Managing director Edward Gillespie is confident of a near-capacity crowd for the four days of the Cheltenham Festival, which starts on Tuesday March 10.

"We have sold more than 175,000 tickets so far and they will be on sale at the gate for the first three days, but Friday is virtually a sell-out," said Gillespie.

"The average total attendance for the four days is around 230,000 and we anticipate more than 200,000 this year.

"This will be the earliest Festival for 40 years and we will be starting at 1.30pm each day, as this proved popular for the extended programme last year, and the Championship race will now be the fourth on the card.

"We are hoping that the Queen will be coming on Friday to see her horse Barber's Shop run in the Gold Cup, and Lester Piggott will be presenting a special trophy to Tony McCoy to mark his achievements."

Director of racing Simon Claisse reported that the going at present is mainly good to soft, which would be ideal for the first day.

"This has been the coldest winter for 18 years and grass growth is behind time. We will be waiting for the weather forecasts before deciding whether to water this weekend," said Claisse.