One of the great events in the racing calendar takes place in the coming week — and it does so during a badly timed spell of inclement weather.
The 2023 Cheltenham Festival, which begins on March 14, coincides with a cold spell in the UK that brought temperatures of -15 degrees Celsius to parts of Scotland and blanketed much of the country with snow.
Racegoers are hardly strangers to a bit of rain, but if the weather gets particularly bad in the coming days, it could spell bad news for this year's event, especially with races elsewhere having been abandoned in the past week.
The Sporting News has the latest on the forecast for the 2023 Festival.
MORE: Cheltenham Festival 2023 schedule, dates and times
Cheltenham Festival 2023 weather forecast
As of March 12, it looks like the weather gods will be kind to the 2023 Cheltenham Festival.
The Met Office is forecasting a dry, cloudy day on March 14, with the chance of some rain as the Festival goes on throughout the week. Showers are expected around the time of the Gold Cup start at 15:30 GMT on Friday, March 17.
Temperatures are also expected to rise in the coming days. While the first 48 hours of the Festival could feel a little brisk, with high temperatures of just eight degrees Celsius, that could rise to 13 by Friday.
Cheltenham Festival 2023: What happens if it snows?
Cheltenham has so far avoided the snow that has covered much of the north of the UK, and it seems likely that the racecourse will escape any wintry showers.
MORE: Start time, runners and betting tips for 2023 Cheltenham Gold Cup
Jon Pullin, Clerk of the course, was quoted as saying by the Mirror: "A lot of places saw varying amounts of snow but we avoided that. We have had drizzle and sleet showers but nothing of huge volume.
"I wouldn't envisage us needing to irrigate ahead of Tuesday. It should be a lot easier on the grounds team, who have done a fantastic job, with the rain coming naturally."
If snow does fall, it can obviously cause complications with any planned races. Meetings have been abandoned elsewhere in recent days and heavy saturation of a racecourse, or frozen conditions, can make staging a race unsafe.
Protective sheeting has been used to protect the course in the past and they could be brought out again this year if the weather forecast changes and a cold snap is predicted.
Cheltenham Racecourse conditions: Going report latest
The last official going report from the racecourse was carried out on Sunday, March 12.
After initially expecting the going to be good for the 2023 event, the recent rain and sleet in the Cotswolds saw the conditions eased to soft (from good to soft).
The official update on March 12 identified soft good to soft, soft (in places) the likely conditions for the first races on March 14.
