It will be cold, wet and windy - and record crowds may still attend. When the National Hunt festival for chasers and hurdlers begins on Tuesday at Cheltenham Racecourse 100 miles west of London, a crowd of more than 68,000 is expected to watch the first of four seven-race programs through Friday that are the highlight of British jump racing each winter. The Irish shippers, and their legions of devoted supporters, consider Cheltenham a good time, too. In the last two years, runners based in Ireland have won 41 of the 56 races, including a staggering 23 of the 28 races run in 2021. Last year, Irish-based horses won 18 races compared to 10 for the British. Rain is forecast for Monday and Tuesday, with temperatures expected to fall near freezing on Tuesday night. Track officials said on Sunday that they plan to cover the course in tarps to prevent any frost from getting into the ground, a drastic measure that has occurred on rare occasions in the last 15 years. Even with dodgy weather on the horizon, the track may draw record attendance. The cumulative attendance last year was a record 280,627, including a record 73,875 on the final day, which is highlighted by the Grade 1 Cheltenham Gold Cup at 3 5/16 miles. The $755,000 Gold Cup is the richest race of the week and is led by the 7-year-old gelding Galopin des Champs, who was 7-4 in early betting on Sunday. Trained in Ireland by Willie Mullins, Galopin des Champs fell in a steeplechase for novices at Cheltenham last March, but is unbeaten in three subsequent starts in chases at distances ranging from 2 1/2 to three miles. :: Bet the races on DRF Bets! Sign up with code WINNING to get a $250 Deposit Match, $10 Free Bet, and FREE DRF Formulator.  Tuesday’s program includes four Grade 1 races. Mullins, the all-time leading trainer at the festival with 88 career wins, including a record of 10 in a single year in 2022, has the favorite in two of the four Grade 1 races, but not in the day’s main race – the $543,600 Champion Hurdle at 2 1/16 miles. Constitution Hill, trained in England by Nicky Henderson, was the 1-3 favorite as of Sunday to extend his unbeaten streak to six races. The Mullins-trained State Man, a winner of 6 of 8 starts, was the 3-1 second choice in a field of seven. The day’s first race, the Grade 1 Supreme Novices’ Hurdle at 2 1/16 miles, is a preview of runners for the Champion Hurdle the following year. Mullins has four of the 12 runners, including Facile Vega, the 15-8 early favorite despite a fifth-place finish behind stablemate Il Etait Temps in a key prep race in Ireland on Feb. 5. In Grade 1 races later on the program, the Mullins-trained El Fabiolo, a winner of his last three starts, will be favored to win the $211,400 Arkle Chase for novices at about two miles. Honeysuckle, a 9-year-old with a staggeringly consistent record of 16 wins in 18 starts, is the 3-1 favorite in the $154,600 Mares’ Hurdle at about 2 1/2 miles. Trained in Ireland by Henry de Bromhead, Honeysuckle won the 2020 Mares’ Hurdle and the Champion Hurdle in 2021 and 2022. Cheltenham’s program begins at 9:30 a.m. Eastern or 6:30 a.m. Pacific. Wagering is available through DRFBets.com. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.