The Irish festival (not to be confused with the Cheltenham festival) which is run in Cheltenham from November 13-15th promises all sorts of excesses. The Murphy's sponsored event expect people to live up to last year's indulgences when they consumed 1,300 bottles of champagne, 2,200 bottles of wine, 11,000 pints of stout and 220 feet of chocolate eclairs.

The organisers at Cheltenham have also introduced a novel way to encourage owners to run their horses in steeplechase events with the introduction of appearance payments which will run from October to December.

Amounts ranging from £250 to £400 will be paid to the owners of each unplaced runner, on condition that the horse completes one mile. The funding is provided in association with the Tote.