The Cheltenham Festival is one of the biggest meetings in all of European racing, it has been held at several different tracks since its inception in 1860, but has remained at Cheltenham since 1911, making this festival over 100 years old.

The four day event is the busiest week of the year for British bookmakers, with the turnover surpassing that of Royal Ascot, punters can bet on anything from predicting the winner of each race to how many pints of Guinness will be drunk, with such a wide variety of ways to make a profit, how can punters possibly resist taking bookmakers on?

Ruby Walsh has been the most successful jockey at the festival since 2008, having only been beaten once for the right to be called the most winningest jockey (2012 by Barry Geraghty) in that time frame. Willie Mullins has dominated the Cheltenham Festival trainer ranks since 2013, having racked up a total of 24 victories. Great equine athletes such as Best Mate; winner of 3 Cheltenham Gold Cup's , Desert Orchid; one of the best ever - 1989 Gold Cup winner, Kauto Star; multiple Gold Cup winner and Alderbrook; a Group 2 winner on the Flat and winner of the 1995 Champion  Hurdle - he did this all as an entire horse to boot, have graced Cheltenham with their presence.

The atmosphere will no doubt be electric as they raise the tape for the first of the afternoon, and opener of the 2017 Cheltenham Festival, we await the mighty roar from the crowd!