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Been racing at Cheltenham since 1982, it was magic then and remained so largely until they made it 4 days.
Stopped going several years ago apart from when given complimentary tickets etc.
The magic slowly disappeared….maybe as a child becoming adolescent regarding Xmas?
Anyway, the syndicate I belong to (and gifted to me) has a marquee for all 4 days which is lovely and no doubt I will be well looked after.
WHY AM I NOT LOOKING FORWARD TO IT ?
Stopped going several years ago apart from when given complimentary tickets etc.
The magic slowly disappeared….maybe as a child becoming adolescent regarding Xmas?
Anyway, the syndicate I belong to (and gifted to me) has a marquee for all 4 days which is lovely and no doubt I will be well looked after.
WHY AM I NOT LOOKING FORWARD TO IT ?
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I probably sound like an ungrateful swine.
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Ungrateful swine!!!
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The build up just isn't the same anymore, too many ifs, buts and maybes but I'm sure come the first race cheer on Tuesday the buzz will be back
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im exactly the same . id rather have the week off work and just chill at home or go for a couple of nights away .The 4 days since 2005 has diluted the quality of races massively . The last great era of the festival was the 2000-2004 -- monsignor edredon bleu istabraq like a butterfly moscow flyer rooster booster brace inca flagship uberalles
Youll be ok mate - just watch some old cheltenham from when you absolutely loved it and when you get to the course find a nice little spot on your own (mine is leaning on a metal barrier in the tatts ) and relive some of those wonderful moments in your mind . i remember quite clearly like it was yesterday in 2002 when we had a year off due to foot and mouth and cenkos was flat to the boards late on and flagship uberalles stayed on well up the hill to grab victory - the crowd went wild - 23 years ago WOW . dark stranger relaxation idoles first galileo maximize just pipping merchants friend joe cullen liberman royal predica la landiere azertyuiop hussard collonges whyso mayo fundamentalist  have a great festival . |
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the dealer
In 1982 there was no 1st race roar, just a wonderful dignified communal sense of atmosphere. |
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Fair point
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For me i think the team back in the days of Jimbo, Francome, Ted Walsh, McCririck completely brought the races and yes controversies to life and gave the festival a buzz on the tv.
I dont mean any harm to the current set of presenters but it feels more like a public school get together with Ed, Matt and Ollie etc who dont have the depth of knowledge or journalistic abilities the team back then had. It feels more like a production of several bookie reps rather than of several articulate enthusiasts and racing professionals. Also not being able to get on on the phones means you dont expect to get prices from home so that exciting element is taken away. The 4 days has too many filler races that can drag it out and not create enough interest whereas 3 days were magical and had the perfect amount of racing there to have a tremendous time, spend your cash and leave knowing it was unique |
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ZEALOT
Thanks, and yes the old recordings are magical when they’re played during the morning. I will stand on what was the members lawn alone listening to those fantastic races! I am privileged and should count my blessings! |
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saxon farm ...if i recall correctly your namesake won at my first festival .1983. the dickinson gold cup ....i have some wonderful memories from the place but stopped going a few years ago . anyone who thinks its just some of us getting old and nothing to do with the many changes , well its understandable but not entirely correct . i will mix up a few pub visits with mates and some time watching at home . i will enjoy it still .
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The advent of the 4th day coincided with Edward Gillespie changing the character of the occasion from a festival of racing to a "go to event". Many who go now have no interest in the racing - it's a week long youngsters (mainly but not exclusively men) p!ss/drug up extravaganza.
The cost of living situation is now having it's effect; crowds are on the decline. The Jockey Club are crapping themselves - chucking money in Racing for Rewards accounts to generate "sales". Clearly there is a desire to stop the attendance decline by whatever means necessary as a further decline may generate more apathy and no shows. All rather sad. It was, over 3 days, perfect and greed took over. Greed won for 20 years but now the price is being paid. Personally, although I live within a mile of the track I stopped attending the festival a few years back. It had become an unpleasant experience. Never regretted it. |
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windsor knot
Well spotted! My 1st visit to Cheltenham was Mackeson Gold Cup 1982 and first time at The Festival, 1983 when my namesake won The Triumph Hurdle…..hence the username! |
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I am perfectly happy sitting at home in comfort laptop to hand ,if I want anything to eat or drink its a walk to the kitchen if I want a pish no qs , can study form in peace and quiet ,7 or 8 quid a pint and not a lot of change form a tenner for a burger I can happily pass .
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insist on paying £18 for my ginsters cornish pasty at tesco, just to get the cheltenham vibe
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I haven't missed a day since Morley Street year. But this year I am bailing out after the Stayers on Thursday and coming back to London for the Friday at home. I have disliked GC day for many years. Parispike's first paragraph gives my reasons. The old hot toddy bar was my base then but that has been replaced by a gin and cocktail trailer frequented by sockless idiots. To stay an extra 2 nights in Premier Inn for the GC, 2 meals out, drinks on course etc will set me back another £1000. From 8th April, with the £ saved , I am having 4 nights in Florence and Pisa. I have no regrets. Such a shame. Yet I am getting excited about the Craven already so it is not racing that I am fed up with. Just the Festival.
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Parispike's post @ 20.39 is absolutely bang on the money.
I completely agree with those sentiments and I won't be going ever again either. |
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Agree with the negativity.
They created a monster which is now eating itself. |
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5th day anyone ??????....no , thought not . that idea seems like a lifetime ago .
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Can’t wait. First into Insurance bar to secure table near bar for 8 of us. Best seats outside opposite winning post. First race roar and will watch every race from there all 4 days
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Enjoy hibore!
I think the 1st race roar really started in 2002 after foot and mouth. |
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Think ,like most things,people have fond memories,people grow and change so they alter their opinion of things.
Given the enormity of the festival,4 days was inevitable.ascot went 5,Galway’s 7. 4 is about right. Accomadation. ,clearly if it’s crazy prices,someone must be paying it,so that’s the market rate. Yes ,it was all racing fans years ago,and now day trippers,but given the exposure that’s bound to happen. |
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here we go, I can still remember the 1st winner I had at the festival, meladon in the triumph had a £5 bet on with Ted Sturman
sad to say I haven't been for the last 3 years and wont be going this year, will I ever go back to the festival NO, my itinerary for this years festival is out for a nice mid morning breakfast in a restaurant tue/wed/thursday, back home play on here then out for a few drinks and a nice Thai Tuesday, seafood restaurant Wednesday, Indian Thursday and Friday a lovely home cooked full english with a glass or of bubbles the out for 12 to the club which will have 250 guys in betting away ; how much would you pay for a pitch in there  ; then back home for a asian tapas from the local takeaway, might need to recover on saturday will still cost me a hell of a lot less than 1 night in a hotel at the festival but i am forward to the April meeting good luck everyone Ronnies bogy brighter days ahead in the mares, laid at tens |
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I stopped going in 2005 , £9 for a taxi from the station to a pub in town centre was a big shock ,it got worse that day place I stayed in was terrible ,and I never went back and headed home the same night after racing . I still go to the Spring meeting and would recommend it to anyone, good solid racing and nice weather usually . I went to the November meeting and for Foyles information theres NO change from a tenner for your burger...Plenty of Irish staying home this year, Hotels etc have priced themselves out of reach of most people . Between travel expences and hotel for the 5 week its over £1,600 minimum you could have a nice 4 days at home in comfort and £400 a day betting money ...
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Workrider.
Give me a bell at the April meeting. Hope you are well. Ronnie. |
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Also the mystique has changed.
In the 70s 80s & 90s, there was little ante post betting apart from Gold Cup & Champion Hurdle. The Irish horses coming over were “mystical beasts” to the British racegoer! |
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Will do Ronnie , it was lovely to meet you at York, I was supposed to be in Catterick yesterday but had a tummy bug so didn't fly over .
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The atmosphere of the betting ring was electric. My eyes nearly popped out. 20K to 5 cash LARGE ACTION on the off in a Champion Hurdle.
2002 Barry Dennis top pitch on the rails only laying 1 race Champion Hurdle 2/1 ISTABRAQ. ahem. |
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My 1st festival was in the 70s I think Inkslinger won that year,I think he had some USA connection.My last was Saxon Farm's I had a great day but I don't like big crowds.
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It's called getting old chaps.
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Ah, Cheltenham! The roar of the crowd, the thunder of hooves, and the sweet scent of overpriced Guinness wafting through the air—it's the jewel in the crown of British racing, and, frankly, an absolute barnstormer of a betting bonanza. You stick a tenner on a horse called Hoof-Hearted because you like the name, and suddenly, you’re the King of the Paddock! But beware, my fair-weather flutterers—one minute, you're raising a triumphant pint as your 20/1 outsider romps home the next, you’re staring blankly at your empty wallet, Cheltenham is a cruel mistress—one moment, she's showering you in crisp fifties, the next, she’s rifling through your pockets for spare change and laughing in your face. Still, what a rush! Backing a winner here feels like scoring a last-minute goal at Wembley pure, unadulterated euphoria.
Let battle commence. |
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Like you Saxon , had one four day festival but costs had hit 4 figures then and whilst it was still great it also took its toll , even with Annual Members badge and convenience . If I were you it would be one day only , probably Wed or Thurs .
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...it seems to me the Grade 1 Cheltenham races have simply become a question of .." will the Mullins hotpot win or not?"
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Too expensive. Too crowded. Too cold (in recent years).
And while some blame extra races for diluting quality, I think that is wrong. What they have done is increase uncertainty. How can you anticipate, say, a great Champion Hurdle if you have no idea if two of the likely favourites will line up here or in the mares race? Rinse and repeat for many of the other races. And now, especially in Britain, Cheltenham is losing its allure as the championship meeting with connections increasingly waiting for Aintree or Punchestown. |
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The key question might be what else isn't as much fun for you these days ?
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Oh, and inflation in the preview circuit.
More and more and more pundits each night. It is bad enough having three of them making the same obvious points about the championship races that we can all analyse on our own, but then there is a fourth, and a fifth and a sixth, each muttering the same platitudes about the first three or four in the betting. |
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I was ready to call it quits and miss at least a couple of days this time but in the end got tickets for all 4 days again before the first price hike deadline. I do still enjoy the week but more despite the racing than because of it. This year's racing looks more grim than ever but surely we're long overdue a year of decent weather. One upside of Chelt plc eating itself is that attendances for the first few days have slumped so much that it's at least much easier to get around.
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Stayer's Hurdle 1994: Avro Anson - first-past-the-post; disq., placed second. I have never recovered...
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“And while some blame extra races for diluting quality, I think that is wrong. What they have done is increase uncertainty. How can you anticipate, say, a great Champion Hurdle if you have no idea if two of the likely favourites will line up here or in the mares race”
You’ve contradicted yourself Ramruna. The mares’ race is one of the extras. Without it the good mares would have to run in the champion hurdle like Dawn Run and Flakey Dove did when the mares’ race didn’t exist. The mares’ race has diluted the champion hurdle. Dawn Run was a heroine with one win whereas Quevega is remembered for winning six races of uncompetitive shoite. The betting ring used to be electric with character bookmakers backing their opinions and creating a range of prices and a strong market. It’s boring laptop driven fodder now thanks to betfair, who also took the thrill out of ante-post betting. I remember Imperial Call the Gold Cup winner being available at 33/1 before February 11th. Alderbrook the Champion Hurdle winner 33/1 before 23rd February. You’ll never get that now as with betfair price discovery is so much earlier. It’s inadvisable to bother with ante-post now as it’s so open to insider trading. That’s illegal on the stock market but betting is a free for all which is what attracted the betfair city boys in the first place. |
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Week in Majorca, cant beat it
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"Plus ca change" as they across La Manche.
Every year the same old "Brians" (remember that BHB effort some years ago, with archetypes/stereotypes "Brian" the old codger, and "Ben" the younger type that the BHB wanted to attract to racing?) Every year the "Brians" emerge to whine about the festival being extended from 3 to 4 days. As the old saying goes, nostalgia aint what it used to be.... |