Cheltenham Diary: Sign of the times on Cleeve Hill
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Nothing, it seems, is sacred in the commercial world in which we live. The timeless Cheltenham racecourse backdrop of Cleeve Hill has been desecrated Hollywood-style. There, in the rolling folds of the edge of the Cotswolds, are 270-feet worth of giant white letters, courtesy of the Irish bookmaking firm Paddy Power, allowing it to promote its name across the whole racecourse. The edifice is 50 feet high, making it bigger than Tinseltown's eponymous landmark. It is also longer than the Cerne Abbas Giant in Dorchester, Dorset, although which bit of that is not specified.
By George: bookies hit punters with low blow
In the annual 26-rounder that is the Cheltenham Festival, the bookmakers are ahead on points after day one. The layers repelled an early attack with the defeat of hot favourite Dunguib, the Irish challenger who was the supposed banker of the meeting in the opener, and then landed a blow of their own when 33-1 shot Chief Dan George beat 9-2 favourite The Package in the three-mile handicap. But David Hood, of that race's sponsors William Hill, said: "It's too early to get carried away but we've built up a hefty bank to go to war with for the next three days."
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments