Racing officials are confident the Cheltenham Festival will go ahead next month despite the disruption to travel caused by the spread of the coronavirus.

Running the Cheltenham Festival virtually behind closed doors if a spread of the Coronavirus restricts major sporting events is not an option according to the man overseeing the jumps meeting.

This week will be big for Paul Townend. But whatever is thrown at him, the new No1 jockey for trainer Willie Mullins is confident he will take it in his stride.

Horse racing fans from across the UK will have their eyes on the Cheltenham Festival as the hotly-anticipated four-day meet kicks off today. Here, some of the famous faces you might see.

Prolific mare Put The Kettle On showed the boys the way home in the Racing Post Arkle Challenge Trophy.

Peter and Autumn Phillips, who announced their split last month, appeared sombre as they arrived for the start of the four-day meet at Cheltenham Racecourse today.

The reality star, 30, oozed sophistication in the look which she teamed with a matching pearl-studded fascinator as she arrived for the first day of the Cheltenham Festival on Tuesday.

Willie Mullins' charge was set to clash with main market rival Defi Du Seuil in Wednesday's two-mile Grade One feature, but has been withdrawn with a vets certificate.

An estimated 70,000 racegoers are expected to flock to Cheltenham Racecourse (pictured) as PM Boris Johnson continues to refuse banning mass gatherings to combat coroanvirus.

The actress, 45, looked effortlessly chic in a cream coat and pink headband as she cosied up to her banker beau at the races on Thursday, amid rumours they've secretly got engaged.

Guests turned up the glamour as they arrived for the final day at the Cheltenham Festival in Gloucestershire today, brushing aside coronavirus fears. 

Racing in England will continue as normal despite most other sports closing down because of the coronavirus risk. The only limit in Scotland with meetings behind closed doors.

Autumn, 41, and Peter Phillips, 44, appeared to be on good terms as they enjoyed the final day of the Cheltenham Festival together - despite announcing their split last month.

The 28-year-old looked sensational when she stepped out on Saturday night for a date night with her beau who is back in London.

The 30-year-old is self-isolating at home and has had no contact with his family since Saturday evening, when he started suffering from coronavirus-like symptoms.

Racing Post will temporarily stop publication of their daily newspaper for the first time since its inception in 1986 due to impact on the sport from the deadly coronavirus pandemic.  

Cheltenham Festival organisers have defended their decision to go ahead with the meeting after fears were raised that the mass gathering of people helped spread the coronavirus

I was diagnosed with a rare and incurable form of blood cancer that put me out of work two years ago, can I claim Employment Support Allowance or get any other help?

My partner's father died in South Africa and his girlfriend has cut all ties with us after the funeral. We think she may have made of with the inheritance - what can we do?

My sister and I are my late fathers executors and we have a UK grant of probate, however, this doesn't hold much weight in the US. What can we do?

Our Consumer Fightback columnist is here to help you get a fair deal, but sometimes we get it wrong on what we think we are entitled to. Here are some common examples of misconceptions.

I recently obtained a new Visa debit card from Lloyds and went to update all my subscription services with the new details. When I went onto Now TV, I saw it already had them.

I bought a new Jaguar for £60,000 in 2017. In May this year I was involved in an accident. The garage gave an initial estimate for repairs of £25,563, but said there were likely to be further costs.

I booked a free cancellation hotel on Hotels.com which said no deposit would be taken. However, money was taken from my account as 'pre-authorisation'. Is the website in the wrong?

I took my dog Oliver George to the vet to have his nails clipped - but during treatment, his dewclaw was pulled leaving him needing surgery.

I've lived at multiple addresses over the past few years, but consider my parents' home my 'permanent address', even though I'm at university for six months of the year now. What should I enter?

I have an account with Revolut which lets me operate in both euros and sterling. On October 4, Revolut 'temporarily disabled' my account for unspecified 'security reasons'.

A wave of people in the old Labour heartlands of the North have taken a huge psychological and emotional step by voting Tory for the first time in their lives. They have not done it lightly.

On September 5, I tried to buy Premium Bonds for my new granddaughter. I went online, filled out the forms and paid by debit card. I was then asked to upload documents relating to the child's birth.

My Samsung phone was only a year old when it spontaneously caught fire in the footwell of my car. I put it there after receiving a phone call, but as I drove off I noticed a strange smell.

So what's in store for 2020? It always takes a while for seismic political shifts to feed through into our daily lives, and so it is with the scale of the Tory victory last month.

This year is shaping up to be a white-knuckle ride for the supermarkets. Tesco, Sainsbury's and Morrisons will reveal this week how their trading went over Christmas. It's not likely to be happy reading.

The start of the year often brings with it a raft of new gym membership sign-ups as we try to shift those extra pounds gained over the festive period.

My partner and I booked a short break in New York to celebrate my 50th birthday. At the beginning of August, my son was diagnosed with stage 4 Hodgkin lymphoma blood cancer.

I received a letter from a credit recovery company at the end of November demanding £290, which has now risen to £360.

I moved into a property in October and found it had a first generation smart meter installed. When I asked about having it removed, I was told it would cost £150. Can I not have it removed for free?

Our leased Range Rover Velar was stolen in October. The police never recovered it because the thieves ripped out its tracker, which was later found thrown in a ditch.

My husband and I booked and paid for a villa for a week in Corfu, and invited our four daughters and families to join us at our expense. The villa cost £2,391. We paid £96 for insurance with Get Going.

If you are older than about 30, you have probably never heard of Klarna. But for millennials, it is one of those firms, such as Google and Hoover, that is so widely used it has become a verb.

My mother moved from one flat to another in mid-December. Her broadband stopped working after the move and BT have not fixed it even though she needs it as her heart monitor requires wi-fi.

I had hoped that after your probe into Revolut, we could move on. But it has messaged my wife, saying that her account has been closed and funds returned 'to source'. Well, I was that source. Where's the cash?

My son has experienced no end of problems since upgrading his contract. His phone has been cut off, debt collectors have demanded money, and now he's being threatened by bailiffs.

I was contacted regarding potential fraudulent activity on my Tesco Mastercard in early October 2019. In total, £3,700.20 of illicit transactions were refunded.

I made a claim with Legal and General five months ago after my fridge-freezer broke but it still hasn't paid out for the problem or made any repairs. What can I do to get this sorted?

I closed my company in March last year. Final corporation tax due stood at £2,232 and I have tried repeatedly to pay this, but now the company is closed, the Revenue just does not accept it.

The recent stock market falls have been the worst since the financial crisis and, just as then, we are in new and sobering territory.

I opened a Lifetime Isa (Lisa) with Skipton on June 27, 2017. I recently tried to pay into it, but discovered Skipton had closed it on September 16 last year.

What a week. As a money commentator for more than 30 years standing, that was as disheartening as times go. But patient, long-term investing will win through in the end.

S.A. writes: I think some scammers are operating off the back of Beside Asset Management Limited, which you have written about before.

The UK stock market alone has fallen in value by 30 per cent since the start of the year. But if you hold these trusts for troubled times then things should look better.