Prepare for plenty of mentions of the "Cheltenham roar" up until lunchtime, the traditional crowd greeting that heralds the start of the biggest four days in National Hunt racing.
You won't be able to gauge the number of throats precisely, one Cheltenham opening roar does pretty much sound like any other, but be assured there will be plenty of talk too about the numbers that come through the gates of Prestbury Park, today and throughout the week.
The post-Covid festival of 2022 saw a record attendance of 280,000 at Cheltenham. Such were those numbers, that festival organisers announced a daily cap of 68,500 for the following year. Prestbury Park was in essence, packed to the rafters.
Alas, it hasn’t remained that way. Fast forward to last year’s gathering when the attendance of 219,000 was the smallest in 10 years, with crowds on day two down over a third on three years previously, with 42,000 present.
"Very few people tend to do the four-day festival anymore. We see a lot more two-day racegoers."
For a festival estimated to be worth around €300 million to the local economy it set alarm bells ringing, and last September Cheltenham announced several measures aimed at halting any decline.
Among them, that daily cap was further reduced to 66,000 to improve comfort levels for racegoers. Discount windows, allowing the purchase of early bird tickets were extended, and drinks' prices were reduced back to 2022 levels, meaning the price of a pint of Guinness will be a mere £7.50 (€8.67) in 2026.
Given around a third of those attending the festival come from this side of the Irish Sea, it’s no surprise there have been moves to protect Irish numbers too. A four-day festival pass for those based outside Britain was available to early bookers at a significantly reduced cost of £299 (€346).
There are seemingly ever-increasing costs too, however, over which organisers have little control. Chief among them is accommodation. Presumably those travelling this year have long since booked their beds, but latecomers will pay a premium. Several hotels in the town are seeking €500 plus for a single hotel room tonight.
Those seemingly ever-increasing prices have prompted organisers to act, their 'Room to Race' scheme last year offered more than 500 accommodation options at reduced rates for racegoers, with the initiative been expanded for 2026.
It’s an issue that even prompted comment from Willie Mullins, who told the Racing Post in September: "It's good to see the Cheltenham executive addressing what they feel are the problems to get more bums on seats but, for Irish people, Cheltenham remains very expensive."
Irish tour operators have plenty of experience of delivering Irish bums onto those seats. Tully’s Travel, based in Carlow, for example, has been doing it for over 50 years. Director Brian Dermody says while their festival numbers have remained steady, there are changes in the way people are travelling.
"Very few people tend to do the four-day festival anymore. We see a lot more two-day racegoers.
"I think there's a difference in the clientele, they (the British) are going for the day out, the Irish are going for the interest in the horses."
"They'll do the Tuesday and Wednesday, or they'll do the Thursday, Friday, but the sort of cohort that would have done four days, just to be honest, they've sort of aged out of it, and they're not able to do the full week. It's a quite tiring week."
Nevertheless, the numbers booking through Tully's remain steady.
A two-day trip including flights, transfers and accommodation comes in at around €500. It’s a well-worn path; Brian says around 30% of Tully’s customers have been travelling with them for 20 years and more.
For those not prepared to pay high prices, but who don’t want to stay at home either, recent years have also seen a new phenomenon, in 'Costa del Cheltenham'.
It’s a growing trend that sees racing fans travelling to Spain or the Canaries to watch the meeting in the sun.
Brian Dermody accepts that is growing in popularity, and a cheaper option, but feels it’s still more of a British trend.
"I think the Irish actually want to follow the horses," he says. "I think there's a difference in the clientele, they (the British) are going for the day out, the Irish are going for the interest in the horses."
We probably should mention the horses at some stage, given the very best will do battle over the next four days, with those Irish-trained yet again expected to dominate.
The Prestbury Cup, the trophy that tallies Irish versus British winners, hasn’t been won by Team GB since 2015.
Last year, Ireland won it 20 to 8, with WP Mullins responsible for ten of those winners himself. No one expects the cup to change hands this year but there is perhaps a slight optimism amongst those hoping for British improvement.
RTÉ analyst Jane Mangan feels that is justified, to an extent: "I think they have several good horses with a number of different trainers. This season has seen the emergence of young trainers like Ben Pauling, Olly Murphy and Harry Fry. Nicky Henderson and Paul Nicholls have always been competitive, Dan Skelton now looks like he’s going to be champion trainer, and that trio all having good horses, for me, makes it more competitive."
Mangan also feels the dominance of Irish trainers is one of the reasons behind British determination to improve matters.
"Ireland has been recruiting the best horses for the last five, six or seven years, and the results have motivated those trainers in the UK to change their purchasing strategies, which I think has resulted in their enhanced results.
"Whether they make the Prestbury Cup a competitive thing, I'm not sure, but I think they'll have more than ten winners."
Mangan does sound a note of caution, however, for those expecting a sudden upsurge in home success.
"The difference in Ireland this year is that it’s not just the Willie Mullins' show. Gordon Elliott is getting stronger, and throw in the likes of Paul Nolan, Henry de Bromhead and Gavin Cromwell, we will still have a very good festival."
The questions will begin to be answered from the off in the Supreme Novices' Hurdle at 1.20pm this afternoon.
Follow live updates on Day 1 of the Cheltenham Festival on the RTÉ News app and on rte.ie/sport
