At last year's Cheltenham Festival 'credit crunch' could well have been Howard Johnson's likely outsider in the Triumph Hurdle.

However, it is a totally different world facing the Festival racegoer in 2009.

Unfortunately, credit crunch must now be one of the most familiar terms in the English language with the economic landscape vastly changed and the majority of the world now in the iron grip of recession.

As some big name companies continue to struggle and more gloomy reports emanate from the high street, Cheltenham too are prepared for a downturn in what are testing times.

Managing director Edward Gillespie is bracing for a drop in hospitality revenues but equally is hoping to ride out the storm by virtue of a varied and international clientele.

He said: "Ticket sales have been down slightly. We sold 90,000 when I would have liked to have sold 100,000 but I think it is a case of people wanting to keep their money in their pockets for longer and make a last-minute decision.

"We have such a broad spectrum of people who come to the Festival that they are obviously all having different experiences in the current economic climate.

"I think it will be an interesting barometer in terms of what people are feeling capable of in the spring.

"Hospitality will be down, we fully expect that, and I would be happy if we had 80% of last year. Although people might not be able to afford to entertain clients as they did last year, we hope they will still come and enjoy the Festival on a different level."

Interest rate cuts and uncertainty in the City has seen the value of the pound slide in recent months and although bad news for many businesses, Gillespie can see an upside in his particular niche.

"In all this economic doom and gloom, the euro has never been stronger and it's is better value for Irish racegoers this year," he explained.

Gillespie is also keen to point out that Cheltenham does not just cater for the Royal family, a variety of tickets are on offer and as long as prudent wagering is the name of the game, racing can remain a reasonably-priced day out.

He added: "Our cheapest ticket is £20 which is inexpensive compared to some other sporting events and one thing some people may unfortunately have this year, as to last, is time.

"People have not always been able to get the time off work and those who are working reduced hours, have taken early retirement or have been made redundant might have the opportunity this year.

"We do need people's time as well as their money. It's not an expensive event to come to as long as you put zips on your pockets!"

Bookmakers remain similarly hopeful of bucking the downward trend and keeping the flag flying at Cheltenham. William Hill representative Kate Miller said: "We rode out the last recession in the 1990s when everyone expected the industry to suffer and we would hope to do so again.

"Punting is almost a social thing for some people and although they cut back on lavish expenses such as new cars and holidays, they don't seem to deny themselves a bet.

"We obviously won't know until after the event but we would hope turnover wouldn't be impacted."

Ladbrokes' David Williams is also optimistic and believes the showpiece race meetings will be last to suffer.

"It will be interesting to see what happens over Cheltenham week. We obviously haven't seen a recession or credit crunch quite like this before but I think it is the quieter racing that tends to suffer more than the big meetings," he explained.

Stan James spokesman Charlie McCann added: "I think it's probably too early to say what kind of impact the credit crunch will have. You won't really know until the Festival starts."