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This page is the guide to the Cheltenham Festival: the two courses and the hill, the four days’ races and what each asks of a horse, a short history, how to read the week, and the practical side of going — with every term explained and every statistic a click away in the record.

Contents: The meeting · A short history · The four days · The championship races, and what each asks · Trainers, jockeys and the rivalry · Reading the meeting · Going to the Festival · Common questions

The meeting

The Cheltenham Festival is jump racing’s championship meeting: four days in the middle of March at Prestbury Park, Gloucestershire, Tuesday to Friday, 28 races, with the four championship races — the Champion Hurdle, the Champion Chase, the Stayers’ Hurdle and the Gold Cup — one to a day. The best horses in Britain and Ireland are trained for it from the autumn, and a Festival win is the line on a record that everything else is measured against.

Two tracks are used. The Old Course on Tuesday and Wednesday is the sharper of the two; the New Course on Thursday and Friday has a longer run from the final turn and is the stiffer test. Both are left-handed and undulating, and both finish up the hill: the last two furlongs climb, and a horse that has done its running too soon is caught on it. That hill is why Cheltenham form reads so differently from form on a flat track, and why Aintree three weeks later so often reverses it.

A short history

The Festival in its modern form dates from 1911 at Prestbury Park; the Gold Cup was first run in 1924 and the Champion Hurdle in 1927, and the meeting went to four days in 2005. Golden Miller won five Gold Cups in a row (1932–36) and the Grand National in the same year as one of them; Arkle won three (1964–66) and is the horse against which all chasers are still measured. Best Mate won three in a row (2002–04); Kauto Star won it in 2007 and, after losing it, won it back in 2009; Galopin Des Champs won in 2023 and 2024, and Inothewayurthinkin in 2025.

Dawn Run is the only horse to win both the Champion Hurdle (1984) and the Gold Cup (1986). Istabraq won three Champion Hurdles (1998–2000); Big Buck’s four Stayers’ Hurdles (2009–12); Sprinter Sacre and Altior each two Champion Chases. Every run at the Festival since 2005 is in the results archive with its result and starting price.

The four days

The championship races and the main Grade 1s hold their days; the novice programme around them has been reshuffled in recent seasons, so the card on the day is the authority. A novice race is for horses early in their career over that type of obstacle; a juvenile hurdle is for four-year-olds; a bumper is a Flat race on a jumps card for future hurdlers.

Day	Race	Grade, trip
Tuesday	Supreme Novices’ Hurdle (the first race — the “Cheltenham roar”)	Grade 1, 2m½f
	Arkle Novices’ Chase	Grade 1, 2m
	Champion Hurdle	Grade 1, 2m½f
	Mares’ Hurdle	Grade 1, 2m4f
Wednesday	Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase	Grade 1, about 3m
	Queen Mother Champion Chase	Grade 1, 2m
	Cross Country Chase	about 3m6f
	Champion Bumper	Grade 1, 2m½f
Thursday	Ryanair Chase	Grade 1, 2m5f
	Stayers’ Hurdle	Grade 1, about 3m
Friday	Triumph Hurdle (juveniles)	Grade 1, 2m1f
	Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle	Grade 1, about 3m
	Cheltenham Gold Cup	Grade 1, about 3m2½f

Alongside them, a handicap or two a day: big fields, every runner weighted from its official rating as the handicapping guide explains, and most bookmakers paying extra places. When the meeting is on, every race is on the racecards with each runner’s form, the prices compared and our own figures.

The championship races, and what each asks

The Champion Hurdle

Two miles over hurdles on the Old Course. It is run fast, and the race asks for speed, a quick, economical hurdling action and the ability to quicken off the final bend and still get up the hill. The hurdles come at racing pace; a horse that gets in close to one loses the race in a stride.

The Queen Mother Champion Chase

Two miles over fences, the fastest fences of the year. Jumping accuracy at full speed decides it: a horse that measures every fence and lands running is the type, and a single mistake at that pace is usually the end of its chance.

The Stayers’ Hurdle

Three miles over hurdles on the New Course. A test of stamina and rhythm rather than speed: the field goes a steady gallop, the race begins in earnest turning in, and the hill sorts out which horses truly stay.

The Gold Cup

About 3m2½f over 22 fences on the New Course, the championship of staying chasers. It asks for class, stamina, jumping under pressure for three and a quarter miles and a finish up the hill against the best horses in training. Winners have usually proved themselves in Grade 1 chases at around three miles already; the Gold Cup rarely goes to a horse the record did not already point to.

The supporting Grade 1s

The Supreme and the Arkle are the two-mile novice championships, the first a hurdle race in which the position turning in decides much, the second over fences for the Champion Chasers of the next years. The Ryanair, at 2m5f, is for chasers too quick for the Gold Cup trip and too strong for two miles. The Triumph is the juveniles’ championship, a test of temperament as much as talent. The three-mile novice races, the Brown Advisory over fences and the Albert Bartlett over hurdles, are where future Gold Cup horses first show stamina.

Trainers, jockeys and the rivalry

The Festival is framed as Ireland against Britain — the Prestbury Cup counts the winners by nation — and the balance has shifted in long cycles. The yards with the deepest Festival records are the obvious ones: Mullins across the novice and championship races, Henderson over two miles, Nicholls with the staying chasers, Elliott and de Bromhead for Ireland. A reputation is a starting point, not a statistic: every trainer profile and jockey profile on this site shows runs and wins at Cheltenham from the record since 2005, with the last 14, 30 and 90 days beside the career figures, so “does this yard go well here, and is it in form now?” is a number. Every horse that has run in Britain or Ireland since 2005 has a profile with its full record, Cheltenham runs included.

Reading the meeting

• The ground. March at Cheltenham is usually soft to good to soft, and a dry week can quicken it to good by the Friday. A horse’s record on each going is on its profile; the going on the day is on every racecard.
• Course form. The hill and the atmosphere are unlike anywhere else, and a horse that has handled them before has answered a question the others have not. The course statistics from the record are on the racecourse page — the draw by trip, the leading trainers and jockeys and the course specialists, from the record.
• The trials. Most Festival horses have one or two prepared runs in the winter, and the yards say which races they are aiming at. Ante-post betting explained covers the long-range markets and the non-runner risk.
• The prices. With 28 races in four days the markets are deep and move all week. Compare odds puts every listed price side by side, Extra places shows who pays beyond the standard terms on the handicaps, each-way betting explained shows how the terms work, and market movers and non-runners record the moves and the withdrawals as they happen.
• Our figures. The KTB Fit Score on each racecard scores how well a runner fits the race in front of it, with KTB Rating and KTB Speed beside it; the top-ranked runner in every race is logged against the result, win or lose, on the Fit record.

Going to the Festival

• Enclosures. Tattersalls is the main enclosure and the biggest; the Club Enclosure has the better views of the finish and the parade ring; the Best Mate Enclosure is the cheapest, at the far end of the straight. Hospitality packages sit above all three.
• Getting there. Trains to Cheltenham Spa and a shuttle bus; park-and-ride from the edge of town; a long walk from the centre. Allow longer than you think on Gold Cup day.
• Staying. The town is full months ahead; Gloucester, Tewkesbury and the Cotswold villages are the alternatives.
• The week. Four days in March on a hill: layers, footwear for mud, and a plan for eating outside the half-hour before each race. Phone signal struggles when 60,000 people are on it, so a meeting point is worth agreeing before you split up.

Common questions

How do the Old Course and the New Course differ?

The Old Course, used on Tuesday and Wednesday, is the sharper of the two and suits speed. The New Course, used on Thursday and Friday, has a longer run from the final turn and is the stiffer test of stamina. Both are left-handed and undulating, and both finish up the same hill.

Which are the four championship races?

The Champion Hurdle on Tuesday (two miles over hurdles), the Queen Mother Champion Chase on Wednesday (two miles over fences), the Stayers’ Hurdle on Thursday (three miles over hurdles) and the Cheltenham Gold Cup on Friday (about three and a quarter miles over fences).

How much does course form matter at Cheltenham?

More than at most tracks. The hill and the atmosphere are unlike anywhere else, and a horse that has run well there has answered a question the others have not. It is one signal among several: the ground, the trip and the horse’s current form all count, and each is on its profile.

Is each-way betting different at the Festival?

The terms are the same, but the big-field handicaps bring extra places from most bookmakers, which changes what a place is worth. Extra places lists who pays what each day, and each-way betting explained shows how the terms settle.

How early should I book?

As early as you can. Cheltenham’s hotels fill months before the Festival; Gloucester, Tewkesbury and the Cotswold villages are the fallbacks, and the shuttle buses and park-and-ride make a stay outside town workable.

Does Kickthebookies give Cheltenham selections?

No. For every race of the week we show each runner’s record, the prices compared across the listed bookmakers, the extra places on offer and our own figures, and leave the call to you. Where a selection appears it is the top-ranked runner by Fit Score, shown with its record, win or lose, on the Fit record.

Betting should be for fun, never a way to make money. Set limits and only stake what you can afford to lose; if gambling is affecting you or someone near you, help is free and confidential on our responsible gambling page. 18+ only. Questions or corrections: the contact page. Last reviewed 11 October 2026.