The Roar of the Cheltenham Crowd will be bet upon by Bookmakers across the country. In 2010 in anticipation of one the biggest sporting noises of the year, Bookies William Hill rigged up a sound (decibel) reader at the front of the grandstand to measure the famous Cheltenham roar.  The betting giants had been offering 11/4 that the roar would beat the maximum noise recorded at the Carling Cup final. Hills had expected football fans to win easily at 1/4 but Racing lovers thrashed footie fans with an astonishing 108.4 DCb recorded on the day

Preview of Day 1

Supreme Novices Hurdle:
Each year the Cheltenham Festival gets underway with the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle, a race greeted by the famous roar from the crowd that tells us that four days of exhilarating horse racing action has finally begun.

Raced at a distance just over two miles the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle is run at a frantic pace and it almost always gets the Festival off to a bang.  A big field will tackle the race and some future stars of the hurdling and chasing world will be in action. 

Arkle Challenge Trophy
The second race of the Festival, the Arkle is run over the demanding Cheltenham fences at a distance of two miles.  The ultimate test of speed and fluent jumping, it is almost always run at a frenetic pace and it almost always goes to one of the classiest horses in the race.

This means that shocks are a rare occurrence, but this year’s race looks wide open.  A tricky betting heat is led by 2008 Supreme Novices’ winner Captain Cee Bee  who was unlucky not to beat market rival Sizing Europe over the Christmas period.  Fascinating French import Long Run will also be looking to prove he is capable of landing the Grade 1, despite his tender age.

Hill Trophy Handicap
One of the most competitive races of the Festival, the Hill Trophy Hanidcap is a war of attrition fought out by a huge field of experienced jumpers. 

The sort of race that is more than likely to throw up a big priced surprise, a victory here puts the winner in the picture for the Grand National the following month.  That was the case in 2007 when Joes Edge landed the Handicap at odds of 50/1 before being sent off favourite for the Aintree showpiece.

Champion Hurdle
The highlight of the first day’s racing at the Festival is the Champion Hurdle, the Grade one showpiece run over two miles that often confirms who is the champion of the hurdling division.

A large field of superstars almost always goes to post and there is a form candidate everywhere you look, something that certainly seems to be the case in 2010.

With the Irish having a strong grip on the race over the course of the last ten years, this year’s renewal looks in the hands of trainer Nicky Henderson, the legendary handler responsible for market principals Zaynar, Binocular and last year’s winner Punjabi.

Irish duo Solwhit and Go Native are also at the head of the betting in what is sure to be a fascinating highlight of a fantastic day’s racing.

Cross Country Handicap Chase
A different dimension to the Festival, this cross country event is as competitive as anything else on the card.  Trainer Edna Bolger has had such a strong grip on the race he has managed to win it four out of the last five times, most recently with Garde Champetre, the 2009 and 2009 victor.

It will be interesting to see who the trainer saddles in this year’s race, but it would take a brave man to bet against him picking it up for the fourth year on the bounce, possibly with hat-trick hunting Garde Champetre.

David Nicholson Mares Hurdle
Only introduced onto the card in 2008, the David Nicholson Mares Hurdle gives four year old (and above) Mares the chance to battle it out to see who is the Queen of the first day of Cheltenham’s meeting.

A great addition to the Festival, this year’s renewal may see Go Native-conquerer Voler La Vedette take on her own sex rather than the hurdling superstars in the Champion Hurdle.