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Horseracing

18th Mar 2016

Staggering losses prove this has been the worst Cheltenham for bookmakers in a very, very long time

And yet we still couldn't back a winner

Robert Redmond

The 2016 Cheltenham Festival has been a victory for the punters.

At the start of Gold Cup day, bookmakers in the UK and Ireland were reportedly down £50 million (€64.3m) following wins for a number of heavily backed horses on day three of the festival.

Wins for Thistlecrack, Vautour, and Limini on Thursday reportedly cost Irish bookmakers alone over €12 million.

If bookies were hoping for some respite on the final day of the festival they were certainly left cursing their luck as the festival came to a close.

2016 Cheltenham Festival, Prestbury Park, Cheltenham, England 18/3/2016 The Timico Cheltenham Gold Cup Chase Bryan Cooper onboard Don Cossack celebrates winning the race Mandatory Credit ©INPHO/Dan SheridanBryan Cooper onboard Don Cossack celebrates winning the race.

Ivanovich Gorbatov, the 9/2 favourite, won the JCB Triumph Hurdle, On The Fringe, priced at 13/8, won the Foxhunter Chase, and fellow favourite Don Cossack won the Gold Cup.

Victory for the 2/1 favourite in the biggest race of the week reportedly brought the combined losses between the Irish and UK bookmakers to £60million.

Topics:

Cheltenham