Racing called off for day 2 of the 2008 Cheltenham Festival

Racing for day two of the 2008 Cheltenham Festival has been abandoned following warnings that strong winds will persist throughout the day. Cheltenham Racecourse made an announcement this morning that all the day’s races would be cancelled as strong gusts of wind threatened temporary facilities.

Cheltenham Racecourse management have assuaged fears of lost revenue for both bookmakers and punters by assuring that all the races scheduled for Wednesday will instead be run on the remaining days of the festival, with the six 2008 Cheltenham festival races for day two most likely to be split between the two remaining race cards.

Indications from the weather bureau are that the strong winds that have blasted the United Kingdom for the past three days are likely to die down by Thursday morning, leaving behind decent conditions for the remainder of the festival.

The unexpected cancellation of the 2008 Cheltenham Festival races for day two of the festival may even act in favour of trainers who brought their horses to Cheltenham expecting good going. The remainder of the Festival will be run on the new course at Cheltenham Racecourse, and the turf is likely to dry out substantially if the strong winds are not accompanied by rain.

Cheltenham Festival Betting will release an updated card and preview for day 3 of the Cheltenham Festival races later today.

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