Cheltenham Festival Races

CHELTENHAM, UNITED KINGDOM - MARCH 16: Robert Thornton rides Katchit to victory in The JCB Triumph Hurdle Race

Whilst the Cheltenham Festival is famous for hosting Britain’s most popular Grade 1 Steeplechase, the Cheltenham Gold Cup, the festival is packed with other prestigious races showcasing the different National Hunt formats, race grades and racehorse varieties.

Each day of the Cheltenham Festival features a key race run in the 3:15pm time slot. The first of these races to be run is the Champion Hurdle the grand finale of the National Hunt hurdling season that seas the finest hurdlers in the sport compete in a thrilling race run on the Old Racecourse on day one of the Cheltenham Festival.

The headline event of the second day of racing at the Cheltenham Festival is the Queen Mother Champion Chase, the first major steeplechase run at the Cheltenham Festival. The race is notable for run over a relatively short distance for a steeplechase, which means horses take on the fences at full speed making for a thrilling spectacle.

Day three’s key Cheltenham Festival race is the World Hurdle, the second major hurdle event to be run at the Cheltenham Festival. Unlike the faster Champion Hurdle, the World Hurdle is designed to test the endurance rather than speed of the contestants and is easily one of the most gruelling hurdle races of the season.

The final day of races at the Cheltenham Festival sees Cheltenham Racecourse packed to capacity as fans and punters from around the world travel to Cheltenham to watch one of the world’s great horse races. The Cheltenham Gold Cup is run at 3:15 by some of National Hunt racings finest chasers.

Aside from the major Cheltenham Festival races each day of racing offers the fans, trainers, jockeys and owners something different. Many punters take a keen interest in the performances of the novices in the daily novice hurdle and chase events such as the Novices Hurdle Final and Novices Handicap Chase, wishing to witness the evolution of great racehorses firsthand.

With every race featuring National Hunt racings most gifted jockeys, the Cheltenham Festival races end with the crowing of the meeting’s Champion Jockey – the rider with the most victories in all races.

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