Biggest Cheltenham betting bonanza - Will this be the race that stops the nation?

"This is the most anticipated Cheltenham in modern history with the Gold Cup expected to be the race that stops the nation," said Hill's racing expert Kate Miller.

For the last twelve months all roads for the owners, trainers, jockeys, stable staff, racing media, bookmakers and punters have been leading to Cheltenham. Four fantastic days of compelling competition in a magnificent setting will set pulses racing in 25 contests.

The UK's largest bookmaker William Hill anticipates that a colossal £165million will be gambled each day during Cheltenham, with approximately £650million wagered throughout the week. This equates to a staggering £26million per race, and around £5.5million per minute of action.

William Hill, will bear the brunt of this betting mania either in one of their 2250 shops nationwide, via their 700,000 telephone customers, or via their website which takes wagers from over 100 countries around the world. " Kauto Star, Inglis Drever, Noland, and Sizing Europe are our worst results, and it will be tears before bedtime if all four of the hotpots prevail. Cheltenham week can make or break our racing year, this is our Waterloo.' added Kate Miller.

The Gold Cup is the highlight of the week, featuring two of the best horses for decades in Kauto Star and Denman. Both are trained by Champion Trainer Paul Nicholls and they meet for the first time in the Gold Cup.

Hills estimate that the race could be one of the biggest betting events for years, and their call centre in Sheffield is already expecting to beat the record set in last year's Grand National and take over 125,000 calls on Gold Cup day.