kauto Star being backed at almost 6-1 after his injury scare. Denman has been supported at 7-1.

The Champion Hurdle has also proved a popular market, with some punters latching on to Sizing Europe at 150. He is now trading at around 3.5.

Below are the 25 races being run at Cheltenham and the amount matched on them (ante-post) on Betfair.
Tuesday
Anglo Irish Bank Supreme Novices’ Hurdle: £463,870
Irish Independent Arkle Challenge Trophy: £348,598 with Noland (now 3.3 to 3.4) matched at 60.
Smurfit Kappa Champion Hurdle: £1,376,747, with hot favourite Sizing Europe matched at 150.
William Hill Trophy Handicap Chase: £39,990
BGC Cross Country Chase: £28,526
Fred Winter Juvenile Novices’ Handicap Hurdle: £105,061

Wednesday

Ballymore Properties Novices’ Hurdle: £169,650
Royal & SunAlliance Chase: £188,993
Seasons Holidays Queen Mother Champion Chase: £315,556, with Master Minded (now 4) hitting 340.
Coral Cup Handicap Hurdle: £34,864
National Hunt Chase Challenge Cup: £21,097
Weatherbys Champion Bumper: £197,804

Thursday

Jewson Novices’ Handicap Chase: £31,007
Ryanair Chase: £110,480
Ladbrokes World Hurdle: £385,128
Racing Post Plate Handicap Chase: £47,455
Fulke Walwyn Kim Muir Challenge Cup Handicap Chase: £9,585
Pertemps Final Handicap Hurdle: £21,613

Friday

JCB Triumph Hurdle: £252,552
Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle: £46,215
totesport Cheltenham Gold Cup: £2,196,118, with Kauto Star hitting 6.8 after his injury scare and Denman hitting 8.
Christie’s Foxhunter Chase Challenge Cup: £45,545
Johnny Henderson Grand Annual Chase: £17,807
David Nicholson Mares’ Hurdle: £51,373
Vincent O’Brien County Handicap Hurdle: £24,838