In 2008 racing at Cheltenham on Queen Mother Champion Chase day, historically Wednesday, is postponed due to adverse racecourse weather conditions. High winds rendered hospitality structures around the course unsafe and so organisers decided to abandon racing in the interest of customer safety. This is the first time racing has not taken place on this day since the foot and mouth outbreak of 2001, which results in a totally abandoned Cheltenham festival for the first time in history.
All of the scheduled races will be carried over to Thursday or Friday and will now be run at the following times:
Ballymore Properties Novices Hurdle – 1:05 Friday
Royal & SunAlliance Chase – 1:05 Thursday
Queen Mother Champion Chase – 2:20 Thursday
Coral Cup – 1:40 Friday
National Hunt Chase – 12:30 Thursday
Champion Bumper – 5:50 Thursday
All bets placed with Ladbrokes on races scheduled for Queen Mother Champion Chase day will stand.
Cheltenham weather can affect the going; racecourse conditions that range from heavy – soft – good to soft – good – good to firm – firm – hard by the Offical Jockey Club. Different horses perform better or worse under these going conditions so be sure to check out the form and stats under the betting information menu on the left to see which horses suit the ground at Cheltenham this year.
All weather courses such as Wolverhampton, Southwell, Lingfield and Kempton Park, where horses run on a sand-like track, are generally unaffected by adverse weather conditions. The Cheltenham racecourse does not boast all weather facilities and so races may be postponed or even abandoned under extreme weather conditions.
The Free Cheltenham Bet is unaffected by the adverse weather conditions at Cheltenham this year. The offer has in fact been extended to Saturday and is available on any sports bet, including the Cheltenham Festival Racing. Simply open a new account, enter promo code RPOST, place a bet of £10 or more and and we'll match it up to £150 with a free bet of your choice, plus claim two more free bets - up to £50 per day.
Good luck and enjoy the races!
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