Snow Falls On Cheltenham Racecourse Ahead Of Festival Day Two

Leigh Boobyer

BBC News, Gloucestershire

Snow falls on Cheltenham Festival

A flurry of snow has fallen on Cheltenham Racecourse ahead of the second day of The Festival.

Thousands of racegoers are anticipated to descend on Prestbury Park for Style Wednesday later.

Temperatures of around 1C (34F) brought snowfall to Cheltenham and wider Gloucestershire, including the M5 in Tewkesbury.

The Jockey Club has told the BBC there was currently no planned inspection.

PA Media Horses striding in the snow on Cheltenham Racecourse, with jockeys sitting on top — Horses have been taken out to warm up on the grounds during the snowfall

There was no reported travel disruption, according to traffic monitoring website Inrix.

On the M5’s CCTV snow was spotted settling on fields.

Style Wednesday is expected to take place later as snow continues to fall

PA Media Horses walking in the snow at Cheltenham Racecourse with Jockeys sitting on top — Style Wednesday is expected to take place later as snow continues to fall

Snow has settled in some parts of Gloucestershire including by the M5

National Highways Snow settled on a field by the M5 in Gloucestershire — Snow has settled in some parts of Gloucestershire including by the M5

According to Wednesday’s weather forecast for Cheltenham Racecourse, snow will proceed until around 09:00 GMT with brisk and northerly winds to continue after.

There will be sunny intervals and a chance of showers in the afternoon, which could become heavy and wintry.

The first race is expected to start at 13:20 GMT on Wednesday with the feature race – The BetMGM Queen Mother Champion Steeple Chase – starting at 16:00 GMT.

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