To many Defi Du Seuil's win is an Alka Seltzer and Bloody Mary combo

According to a warning message circulated by Gloucestershire police in advance of this year's festival, the chance of getting served in town after racing if you are 'tipsy' is 5-1, which, as anyone who has been out in the Montpellier moshpit knows, is absurdly generous pricing.

While no odds quite that attractive are on offer, the betting ring at Cheltenham is in full swing on the final session of a week with more punting than the River Cam. Before the first race of the last day the rows of bookies who stand in the ring at the southern end of this grandstand are swarming with racegoers with hope in their hearts and cash in their hands.

In a world of contactless credit cards, smartphone betting apps and online bookmakers who offer so many concessions and bonuses it can sometimes seem to take a special sort of determination to actually lose money at Cheltenham, one might imagine the old-fashioned betting ring, superficially little changed in generations, would be a relic of the past struggling to survive.