Cheltenham Festival was ‘painful’ for bookies

Paddy Power Betfair is seeking to get even with punters at next week’s Cheltenham Festival after the UK betting industry incurred record losses at last year’s edition of the storied horse-racing event.

Chief executive Breon Corcoran said: “Hopefully from a results perspective it’s very different. We lost £20m in Cheltenham last year, and we’re hoping for nothing as painful as that this year.”

Cheltenham week is the biggest of the year for bookmakers, and competition for business is tougher than ever. The industry as a whole lost over £60m a year ago, as a large number of Cheltenham races were won by the favourite, and next week’s outcomes will be crucial in determining betting companies’ first-quarter results.