Cheltenham Racecourse
The spiritual home of jump racing in Britain, Cheltenham hosts the sport’s biggest week each March and welcomes thousands more racegoers through three other major meetings across the season.
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EST. 1831
About Cheltenham Racecourse
The spiritual home of jump racing in Britain, Cheltenham hosts the sport’s biggest week each March and welcomes thousands more racegoers through three other major meetings across the season. Cheltenham Racecourse is a national hunt (jumps) only racecourse, located at Evesham Road, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, GL50 4SH.
Cheltenham Festival, March
Four days, 28 races, more than £5 million in total prize money. The Cheltenham Festival is the most important meeting in the National Hunt calendar and one of the great sporting events of the British year. Every Festival race is a Grade 1 or Grade 2 contest, and the meeting routinely attracts the best jumps horses from Britain, Ireland and France.
Meetings & feature races
Cheltenham hosts four major meetings across the National Hunt season: The Showcase in October, The November Meeting, The International Meeting in December, the New Year’s Day Meeting, the Trials Day in late January, and the showpiece Cheltenham Festival in March. The track also stages an April meeting after the Festival has cleared.
The November Meeting (mid-November)
The first major championship test of the National Hunt season. The feature race is the Paddy Power Gold Cup, a 2m4f handicap chase dating back to 1960 when it was first sponsored by Mackeson. The race was the personal property of trainer Martin Pipe between 1996 and 2005, when he saddled the winner seven times, with Tony McCoy steering home three of those victories.
The International Meeting (mid-December)
A two-day meeting that doubles as a crucial prep run for many Festival hopefuls. The feature is the International Hurdle, a Grade 2 contest over two miles run on the New Course. Champion Hurdle aspirants frequently use this as their final tune-up before Cheltenham in March, and the trainer winning-percentages at this fixture tell their own story for spring.
New Year’s Day Meeting (1 January)
The home of National Hunt racing leads the New Year’s Day action across Britain and Ireland, with racegoers flocking to Prestbury Park to blow away the cobwebs. The feature is the Paddy Power New Year’s Day Handicap Chase, a race that produced one of the great Cheltenham finishes in 2020 when Dan Skelton’s Old Grangewood won by a nose from Saint Calvados, with Lalor another nose back in third.
The popular play of the day is the Placepot — pick a horse to place in each of the first six races. In 2020 the Placepot pool returned over £200,000, shared between around 40 lucky players for a return of £3,600 each.
Trials Day (late January)
The Saturday in late January when many Festival entries reveal where their winter preparation stands. The card includes the Cleeve Hurdle (Grade 2), the Cotswold Chase (Grade 2) and the Trials Day Mares’ Hurdle — all of which serve as direct trial races for the corresponding Festival championships. Trials Day is the single best afternoon for serious form students looking to back ante-post for the Festival.
Live races at Cheltenham
Upcoming races at Cheltenham
Live racecards from Cheltenham — pulled from our racing data feed, refreshed throughout the day.
No Cheltenham meetings scheduled in the next 14 days.
Check the UK Racing Predictor for races at other tracks today, or visit Cheltenham Racing Data for past meetings and statistics.
Paddy Power Gold Cup — key trends
Best UK bookmakers for Cheltenham racing
The major race days at Cheltenham come with significant promotional support from UK bookmakers. Best Odds Guaranteed is standard at the leading sportsbooks; the offers below are the strongest currently available to new customers.
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Course statistics & betting angles
Festival ground typically soft or good-to-soft. Stamina-on-soft horses favoured in the bigger handicaps.
Notorious uphill finish from the last fence punishes any horse forced into the lead too early.
Irish raiders dominate Grade 1s. Willie Mullins alone has over 100 Festival winners across his career.
Rachael Blackmore and Paul Townend are the two riders to follow. Both ride for the dominant Irish yards.
How to watch racing at Cheltenham
ITV provides free-to-air terrestrial coverage of the biggest races, including all the championship races at the Festival. Racing TV offers comprehensive coverage of every race on every Cheltenham card, with their team broadcasting live from the course. For data-led analysis of each race, the horse.bet UK Racing Predictor publishes top picks, value plays and dark horses for every Cheltenham card the morning of racing.
Visiting Cheltenham
The course sits about a mile north of Cheltenham town centre, easily reached by car (M5 Junction 11 is the closest motorway exit, about 10 minutes away). Cheltenham Spa railway station is a 15-minute taxi ride or a 25-minute walk from the course. Free shuttle buses run from the station and the town centre on major race days. Tickets for the Festival usually go on sale the previous summer and Friday Gold Cup tickets typically sell out within hours of release.
Official Cheltenham Racecourse website →
Frequently asked questions
When is the Cheltenham Festival?
The Cheltenham Festival takes place in mid-March each year, running from Tuesday to Friday. Specific dates vary slightly year to year but the meeting always finishes on Gold Cup Friday.
What is the biggest race at Cheltenham?
The Cheltenham Gold Cup, run on the final day of the Festival in March, is the most prestigious race at the track and the most important chase in the National Hunt calendar.
Is Cheltenham only for jump racing?
Yes. Cheltenham stages National Hunt racing exclusively — chases, hurdles and National Hunt flat races (bumpers). The track does not host flat racing.
What is the best bookmaker promo for Cheltenham?
The market changes year to year but the most consistently competitive promotions are bet365’s Bet £10 Get £30, Betfred’s daily extra-places and SBK’s sharp pricing. See our full bonuses page.
How early should I book Cheltenham Festival tickets?
Tickets for the Festival typically go on sale the previous summer. Gold Cup Friday badges sell out within hours of release. Sign up for The Jockey Club’s mailing list to be notified when sales open.
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