Cheltenham races cancelled

Today's Cheltenham Festival races have been cancelled due to stormy weather, which has already destroyed one structure at the racecourse, as well as making the tented hospitality areas unsafe.

Wednesday's card will now be run across Thursday and Friday, although organisers were expecting 55,000 people to attend Map of Prestbury Park today.

Edward Gillespie, the managing director, explained: 'On Tuesday night we had a forecast indicating gusts of over 50mph up to and including Wednesday afternoon. That means that many of the temporary facilities might not be safe. It's a west wind, which would take any debris on to the racecourse.'

The Gold Cup showdown between Kauto Star and Denman (which was feature in March 6 issue of Country Life) will still take place on Friday as part of a nine-race card.

Ticket holders for today will receive a 100% refund, but those tickets will not be valid on Thursday or Friday. There will be tickets on sale for all three enclosures tomorrow, using a higher capacity of 65,000, but Friday is sold out.

Today's Cheltenham Festival races have been cancelled due to stormy weather, after one structure was destroyed and the tented hospitality areas declared unsafe.

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