Stout, leather and manure: Betfair launch ultimate Cheltenham experience candle

Betfair have commissioned a new candle to provide racegoers the chance to experience the smells of the Cheltenham Festival, with the meeting set to be held behind closed doors in 2021.

The candle – called smell-tenham – is made with a variety of fragrances aiming to resemble the different parts of the day. It starts with the smell of a bacon sandwich, for breakfast, then on to a layer of a creamy stout.

Next is the smell of saddle leather to resemble jockeys mounting before a layer of freshly cut grass fragrance for the horses, then on the racecourse before a final smell of horse manure. The candle in total lasts for around 40 to 50 hours.

200 candles have been made and are available to buy on the Betfair website.

Cheltenham among 80 meetings in new UK Tote comingling agreement with PMU

The Tote pools for next week's Cheltenham Festival are set to be bolstered with the news that French PMU customers will be able to bet directly into them as the two operators launch a new partnership.

Thursday's evening meeting at Newcastle provided a successful first test of the system and PMU clients will be able to join the UK pools for singles, forecast and tricast bets across all four days of the festival, with the agreement extending to 80 meetings in 2021.

"This is a very welcome development and we are delighted to be working with the PMU," said UK Tote's communications and corporate affairs director, Susannah Gill. "It will help boost liquidity in the pools next week and for 80 fixtures throughout the remainder of 2021."

French racing fans will get dedicated Cheltenham coverage on all four days on the Equidia Racing online platform, with some of the biggest races of the week also shown live on the main television channel.

The news follows hot on the heels of the announcement that the co-mingled World Pool run in conjunction with the Hong Kong Jockey Club has been extended this year to include two of Jockey Club Racecourses' premier fixtures, Qipco 2,000 Guineas day at Newmarket and the Derby card at Epsom.

World Pool already encompasses the five days of Royal Ascot and Qipco British Champions Day.

Racing TV to offer sectional data and in-running timing for Cheltenham Festival

Racing TV will provide live in-running timing for all races at the Cheltenham Festival next week, along with data to be published online.

Viewers of the subscription channel can expect to see a race clock along with the speed of the leader and their time per furlong while a breakdown of each horse's performance will be made available online the following day.

This is part of a major change for Racecourse Media Group, who now provide sectional data for all fixtures and this will be the first time such a service is available for the Cheltenham Festival.

Mark Pitman and Fergal O'Brien take on rugby legends for charity

Gold Cup-winning rider Mark Pitman and leading trainer Fergal O'Brien are preparing to take on rugby union legends Rory Underwood and Dean Richards in the name of charity on Thursday evening.

Hoping to raise funds for the armed forces equine charity Tedworth Equestrian, whose aim is to benefit people through horses, Pitman and O'Brien will face the former England stars on the virtual playing field, where brains rather than brawn will be key during a mix of panel games.

During an evening of competition and discussion, leading comedian and impressionist Rory Bremner will entertain guests, who will also hear from people who have dedicated their lives to harnessing horsepower to help others, and those who have had their lives changed by these efforts.

Key to the event is an online auction, where bidders can secure anything from a morning on the gallops with O'Brien to a seven-night stay in Barbados for six.

The online event starts at 8pm on Thursday evening, with tickets costing £10 per device and gains entry to a prize draw. All proceeds go directly to the charity.

More details can be found at .

Limerick's televised Sunday fixture in doubt with parts of track waterlogged

Sunday's fixture at Limerick, which features two graded mares' races and is due to be aired on TG4's live racing production Rasai Beo, faces a 7.30am inspection on the morning of racing.

Parts of the hurdle track were found to be unraceable when officials inspected Saturday afternoon, with parts of the hurdles track still waterlogged.

Clerk of the course Val O’Connell said: "We've had another 20mm of rainfall since declarations. The track has taken it very well and we're still waterlogged in areas on the hurdles track. The forecast for tonight into tomorrow is for strong winds with mainly dry weather and hopefully the weather will stay in our favour overnight."

Dobbin's Jonniesofa retired after setback

Useful chaser Jonniesofa, who returned from nearly two years off to win at Ayr last season, has been retired at the age of 11.

Trainer Rose Dobbin said: "He picked up a small suspensory injury this time last year and we got him back but he's done the same spot and it's a bit worse so we decided we'd call it a day with him.

"It's really sad because he still very much 'had it' and we were hoping for soft ground at Aintree as we thought he'd be a good horse for the Topham."

Jonniesofa won six of just 16 races under rules, including a Grade 2 novice hurdle at Haydock, and over £61,000 in prize-money.

"He was a hell of a horse and it's just a shame we didn't quite manage to win a big chase with him because he definitely had the ability but it never quite happened," Dobbin said. "He's been fragile and had a lot of injuries."

National Hunt Chase renamed in honour of Lord Vestey

Cheltenham will honour its former chairman Lord Vestey following his death last month by running the National Hunt Novices’ Chase in his name at next week's festival.

The Sam Vestey National Hunt Novices’ Chase takes place on the first day of the meeting, which Vestey helped to shape significantly during his 21 years at the course, most notably when overseeing the expansion of the fixture to four days from three in 2005.

Ian Renton, regional managing director for the Jockey Club, said: “He had a lifelong passion and commitment to Cheltenham and it is great testament to him that the racecourse went from strength to strength during his chairmanship. It therefore seemed very appropriate to run the National Hunt Chase in his honour for 2021.”

Paul Fisher joins City Racing as executive vice-chairman

Paul Fisher has joined City Racing, the venture designed to bring horseracing to some of the world's most iconic locations, as executive vice-chairman.

Fisher is the former chief executive of Jockey Club Racecourses and was at the organisation when it became one of the founding shareholders in City Racing.

He said: "I am passionate about the horseracing industry and I strongly believe the exciting and vibrant fundamentals of City Racing will bring much needed innovation, diversity and inclusion to the world of horseracing."

City Racing said it was still in discussions with a number of cities around the world and was aiming to launch its first event when pandemic restrictions were lifted. Peter Phillips will continue as chairman.

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