Punters made to pay at the races

FOR the first time in many a moon I wasn’t at the Cheltenham Festival this year.

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And it looks like I wasn’t the only one. Attendances at the horse racing bonanza were well down.

The biggest decline from last year was on Wednesday, which saw under 42,000 turning out, 5,000 down on 2024.

I love the festival and have been going for nearly 30 years. Memories of great days out at the Gloucestershire track are some of my favourites.

I've been privileged to see some of the sport's greatest romp to victory up the famous hill.

The days and nights of drinking in the town have been legendary.

It has been a must in the diary for as long as I can remember.

But this year, after a few years of frustration at the event, I decided to give it a miss.