Ladbrokes will be shut out of sponsoring at next month’s Cheltenham Festival after 10 years as backers of the World Hurdle, it was announced on Thursday. The news amounts to a hardening of positions in the continuing row about what share of their profits bookmakers should be paying to racing, as it is Ladbrokes’ failure to agree a funding deal with the sport’s ruling body that has led to their being ousted from Cheltenham. Related: Racing and bookmakers sponsorship spat just start of a long fight