The changing face of the Cheltenham Festival - and what it means for punters
Jonathan Harding and Dylan Hill unearth some startling Cheltenham trends
When Facile Vega blew out at the Dublin Racing Festival last month, there was a perception the opening race of next week's Cheltenham Festival, the Supreme Novices' Hurdle, had suddenly been thrown wide open.
Wide open, that is, only in the context of the modern-day festival. Facile Vega is no longer the odds-on shot we've come to associate with Cheltenham's novice races, but he is still only 9-4 with just a handful of serious market rivals. We're hardly talking 2008 all over again.
It's hard to imagine now but just 15 years ago bookmakers went 8-1 the field in the Supreme. Not at the start of the season, not a week beforehand, but at the off. Subsequent Champion Hurdle winner Binocular was one of three co-favourites at that price when beaten into second by Captain Cee Bee, himself among three 17-2 shots.
Read the full story
Read award-winning journalism from the best writers in racing, with exclusive news, interviews, columns, investigations, stable tours and subscriber-only emails.
Subscribe to unlock
- Racing Post digital newspaper (worth over £100 per month)
- Award-winning journalism from the best writers in racing
- Expert tips from the likes of Tom Segal and Paul Kealy
- Replays and results analysis from all UK and Irish racecourses
- Form study tools including the Pro Card and Horse Tracker
- Extensive archive of statistics covering horses, trainers, jockeys, owners, pedigree and sales data
Already a subscriber?Log in
Published on inSpecial reports
Last updated
Copy- Politicians and campaign bodies are playing fast and loose with gambling statistics - and racing could pay a heavy price
- 'The business model is ten times better when you move to France - but you've still got to be successful'
- Great prize-money, easy travelling and dawn raids from the taxman: what I've learned from training in France
- It's been a quarter of a century since we started - here's how we've seen the sport we love change
- Skyscraper betting and soaring turnover: Japan's mind-boggling racing experience and the unlikely hero who sparked the boom
- Politicians and campaign bodies are playing fast and loose with gambling statistics - and racing could pay a heavy price
- 'The business model is ten times better when you move to France - but you've still got to be successful'
- Great prize-money, easy travelling and dawn raids from the taxman: what I've learned from training in France
- It's been a quarter of a century since we started - here's how we've seen the sport we love change
- Skyscraper betting and soaring turnover: Japan's mind-boggling racing experience and the unlikely hero who sparked the boom