THE Cheltenham Festival is one of the biggest sporting events of the year. The roar that will go up at 1.30 on March 14 when the tapes go up for the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle is one of the defining moments in the calendar. But the four-day event has also got a reputation for controversy and some of the most seminal sporting moments have occurred at this wonderful amphitheatre of national hunt racing.

So here are the Top 10 Cheltenham controversies as put together by SBAT Racing Tips. From the foot and mouth outbreak that saw the cancellation of the festival in 2001 to John Inverdale’s C-Bomb, the Festival never fails to provide some serious talking points.