Cheltenham meet set to begin without spectators

The Cheltenham Gold Cup steeplechase on March 13, 2020, was the last sporting event of the year before a full audience in Great Britain – and just about anywhere else.

The track announced a crowd of 65,859 attended the seven-race program. When the race is run this Friday, the official attendance will be 0.

The four-day event, which brings together many of the best hurdlers and chasers from Great Britain and Ireland, will be conducted similar to so many thousands of racing and other sporting events worldwide in the last year – behind closed doors because of the pandemic.

The only attendees will be the most vital participants, such as trainers, grooms, and essential track employees. Owners will not be there, nor will the thousands of Irish racing fans, and some devoted Americans, who make the annual trek to a small town 100 miles west of London.

The roar that greets the runners for the week’s first race – the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle – will be replaced by an eerie silence. If the 7-year-old Appreciate It of Ireland performs as expected and wins the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle at 2 1/16 miles as the solid favorite, there will be no throng of Irish well-wishers gleefully cheering the gelding into the winner’s circle.

There will not be any crowds gathered around monitors in the thousands of betting shops in Great Britain and Ireland doing the same. The shops also are closed until at least early April because of the pandemic.

From Tuesday through Thursday, beginning at 9:20 a.m. Eastern, seven-race cards will proceed with television and internet-streaming services providing the only avenues to follow the action.

The Supreme Novices’ Hurdle is one of the most popular betting events of the year in Britain. Last year, nine of the top 10 betting races in Great Britain were held at the Cheltenham festival, with the English Derby the only flat race on the list, according to statistics compiled from leading bookmakers.

In 2019, the last normal year of racing, eight of the top 10 betting races were at the Cheltenham festival, with the Grand National topping the list. Last April, the Grand National was not held because of the pandemic.

The 2020 Cheltenham festival would have certainly been canceled had the event been scheduled a week later. Attendance was down 5 percent for the four days, to 251,684, with the event coming under scrutiny for continuing as the grip of the pandemic was being fully realized.

On the day of the 2020 Gold Cup, professional soccer games in England were postponed for three weeks and did not resume until late spring, albeit behind closed doors.

The absence of an audience this year may deny fans the chance to witness history. In Friday’s Gold Cup chase at 3 1/4 miles, Al Boum Photo will be favored to win for the third consecutive year. Arkle (1964-66) and Best Mate (2002-04) are the only three-time winners in the last 50 years.

Al Boum Photo, a 9-year-old French-bred gelding, is trained by Willie Mullins, whose massive stable is expected to lead all trainers. Nicky Henderson of England poses the greatest threat to Mullins for the training title over 28 races.

The competition among trainers has changed in a shocking manner in recent weeks, following the six-month suspension of top Irish trainer Gordon Elliott after a 2019 photo emerged in late February of him sitting on a deceased horse in a paddock.

Some of Elliott’s leading contenders for Cheltenham have been moved to other trainers, notably Envoi Allen. Undefeated in 11 starts, Envoi Allen is expected to be an odds-favorite to win a novice chase for new trainer Henry De Bromhead on Thursday.