Turnover has increased at the property business run by the owners of Cheltenham Racecourse.

Outside of its most obvious business interests, like the famous Prestbury sporting venue, and its quest to do all it can to champion and further the sport of horse racing, is a less well-known arm of the Jockey Club.

And that business, the Jockey Club Estates, has just revealed its annual set of accounts - showing a business in good form with turnover up four per cent to £7.3 million.

Its interests as recorded on the balance sheet amount to an estimated £34.6 million property portfolio. At current market value that portfolio is estimated to be worth as much as £39.7 million. This year - despite a slight dip in the number of horses (down one per cent) at its world-beating Newmarket training facilities - it managed an increase in operating profits, from £144,000 to £274,000. Number of horses at its Lambourn facilities were up six per cent.

The Jockey Club itself is Governed by Royal Charter and seeks to plough its taking back into the sport which helped generate them.

"Every penny we make goes back into British Racing to help the sport to thrive. We were founded in 1750 and today we are the largest commercial group in Britain's second-biggest spectator sport (2017 turnover: £201.1 million), operating 15 racecourses nationwide, The National Stud, Jockey Club Estates, Jockey Club Catering, Jockey Club Live, Jockey Club Services and our charity, Racing Welfare," according to its website.

The Jockey Club employs more than 500 permanent staff and more than 3,000 people on an event basis throughout the UK across a diverse range of roles.

From the Jockey Club Estates own website: "Jockey Club Estates is the property and land management arm of The Jockey Club group. The company manages a substantial and diverse property portfolio, providing first-class racehorse training facilities as well as hospitality in the historic Jockey Club Rooms in Newmarket. Jockey Club Estates is responsible for the management and maintenance of facilities at three major racehorse training centres: Newmarket, Lambourn and Epsom. The Jockey Club Rooms, home to The Jockey Club for 270 years, is the jewel in the crown of the company's portfolio of over 90 properties. The Rooms offer bespoke hosting and dining opportunities to both private and corporate customers."