The big race at Cheltenham this year — the best week’s racing on the calendar — will be the Champion Hurdle on the Tuesday.
Paddy Power, in one of its typical stunts, says that if the 2-1 favourite Hurricane Fly romps home it will refund all losing bets, a move that could cost it €4 million (£3.4 million).
“Nobody else would consider that form of lunacy,” says chief executive Patrick Kennedy.
He was talking as the bookie with the eye for publicity reported another strong year, with profits up 15% to a record €139 million.
That was on a 31% rise in revenues to €654 million, a number that it admits was flattered by the recent rise in the euro against the pound.
The rise of mobile-phone betting has helped the number of online customers rise 44% to 1.6 million.
Said Kennedy: “The adoption of mobile across our markets, combined with our e-commerce capabilities, technology and brand, means we now have nearly twice as many active online customers than we had in 2010.”
