Cheltenham ‘defining week of a bookmaker’s year’
“Without decorating it in any way, it is the defining week of a bookmaker’s year,” said David Williams, of Ladbrokes. “You have a good week at Cheltenham and you remember it for the rest of the year. You have a bad one and the same, sadly, is true. It is very difficult to put your finger on it, but my theory would be somehow it always adds up to more than the sum of its parts.
“Whether it be the natural setting, the quality of the horses – if you put it all into a computer programme the results it turned out would not be anything like the overall experience.
“Bookmakers are supposed to be heartless, but even we start to get emotional, whether we are winning or losing. It is the pinnacle of the year and the turnover is colossal.
“The Grand National is still the single biggest race, but Cheltenham Festival week is comfortably the biggest turnover week of the year, and has been for as good number of years.”
Betfred and totepool spokesman George Primarolo believes the Festival is the perfect shop window for the sport.
“If Cheltenham hadn’t already been there it’s what Racing for Change would have dreamed of. It’s the pinnacle of the jumps season,” he said. “It’s what every single jumps racing fan looks forward to every year. Everyone gets sucked into the magic and romance of it.
“Because everyone sees these horses run year in year out, everyone’s got an opinion of each race.
“It’s a feast for National Hunt punters.
“Cheltenham comes bang at the end of the tax year so for those bookmakers who are public companies that have to produce figures, it can seriously make or break.”
Cheltenham has a fascination all of its own as Coral’s David Stevens describes.
“There’s a couple of aspects to the magic of Cheltenham. Firstly there’s the build-up. There’s no meeting that has a greater or longer build-up,” he said. “We start talking about Cheltenham in the autumn and by the time it comes round we know the horses and hopefully the form fairly well.
“There are so many races that are championship races and punters know that all the horses are going to be primed for that meeting. They are the two factors that make it the biggest jump meeting of the year and that translates into turnover in the betting shops.
“It’s a date in the diary and punters know when it’s coming, they like to get their war chest together. It all comes to a climax during the four days. The betting ring at Cheltenham is so strong and prices hold up remarkably well.”
Everyone loves a supposed ‘good thing’ – and this year the layers believe it will come on day one as punters look to get off to the perfect start.
“Hurricane Fly is going to be the banker of so many bets on day one,” said Stevens.
Primarolo agrees, saying: “With Hurricane Fly we’re getting back to the years of Istabraq.
“Only the most foolhardy would take on Hurricane Fly with any confidence.”
But for bookmakers, the next Festival is never far away from their minds.
“The first race of the four days is the Supreme Novices’ and as soon as that winner has crossed the line we are offering quotes for next year’s Champion Hurdle,” Williams said.
“The Cheltenham circus never quite stops.”
