The Cheltenham Festival is the most prestigious meeting in the National Hunt racing calendar in the United Kingdom. Its importance in NH racing is comparable to the importance of the World Cup in Football, as it is the event when most of the best Irish and British Horses will clash, which is relatively rare during the rest of the season. It takes place annually, in March, at Cheltenham Racecourse in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, the leading National Hunt racecourse in the United Kingdom. The Festival is noted for its buzzing atmosphere, which is aided by the tens of thousands of Irishmen who make their way across the sea for the Festival. Forced to fork out much money for the privilege of getting to and staying in Cheltenham, many fans bet huge amounts of money, with hundreds of millions being gambled over the four days. There is also an Irish tradition of drinking many gallons of Guinness.