Cheltz Fest 2021 Behind Closed Doors ?

[charlie]

Makes you look a bit of a Cunt saying that.
And I'm from Sheffield.

I'll take 'bit' . It's tongue in cheek ffs!! United or Wednesday or neither?

[charlie]

Pubs won’t open before schools so the window to have them open is pretty skinny

Schools from 8th will be the priority. Will take 3-4 weeks minimum IMO to know whether it has worked or not, by which point Cheltenham will have come and gone.

[Kevloaf]

Schools opening the week before the festival is a (relative) nightmare for me.... I'll be so busy and they haven't technically authorised my week off yet when I've just checked

[Leman14]

Kevloaf - that sucks!

Potentially the opposite for me though...

I'm also in recruitment (not education recruitment) but working 2.5 days / week at the moment

Will probably be working mornings through March, giving me the afternoons "off"..... and my kids will (hopefully) be back at school...... so no home-schooling through Cheltenham week.....

That said...... things can change....

[Kevloaf]

Kevloaf - that sucks!

Potentially the opposite for me though...

I'm also in recruitment (not education recruitment) but working 2.5 days / week at the moment

Will probably be working mornings through March, giving me the afternoons "off"..... and my kids will (hopefully) be back at school...... so no home-schooling through Cheltenham week.....

That said...... things can change....

Yeah I imagine it's amazing news for the overwhelming majority.


Would have loved to be not having to work very hard at all that week before.... but I'll still have plenty of time, and all weekend

[charlie]

Schools opening the week before the festival is a (relative) nightmare for me.... I'll be so busy and they haven't technically authorised my week off yet when I've just checked

Fuck. To quote Lobos 'if I was religious I'd pray for you'

Seriously though Kev, I hope that situation gets resolved asap.

[Leman14]

It's the lack of home-schooling that would be the best news.
I can use holiday if I need to and the Mrs can do the school run....

Not sure whether drinking at home on my own, watching the racing, whilst "looking after" the kids would be the best "look"!

[jonthehammer]

I think we should do what the kids do, and organise an illegal Chletenham Festival rave. Throw a farmer a couple of grand, and have massive screen in a barn in the middle of nowhere.

?800 fine each when we're caught. Reduced to ?400 if we pay early. Then get paid ?500 by the Government to stay at home becuase we've all got Covid. For some of us it might be the only profit we make!

If you dont enter a contract with anyone you dont pay the fine, just refuse to accept it. Win win, we can spend the fine money on beer.

[Captain Chris]

Hi Charlie,

The ?5.05 price is probably so the bar tender has to give you change.
Less chance for them to just pocket the fiver & move onto the next customer.

Same reason everything in the shops used to be ?1.99 etc.

At least that’s what my old man told me years ago when I asked.

Probably be ?6 next time you get there as only card payments accepted!

It was 5.80 last year so no doubt will be above 6 once "Cheltenham" inflation has been added.

To mimic the experience, I'm going to wait in the kitchen until 3 minutes before the next race, then down my drink so I'm allowed back in the lounge to watch the it...

[Craigy14]

The one thing I will say about this, which I feel is not fair whatsoever.

How come all your chairman’s, execs, owners etc are allowed to attend their football teams games yet owners not allowed into racing.

Its the exact same thing but yet again different standards. The top men watching their team is either essential or not!

[charlie]

The one thing I will say about this, which I feel is not fair whatsoever.

How come all your chairman’s, execs, owners etc are allowed to attend their football teams games yet owners not allowed into racing.

Its the exact same thing but yet again different standards. The top men watching their team is either essential or not!

It's probably because even at a large football club you have a Chariman, owner, some directors, but probably a small handful of people that are easy to keep apart.

On any given day at Cheltenham there could be 80+ horses running which would mean hundreds of owners/connections, and then you have issues with syndicates, international travel etc.

Perhaps they should restrict it to two people per horse, or something like that

[Craigy14]

It's probably because even at a large football club you have a Chariman, owner, some directors, but probably a small handful of people that are easy to keep apart.

On any given day at Cheltenham there could be 80+ horses running which would mean hundreds of owners/connections, and then you have issues with syndicates, international travel etc.

Perhaps they should restrict it to two people per horse, or something like that

Yip agree but then surely just open up other areas for the owners as opposed to just the parade ring etc?

Or as you say at the very least restrict it to a couple.

[Istabraq]

I still find it staggering that an entirely outdoor sport like racing, with acre after acre of empty space, is seen as unsafe for owners/limited spectators.
I’ll have the usual scrum at Sainsburys tonight but that’s fine...

[Lobos]

Is it not strange that Cheltenham have not yet pulled the plug on spectators ??!!!! They are taking the piss aren't they??!! 1000's, including myself, will still have holiday booked, deposits paid on Hotels and tickets paid for Travel. What are they playing at ??!!

[Atlantic Viking]

Is it not strange that Cheltenham have not yet pulled the plug on spectators ??!!!! They are taking the piss aren't they??!! 1000's, including myself, will still have holiday booked, deposits paid on Hotels and tickets paid for Travel. What are they playing at ??!!

It probably is yeah, but from a commercial point of view you aren't going to pull the plug when there's any sort of chance, given the road map is to be announced on 22nd Feb. That the chance is about 0.000000001% is irrelevant, they may as well hang on to it. I imagine any large contract such as catering has already been dealt with/cancelled, as if they did somehow get any one in attendance, you're talking the 2000 limit at absolute miraculous best, which could be handled if and when. Bit different to contracts for 60,000+.

In reality though surely absolutely everyone outside the stables involved (The 0.000000001% probably becomes a 0.0001% chance for owners) have accepted there is no chance whatsoever they will be attending?! I made peace with it months ago and it couldn't have been spelt out much more by the government more recently.