Bookies Average £5 Million A Minute During £600 Million Cheltenham Bonanza

The Cheltenham Festival is the biggest betting event in the Racing Calendar and bookies William Hill are bracing themselves for what promises to be their best ever Cheltenham in terms of betting turnover.

The Leeds firm are predicting that a staggering £150 million a day will be wagered industry-wide, on each of the four days of the festival, resulting in a total turnover of over £600 million. That figure equates to over £25 million per race, for the 24 races, and with each taking an average of five minutes to complete bookies will be taking a staggering £5 million per minute of racing action.

While the figures may look good for the bookies there are a number of results they are dreading. Victory for the favourites in the big races: Kauto Star, in the totesport Gold Cup, Detroit City, in the Smurfit Kappa Champion Hurdle, and Well Chief in the Seasons Holidays Queen Mother Champion Chase, would result in a payout of £200 million or more back to the punters, almost half their weeks takings in just three races!

William Hill's spokesman Ben Clarke said, "The Cheltenham Festival can make or break the bookies year with this amount of money flying round and this week is set to be our busiest yet. We have our four leafed clovers in our pockets hoping the big results go our way".

Cheltenham Festival Facts:

£600 million total bookmaker turnover for the four days.

£150 million per day.

Average of £25 million per race.

Averages out at £5 per minute of action.

If all the money bet at the festival was laid out end to end in £5 notes it would stretch to from Cheltenham to Nakayama in Japan where the Worlds biggest individual betting race, the Arma Kinen, is held.