Tweets were collected using the streamR R package created by Pablo Barbera. The runners in each of the Championship races on each day were ‘tracked’ via Twitter’s streaming API, and tweets mentioning one (or more) of the runners were collected. A few other words were also used, these included “cheltenham”, “cheltfest” and a number of the larger bookmakers (based on their twitter usernames). A full list can be seen here, the table below shows the horses/phrases ‘tracked’ on each day.
Tweets were collected on each of the four Festival days for 7hours, starting at 10am and ending at 5pm; unfortunately on Wednesday (Day Two) the collection of tweets was prematurely ended, although all Grade 1 races on that day had already been run. Overall, 291845 tweets were collected, the table shows the number of tweets collected on each day:
| Day | n tweets |
|---|---|
| One | 107149 |
| Two | 55956 |
| Three | 55519 |
| Four | 73221 |
| Day | horses ‘tracked’ | other | terms |
|---|---|---|---|
| One | Alvisio Ville, Bentelimar, Douvan, Jollyallan, L´Ami Serge, Qewy, Seedling, Shaneshill, Sizing John, Some Plan, Tell Us More, Velvet Maker, Clarcam, Court Minstrel, Dunraven Storm, God´s Own, Josses Hill, Sail By The Sea, Sgt Reckless, Smashing, Three Kingdoms, Un De Sceaux, Vibrato Valtat, Arctic Fire, Bertimont, Faugheen, Hurricane Fly, Jezki, Kitten Rock, The New One, Vaniteux, Annie Power, Bitofapuzzle, Carole´s Spirit, Centasia, Dark Spirit, Emily Gray, Glens Melody, Hidden Identity, L´Unique, Mischievous Milly, Pass The Time, Polly Peachum, Sureness, Swing Bowler, The Govaness, The Pirate´s Queen | cheltenham, cheltfest, ladbrokes, paddypower, willhillbet, betvictor, coral, betfair | 55 |
| Two | Anteros, Beast Of Burden, Nichols Canyon, Ordo Ab Chao, Outlander, Parlour Games, Snow Falcon, Vyta Du Roc, Warrantor, Windsor Park, Apache Jack, Don Poli, If In Doubt, Kings Palace, Southfield Theatre, The Ould Lad, The Young Master, Wounded Warrior, Adriana Des Mottes, Champagne Fever, Clarcam, Dodging Bullets, Mr Mole, Savello, Simply Ned, Sire De Grugy, Sizing Europe, Somersby, Special Tiara, Sprinter Sacre | cheltenham, cheltfest, ladbrokes, paddypower, willhillbet, betvictor, coral, betfair | 38 |
| Three | Apache Stronghold, Colour Squadron, Irish Saint, Ptit Zig, Splash Of Ginge, Tango De Juilley, The Tullow Tank, Valseur Lido, Vautour, Balder Succes, Ballycasey, Don Cossack, Double Ross, Eduard, Foxrock, Hidden Cyclone, Johns Spirit, Taquin Du Seuil, Third Intention, Uxizandre, Wishfull Thinking, Wonderful Charm, Ma Filleule, Abbyssial, At Fishers Cross, Aubusson, Blue Fashion, Cole Harden, Dedigout, Jetson, Lieutenant Colonel, Monksland, Reve De Sivola, Saphir Du Rheu, Seeyouatmidnight, Tiger Roll, Un Temps Pour Tout, Whisper, Zaidpour, Zarkandar | cheltenham, cheltfest, ladbrokes, paddypower, willhillbet, betvictor, coral, betfair | 48 |
| Four | Baraka De Thaix, Beltor, Devilment, Dicosimo, Hargam, Kalkir, Karezak, Matorico, Officer Drivel, Old Guard, Pain Au Chocolat, Peace And Co, Prairie Town, Stars Over The Sea, Take A Break, Top Notch, Petite Parisienne, Arbre De Vie, Avant Tout, Black Hercules, Blaklion, Caracci Apache, Carningli, Definitly Red, Fletchers Flyer, Kylemore Lough, Martello Tower, Measureofmydreams, Milsean, Native River, No More Heroes, Out Sam, Shanroe Santos, Shantou Bob, Tea For Two, Thomas Brown, Value At Risk, Bobs Worth, Boston Bob, Carlingford Lough, Coneygree, Djakadam, Don Cossack, Holywell, Home Farm, Houblon Des Obeaux, Lord Windermere, Many Clouds, On His Own, River Choice, Road To Riches, Sam Winner, Silviniaco Conti, Smad Place, The Giant Bolster | cheltenham, cheltfest, ladbrokes, paddypower, willhillbet, betvictor, coral, betfair | 63 |