Men in green tweeds toasted their misfortune with champagne yesterday as live racing was shown on the giant screen that dominates the cavernous indoor arena at Cheltenham racecourse.

The legend at the bottom gave the game away: the course was Huntingdon, not Prestbury Park, where the second day of the national hunt festival had been cancelled for only the third time in its history. The bookies were open for those who felt compelled to bet on something or, it seemed, anything. But dog racing from Hall Green is not in the same league as the biggest race meeting of the year.

The only significant flutters were in the canvas roofs of the marquees which should have been packed with tens of thousands of punters blowing their winnings or drowning their sorrows. Instead, the hospitality suites and stalls offering everything from top hats to diamond jewellery were filled only by the wind that caused the cancellation.

Refusing to be downhearted were Paul Kirby and his wife, Vivian, who were making the most of a day off from their hectic and minutely organised schedule. The couple from Saltaire, near Bradford, part of a party of 12, had their roles allocated in advance. Mr Kirby, a retired company director, was in charge of buying the racing papers and champagne at £27 a bottle. The papers were redundant, but the champagne was going down nicely. His wife, a former head teacher, had compiled the song sheets for the singalongs on the buses to and from the course.

Mr Kirby said: “It’s a shame but we are making the most of it and having a good time. We sang Yesterday earlier, which seemed appropriate as there’s nothing happening today.”

William Innes, a publisher from London, stared glumly at the screen, still wearing his racegoer’s uniform of tweed suit and brown trilby. He said: “I blame the compensation culture.

“It would only take one person to be hit on the head by a flying betting slip and Cheltenham would be sued for £1 million by someone trying to make up for the money they didn’t win betting.”

Others were less sympathetic, having spent large amounts getting to the course only to be turned away. Brendan Holian, a publican — one of the 9,000-strong Irish contingent — who was on a day trip from Dublin, was baffled. He said: “I’m outraged. I’ve spent nearly £500 to sit in a pub in Cheltenham. The sun is shining and there isn’t a tiny bit of wind, so why did they scrap the whole day?

“The Irish feel that this is a typical overreaction. Once the weather cleared this morning then it should have gone ahead.”

Even Cheltenham’s publicans, who might have been expected to reap some benefit from the 65,000 disappointed racegoers with nothing better to do than drink all day, were unhappy at the cancellation.

John Hill, owner of The Parrot bar, said: “We were expecting to sell 100 full breakfasts today but we had to throw the lot away because no one came in.”The cancelled races will be run today and tomorrow.

Niall Shanahan, an Irish bookmaker who is paying £2,000 to rent an apartment for the week, said: “It was nice to have the day off from the races, but it means the next two days are going to be very busy.”

O’Neill’s Irish bar had laid on enough supplies to last out a siege, or so it thought. But the stock of 100 barrels of Guinness and 200 bottles of vodka soon needed to be replenished.

Sarah Williams, the assistant manager, said punters had poured in when the doors opened at 9am. “It’s been absolutely manic. Pretty much everyone has been drinking Guinness since breakfast,” she said. “The Irish punters look forward to this all year and they’re gutted at losing a day’s racing.”

Brendan King and Liam Houghton from Luton made the best of it. “It’s just one of those things,” said Mr King. “What an utter shambles,” said another punter. “Can you imagine if we had skiing in this country? The health and safety people wouldn’t let you on the ski lifts just in case you fell off.”

Along with many of his countrymen, Fergal O’Reilly, 53, a farmer from Kerry, who had a large win on Monday, was facing a more familiar hazard. He admitted: “I’ve got a few pounds to spend in the pub so I’m finding consolation in the Guinness.”