The Cheltenham Gold cup as we now know it, as part of the Cheltenham festival was inaugurated only in 1924, which makes it the oldest of the championship races at Cheltenham. In its early years the Gold Cup did not enjoy the status it does in the modern era. It was often used as a trial for the Grand National, when it was overshadowed by the National Hunt Chase, and it took the exceptional trio of Golden Miller, Cottage Rake and Arkle to raise its profile above the humdrum. The Gold Cup is not immune from shocks though, with the 1990 victory of 100-1 shot Norton's Coin, who remains the longest-priced winner of the race, one of the biggest upsets in festival history. Among other high points of the festival last year only, Bobs Worth's win made him the first horse since Flyingbolt in 1966 to win three different races at the Cheltenham festival in consecutive years which goes on to show the difficult nature of these races.Image
For the punters, these races are a source of great excitement and adventure who gamble large amounts of money on these horses backing on the cheltenham tips they receive constantly. The festival also includes one of the two biggest Hunter Chases of the season, the Foxhunters', which is run on the Friday over the same course as the Gold Cup, and is sometimes referred to as the "amateurs' Gold Cup".
These races though are a source of entertainment for the people but have now been started to be criticized as for several years there have been concerns about the number of equine injuries and fatalities. In 2006, 11 horses died and in response the racecourse decreased the number of runners in certain races and re-sited one of the more difficult fences. On the opening day of the 2012 festival, three horses had to be euthanized after suffering bone fractures or breaks, including two during the Cross-Country Chase, becoming the second and third equine fatalities in that race since 2000. There are no Cheltenham tips to make these races safer for the horses participating.
Cheltenham tips and other trivia on these races have been a topic of discussion no matter where u go in the town be it markets, pubs, hotels or any other place. People get together and discuss the races in the hopes of getting new insight on them and making money out of them.
For the punters, these races are a source of great excitement and adventure who gamble large amounts of money on these horses backing on the cheltenham tips they receive constantly. The festival also includes one of the two biggest Hunter Chases of the season, the Foxhunters', which is run on the Friday over the same course as the Gold Cup, and is sometimes referred to as the "amateurs' Gold Cup".
These races though are a source of entertainment for the people but have now been started to be criticized as for several years there have been concerns about the number of equine injuries and fatalities. In 2006, 11 horses died and in response the racecourse decreased the number of runners in certain races and re-sited one of the more difficult fences. On the opening day of the 2012 festival, three horses had to be euthanized after suffering bone fractures or breaks, including two during the Cross-Country Chase, becoming the second and third equine fatalities in that race since 2000. There are no Cheltenham tips to make these races safer for the horses participating.
Cheltenham tips and other trivia on these races have been a topic of discussion no matter where u go in the town be it markets, pubs, hotels or any other place. People get together and discuss the races in the hopes of getting new insight on them and making money out of them.