The 2022 events calendar is already shaping up to be pretty impressive, but one event that stands out in late winter/early spring is the Cheltenham Festival.

Taking place over four days in mid-March, this event features 28 races, each of which promises to be exciting and entertaining. And even those who consider themselves huge fans of the annual event and have attended in the past likely don’t know everything there is to know about the Festival.

To help build the excitement and anticipation around the Festival, here’s a look at some festival facts and stats that you probably don’t know about.

There is a whole lot of money wagered

Have you ever stopped to think about how much money is wagered at the Cheltenham Festival? If so, the amount may shock you? On average, over £100 million (€120 million) is placed in bets, which is quite astonishing.

The prize money is also quite massive

While racegoers are busy placing bets, those involved in the actual race have their eyes set on the prize. There is more than £4 million in prize money to be handed out, with a new record set in 2018.

Impressive crowd capacity

If you've taken a look at the crowd and thought to yourself it seems pretty massive, you're not wrong. The maximum capacity for the Cheltenham Gold Cup day is a whopping 70,000. The average attendance for each raceday over the entire festival isn't much lower, coming in at 65,000.

It’s a busy and popular event that’s for sure. If you want to compare this capacity size to the Premier League stadiums, the second-largest stadium has a capacity of 90,000 which is Wembley.

How many staff are required?

With an event of this size and magnitude, it takes a pretty large crew of staff to ensure things are running smoothly. There are close to 6,000 people who are hired to work at Cheltenham.

Food and drinks are a big part of the event

While racing is certainly filled with excitement, food and drink is another big aspect of the Festival. During the four-day event, more than 8,000 gallons of coffee and tea are served and in 2015 45,000 bread rolls were eaten. Another big food item is potatoes, with an average of 23.9 tons of them eaten in just four days.

So, what if you don't want tea or coffee? Well, that explains the more than 125,000 pints of lager and 200,000 pints of Guinness that get drained. And if you want to celebrate in style, you can have one of the 18,000 bottles of champagne.

The list of foods and drinks is rather extensive, with other favourites including:

• Sandwiches

• Beef

• Smoked salmon

• Hot dogs

• Beef burgers

• Cider

• Wine

Of course, you need chefs available to make the massive quantities of food, which is why 350 chefs are working on-site.

Which jockey has won the most in a single year?

Ever wondered which jockey is the best of all time? That's a loaded question because it can factor in all kinds of criteria. If you want to base it on the most wins in a single year - that title goes to Ruby Walsh who won seven races in a single Festival.

Make sure you’ve got the best tips heading into the Festival

As for the final piece of information, this one’s not a fact or a statistic, rather it’s a helpful tip. If you plan on betting on the Cheltenham Gold Cup be sure to check out the top tips and information before placing a bet.

Typically, the Cheltenham Gold Cup ends up being among the largest betting days in the entire year, so you want to be sure you get your wager in and go about it smartly. As the event draws closer, you’ll be able to look at the stats and information on all the horses competing, giving you a more complete picture.

Weird and crazy facts

As you can see, the Cheltenham Festival isn’t just a fabulous four-day horse racing event. It is a festival that is filled with weird and crazy facts, many of which will probably surprise you. So, keep these in mind as you gear up for the 2022 races.