Inside Business: ‘You’d struggle to find an Englishman’ in Cheltenham hotels next week

Also in the Business of Sport, gambling sponsorship and the economics of a Six Nations home game

Sizing John ridden by Robbie Power comes home to win the Timico Cheltenham Gold Cup last year. Photograph: Inpho
Sizing John ridden by Robbie Power comes home to win the Timico Cheltenham Gold Cup last year. Photograph: Inpho

Inside Business is a regular podcast from The Irish Times. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, on Android, on Stitcher - or wherever you find podcasts.

This week it’s our regular Business of Sport section, and due to popular demand, we’ve devoted the entire episode to sport. For that, we’re joined again by Mick O’Keeffe of Teneo PSG.

Cheltenham Festival, taking place next week, is the fourth-largest sporting event in the UK, with a quarter of a million attendees - a figure swelled by an annual influx of Irish racing enthusiasts.

Ciarán Hancock and Mick O'Keeffe talk to Ian Renton, managing director of Cheltenham, about the success of the festival, the potential problems posed by Brexit, and the importance of the green contingent.

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They’re joined by our own resident racing expert Barry O’Halloran who shares a few tips for next week’s races.

Ciarán and Mick also discuss the major sport business themes of the month, including the GAA's ban on gambling sponsorship, the impact of a Six Nations home game on local business and stadium naming rights.

Declan Conlon

Declan Conlon

Declan Conlon is head of audio at The Irish Times