Cheltenham festival crowds will be down this week for third year running

Cheltenham racecourse has effectively confirmed that crowds at its showpiece meeting will be down for the third year running when the 2025 festival opens on Tuesday, while also suggesting that “unforgettable days out” for racegoers this year will be the catalyst for a revival in the festival’s fortunes from 2026.The overall attendance at last year’s Cheltenham festival was 229,999, a drop of 18% on the record attendance of 280,627 in 2022, amid complaints from racegoers about the price of admission, food, drink and accommodation in the local area for spectators attending multiple days.In the weeks running up to this year’s meeting, Cheltenham has predicted only that the total attendance would be “more than 200,000”, and in what was described as an “open letter” to racing fans this weekend, Guy Lavender, the track’s chief executive since 1 January, said that “it’s important to mention up front that we are expecting fewer racegoers to be joining us in person this week than in recent years.” Lavender added: “The decline is not catastrophic but nor are we seeing growing attendances.”While a third straight drop in attendance is disappointing for both Cheltenham and its owner, Jockey Club Racecourses, a series of measures have been introduced from this year with the aim of improving customer experience

Cheltenham festival day one tips: Brighterdaysahead can upset Constitution Hill in Champion Hurdle

Constitution Hill has seen off every challenge with ease in winning all 10 of his races to date, but he could be facing his sternest opponent so far in Tuesday’s Champion Hurdle and Brighterdaysahead (4.00) can also boast the strongest recent piece of form in the field.The Neville Hotels Hurdle at Leopardstown’s Christmas meeting was set up for Brighterdaysahead by a front-running stable companion, while State Man, the defending champion on Tuesday, was clearly not at his best and finished a long way behind Gordon Elliott’s mare.Yet Brighterdaysahead still put a remarkable 30 lengths between herself and the runner-up, and did so in an exceptionally fast time under the conditions. Taking her 7lb mares’ allowance into account, Timeform’s ratings suggest that performance puts her just 3lb behind Constitution Hill’s best-ever run, in the Supreme Novice Hurdle at this meeting all of three years ago

Stephen Curry accepts assistant GM role at alma mater Davidson

Stephen Curry, whose off-court interests already include commercial deals and charitable causes, is extending his sphere of influence further after accepting a role as an assistant general manager at his alma mater, Davidson College.ESPN confirmed the news with Davidson on Monday. Curry, who played for the Wildcats from 2006 to 2009 will offer guidance to the men’s and women’s basketball teams. Curry has plenty of experience to draw from: he is a two-time MVP, four-time NBA champion and 11-time All-Star with the Golden State Warriors. The 36-year-old will combine his administrative duties while continuing his playing career with the Warriors, who are in playoff contention this season

‘I’ve seen both sides of drink’: Harry Skelton on family heartbreak, ambition and Cheltenham

The brother of likely champion trainer Dan on staying grounded and his hopes for this year’s festival“There were some times that were very rough,” Harry Skelton says calmly as he remembers a defining period of his life when, as boys, he and his brother Dan found a way to cope with the slow death of their mother from alcoholism. “A lot of families have gone through worse but it was, at times, really hard and it was evident what was going on.”At their sunlit yard near Stratford-upon-Avon, the Skelton brothers are deep in preparation for this week’s Cheltenham festival. Last year Harry rode four winners, which were all trained by Dan, and their prospects for more success over the coming days are high. Dan looks likely to end the season as champion trainer while Harry is second in the jump-jockey standings and on course to win the inaugural David Power Jockeys’ Cup which, using a points-based system for races televised on ITV, awards the leading rider a staggering £500,000

Nikola Jokić is putting up record numbers. So why is he unlikely to be NBA MVP?

The three-time MVP has a strong case to win his fourth award. But that is to ignore the brilliance – and freshness – of Shai Gilgeous-AlexanderOn Sunday afternoon, two of the best teams in the NBA’s Western Conference faced off on national television. When it was over, the Oklahoma City Thunder had routed the Denver Nuggets 127-103, pulling away in the fourth quarter thanks to a barrage from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who had 40 points on the day. But because it was the NBA, the game was less about the teams and more about the stars at the center of the action – who just so happen to be the league’s top two MVP candidates.Denver’s Nikola Jokić has been named NBA MVP three times in the past four years

Shaun Edwards and his French marauders show how big a reset Ireland will need | Brendan Fanning

It’s never a good sign when the place is crawling with French supporters. They gather in knots along pavements around the stadium, yakking away, disrupting pedestrian traffic, lost in the enjoyment of a sunny Six Nations day in Dublin. Worse still is when you climb to the dizzy height of the press box in the Aviva Stadium and survey a scene where there is lots of blue. Then they start to sing. Not good