THE FESTIVAL 2017 MEDIA GUIDE

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has to be stored in a purpose-built barn to stop mice eating the material and rabbits eating the string until it is packed into the fences – 12 each summer on a two-year cycle – and then cut to size, 4ft 7½ in to 4ft 8in, no more no less. It has to be that precise to pass the scrutiny of course inspector (and Champion Hurdle-winning jockey) Richard Linley two weeks before The Festival. “THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IS TO MAKE SURE THE COURSE IS SAFE AND THE RESITING OF SOME FENCES HAS DONE A LOT TO MAKE SURE HORSES AREN’T CAUGHT OUT,” Keith Jones He will have a perfect view of how the Gold Cup winner jumps the last as on racedays he is one of the team putting the tapes in place to ensure the runners make for the finishing line rather than head out on another circuit. All the time with one eye on Clerk of the Course Simon Claisse, supervising operations from his eyrie atop the grandstand. Jones has a physically-demanding job, doing strenuous work in all weathers, and his lean frame is that of an athlete, so it is not surprising he is out before dawn, pounding the roads in preparation for his third London Marathon in 2017, for which he is raising funds for Racing Welfare (Justgiving/ keithjonesmarathon). First, though, are the marathon demands of four days of The Festival. Tim Partridge has seen only two Cheltenham Gold Cups, despite starting his working life at Cheltenham as a student doing casual work, followed by seven years with the catering crew, 12 years working with the firm putting up the temporary structures and another 11 in his current role heading up the maintenance team for all four South West courses owned by The Jockey Club. Once the race is under way and everyone else is transfixed by the action, Partridge and Steve Finch, who is in charge of maintenance at Cheltenham, have a little more breathing space to move around the course quickly, checking everything is going well. “If it’s green and grows we don’t touch it,” Finch chips in. “Everything else comes under our remit.” That includes overseeing the temporary structures, which occupy an area the size of 25 football pitches. THE MAINTENANCE MEN NAMES TIM PARTRIDGE AND STEVE FINCH AGES: 48 AND 38 POSITION MAINTENANCE TEAM LEADERS FESTIVALS 31 AND 5 BEST MOMENT LOOKING BACK AT THE END OF THE FESTIVAL AND BEING ABLE TO SAY ‘THAT ONE WENT RIGHT’ MOST CHALLENGING MOMENT WITH UP TO 70,000 PEOPLE ON SITE, WHATEVER PREPARATION YOU PUT IN THERE’S ALWAYS SOMETHING THAT POPS UP WHAT WE LOVE ABOUT OUR JOB MAKING SURE EVERY RACEGOER, WHETHER PAYING £30 OR £300, HAS A GREAT DAY “People forget we’re trying to put on a major outdoor sporting event in winter conditions. During The Festival, the Village is a big campsite - everything is temporary. Keeping that working is a big job, especially when the windchill takes the temperature down to -12C so that even the beer in the taps freezes.” If the temporary facilities pose a challenge, there is a deep admiration for the course’s latest permanent asset, the Princess Royal Stand, which passed into the care of Partridge and Finch as soon as the construction was complete and the builders moved out. “She’s a great building, no doubt about it,” Partridge says affectionately. “And we’re still learning how she behaves so we can get the best out of her. “The space that’s been opened up around her doesn’t just make life better for racegoers, it helps us get on with our jobs too.” 24
THE FESTIVAL IN FIGURES Cheltenham Media Guide 2017 £100,000,000 – local (Gloucestershire) economic impact of The Festival each year. £4,305,000 – record amount of prize money on offer at The Festival 2017 – the most of any Jump festival in the world. £2,200,000 – the amount of money taken from the cash machines at The Festival 2016. £575,000 – prize money available for the feature race, the Timico Cheltenham Gold Cup. 105,000 – people using Cheltenham Spa train station over the four days of racing. 80,000 – number of movements between the racecourse and the town on the shuttle bus service. 70,000 – maximum capacity at Cheltenham on Cheltenham Gold Cup Day (when all temporary facilities are open). 65,000 – average attendance over the four-day period of The Festival. 45,000 – bread rolls eaten at The Festival 2016. 45,000 – afternoon teas served to customers at The Festival 2016. 40,000 – hospitality guests served over the four days of The Festival. 38,000m2 – volume of space that is built for the four days in the Tented Village and the triple decker stand that sits alongside the racecourse. 36,500 – vehicles parked over the four days. 21,120 – distance, in feet, run during the National Hunt Chase, The Festival’s longest race. 12,320 – yards of running rails surrounding the track. 8,000+ – gallons of tea and coffee served. 5,936 – staff employed over The Festival. 5,000 – bundles of birch used every season. 3,500 – catering team operating each day. 2001 – the only year, besides the periods during the two World Wars, that The Festival has been cancelled (due to foot and mouth disease). 1934 – the year Golden Miller became the first horse to win both the Cheltenham Gold Cup and the Grand National in a single season. 800 – members of the press accredited for The Festival each year. 750 – students from over 20 colleges work at The Festival each day. 350 – chefs on site each day. 350 – catering managers each day. 240 – private boxes. £135,000,000 – what The Jockey Club has spent on facilities at Cheltenham during the last 35 years. 65 – mobile catering units. 50 – staff coaches per day, sourced from all over the country, as far away as London, Cardiff, Swansea, Birmingham and Coventry. £45,000,000 – cost of the redevelopment of Cheltenham Racecourse. This project was concluded on time and within budget in November, 2015. 34 temporary kitchens. 30 – extra flights put on by Ryanair on the Dublin to Birmingham route during The Festival period (around 20,000 customers will use Ryanair). 28 – National Hunt races run at The Festival. 24 – marquees, with over 2.5 miles of internal walls. 22 – fences jumped during the Cheltenham Gold Cup. 12 – restaurants. 9 – tons of potatoes consumed during The Festival. 8 – most wins at The Festival by a trainer – Willie Mullins – in a single year (2015). 7 – most wins at The Festival by a jockey – Ruby Walsh – in a single year (2009 & 2016). 6 – most consecutive victories by a horse in any Cheltenham Festival race - Quevega in the David Nicholson Mares’ Hurdle between 2009 and 2014. 5 – tons of smoked and fresh salmon consumed at The Festival. 5 – tons of cheese consumed. 5 - furlongs of temporary bar counters. 4 – number of feature races run during The Festival – the Timico Cheltenham Gold Cup, Betway Queen Mother Champion Chase, Stan James Champion Hurdle and Sun Bets Stayers’ Hurdle. 3 – the three-storey temporary stand installed for The Festival, beyond the Guinness Village, is the biggest, threetiered temporary structure in Europe. 2 – shortest distance raced at The Festival in miles. SUSTAINABILITY LOCAL PRODUCE AT THE HEART OF WHAT IS OFFERED AT THE FESTIVAL • 70% OF THE FRUIT & VEGETABLES ARE SOURCED WITHIN THE COTSWOLDS REGION. • 100% OF THE CHEESE USED IS PRODUCED WITHIN 50 MILES OF CHELTENHAM. • 100% OF THE SALMON IS CURED OR SMOKED WITHIN 50 MILES (SEVERN & WYE / COLN VALLEY) & IS 100% SUSTAINABLE SCOTTISH SALMON. • 100% OF ALL THE SEAFOOD IS THE BEST OF BRITISH, EITHER LANDED AT ORKNEY OR BRIXHAM. • 100% OF THE AFTERNOON TEA SELECTIONS IS THE BEST OF BRITISH. 25
Page 1 and 2: THE FESTIVAL 2017 MEDIA GUIDE
Page 3 and 4: WELCOME The build-up to this year
Page 5 and 6: A general view of the Vestey Bar at
Page 7 and 8: BRITISH RACING HAS A DUTY OF CARE T
Page 9 and 10: BETBRIGHT PRESTBURY CUP BRITAIN VER
Page 11 and 12: THE MCCOYS RECOGNISING JUMP RACING
Page 13 and 14: Cheltenham Media Guide 2017 mile co
Page 15 and 16: JON RICHARDSON THE OLD MAN 7th OCTO
Page 17 and 18: ARKLE FACTS Form figures; 341104-11
Page 19 and 20: Cheltenham Media Guide 2017 1997 A
Page 21 and 22: INCREDIBLE UNMISSABLE £10 FREE NO
Page 23: laying plans for the 12 months ahea
Page 27 and 28: Cheltenham Media Guide 2017 and tur
Page 29 and 30: CALL US FOR CHELTENHAM BETTING NEWS
Page 31 and 32: Cheltenham Media Guide 2017 TIMICO
Page 33 and 34: Queen’s Prize at Kempton Park and
Page 35 and 36: Eborneezer (1961) and trained Bula
Page 37 and 38: Cheltenham Media Guide 2017 37
Page 39 and 40: THE FIRST RACE AT THE CHELTENHAM FE
Page 41 and 42: The only horse since to have won th
Page 43 and 44: CHELTENHAM & SOUTH WEST SYNDICATE S
Page 45 and 46: ecognised start of the race that is
Page 47 and 48: WE ’ RE NOT HORSING AROUND PROUD
Page 49 and 50: short history, with three wins apie
Page 51 and 52: LEADING JOCKEYS AT THE FESTIVAL Rub
Page 53 and 54: William Alexander Baring Bingham, w
Page 55 and 56: at Cheltenham for 26 years altogeth
Page 57 and 58: of supporting races. The first Coun
Page 59 and 60: Bookmakers in front of the See You

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