The roar of the crowd as the tapes rise for the first race of the Festival each year tells you everything you need to know - 12 months of waiting is over! Over the course of the week, around 230,000 people will be here to witness the action and soak up the atmosphere and across the country, well over £500 million will be wagered on the outcome of the 26 races. Total Prize Money in 2009 is £3.56m, an astonishing average of almost £140,000 for each Festival race. The feature race on Tuesday is The Smurfit Kappa Champion Hurdle, the most sought after prize anywhere for 2 miles hurdlers. The Irish have won seven of the last ten runnings of this historic contest, but Katchit led home a 1-2-3 for Britain in 2008.