Cheltenham Festival begins on March 10 and avid racegoers are watching and waiting to see if coronavirus could have an impact on the showpiece event for jump racing in the UK.

While bosses at the British Horseracing Authority and Cheltenham Racecourse insist it is full steam ahead ready for Cheltenham races to begin, the odds on a possible cancellation did shorten last week.

This week the position has changed again - while the number of COVID-19 cases in the UK continues to rise. As of Sunday, March 8 there are 273 cases in the UK including three in Gloucestershire - and one of these is in Cheltenham.

A second person in the UK has died from the virus.

Odds released on Tuesday, March 3 saying it was 80% certain racing that the Cheltenham Festival will go ahead were slashed again a day later as the number of cases in the UK continued to rise.

Last week the BHA revealed that 'contingency plans' are in place in case Cheltenham Festival needs to be postponed.

It comes as the government is calling a meeting with sporting bodies and broadcasters to discuss staging events behind closed doors.

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Racing is set to start on Tuesday but the Government is now moving towards the 'delay' phase of protecting against COVID-19 outbreak which could see measures such as encouraging more home working and reducing large-scale gatherings.

In their latest statement, the racecourse said they have increased the number of facilities available to racegoers, such as wash basins and toilet facilities.

A spokesperson for Cheltenham Racecourse said: "We look forward to staging The Festival presented by Magners at Cheltenham next week. We welcome the government's guidance that the business of the country should continue as usual, while ensuring we adhere to the latest public health advice.

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"We have increased the number of wash basins and toilet facilities on site, we will make hand sanitiser readily available and increase the number of paper towels for hand drying.

"We have also increased staff numbers to ensure that soap and drying facilities are constantly available."

Back in 2019 Ladies Day at The Festival was at risk of being postponed after extreme weather battered the county and there was talk that the second day of the races would be moved to the Saturday - however the weather soon settled and this didn't have to happen.

We will bring you the latest updates from the BHA, the NHS and Cheltenham Racecourse in the blog below