Cheltenham Coronavirus latest odds - Will 2020 Cheltenham Festival be cancelled because of virus?

Racegoers who are planning on attending next week's Cheltenham Festival have been told to stay away if they are experiencing any of the symptoms associated with coronavirus.

The 2020 Cheltenham Festival still looks set to go ahead after after prime minister Boris Johnson insisted it was "business as usual" following an meeting to discuss the coronavirus outbreak in the United Kingdom and after revealing plans to deal with the virus.

But Betfair's 'Will Racing Go Ahead?' market has seen some movement in the past 24 hours after a public health notice was released by the BHA and Cheltenham Racecourse on Thursday.

The Betfair market in relation to Day One of the 2020 Cheltenham Festival had been trading as short as Even money at one point before drifting out to around 5/1 shortly before the Mr Johnson's statement from 10 Downing Street on Tuesday morning.

Following Thursday's notice from Cheltenham and the BHA, the Betfair exchange moved once again, with the chances of Cheltenham being cancelled rated at around 5/2.

But Friday morning saw further movement, this time in a more encouraging direction for racing fans. As of 09:00 GMT on Friday, March 6th, the odds were at around 1.2 (1/5) for 'Yes' (in from from 1.38 (4/11) on Thursday) and 5.7 (9/2) 'No' (out from 3.5 (5/2).

Cheltenham Racecourse on Wednesday confirmed plans to have more wash basins and toilet facilities on site next week, as well as ensuring that hand sanitisers would be available to racegoers.

The goverment's briefing earlier in the week noted that should the disease become established in the UK, further measures to be considered included reducing large-scale gatherings, but at time of writing, the Cheltenham Festival is still scheduled to begin on Tuesday, March 10th with the Supreme Novices' Hurdle at 13:30 GMT.

We'll update this page in the coming hours and days should there be any further developments or major market moves.