Cheltenham 2019: Weather threatens Ladies' Day of annual festival with Storm Gareth battering the Westcountry

Britain's biggest racing festival gets underway on Tuesday

The start to this year's Cheltenham Festival is somewhat wetter and windier than hoped.

And Simon Claisse, Clerk of the Course at Cheltenham, has warned that the relevant authorities are monitoring forecasts for Wednesday amid fears that Ladies' Day could be postponed.

"We wanted to give you an early insight into conditions for tomorrow as the forecast is looking challenging with strong, gusting winds throughout the day," Claisse said in a video released by Cheltenham racecourse.

"We are continually monitoring the situation and will keep racegoers informed as the conditions present themselves."

LIVE: Latest results and updates from Cheltenham day one

The second day of racing is "under threat" while early arrivals at the Westcountry racing festival have told The Independent they are concerned about Wednesday's weather.

Winds could hit 40mph around midday according to Met Office forecasts, shortly before racing is due to commence but around the time that the majority of the 60,000 punters would be arriving.

The impact of Storm Gareth was played down ahead of the Festival, however stronger winds than expected could make some of the temporary structures at the racecourse unsafe.

Cheltenham is understood to have not ruled out the possibility of extending the programme to Saturday should the bad weather continue.

Ladies’ Day at the Festival was cancelled 11 years ago due to strong winds, and there is a danger that the same may happen to tomorrow’s card, which includes the Betway Queen Mother Chase

There were fears last month that the festival could be cancelled due to an outbreak of equine flu in what would have constituted an estimated £1bn blow to the racing industry. The last full postponement happened in 2001, at the height of the foot and mouth crisis.