'I'd take more bets at Ffos Las or Chepstow on a Wednesday than I did on Champion Chase day' - course layers bemoan fall in stakes

One course bookmaker standing the four days at Cheltenham last week has reported a 9.5 per cent drop in stakes compared to 2023, while a leading off-course firm described turnover for the week coming under pressure from a combination of factors including a number of short-priced favourites, the defection of most of the Nicky Henderson horses and smaller field sizes.

Martin Davies operates pitches 13 and 14 at the front of the Best Mate enclosure and said the number of betting slips he took during the festival had declined by 14.51 per cent, leading to a 9.51 per cent fall in stakes, and pinpointed Wednesday's Queen Mother Champion Chase card as accounting for half of that falloff.

"Tuesday, Thursday and Friday were all definitely down, but only fractionally," said Davies. "I took 1,259 fewer bets this year than I did last year, which is quite a lot.