Our Cheltenham race cards provide the essential information you need for all races at this year’s Festival. There are 28 prestigious races and contests in Jump racing’s finest spectacle.
From the Champion Hurdle to the Gold Cup, it’s crucial to understand how to read the Cheltenham Festival race cards. Doing so can help you make informed decisions regarding betting odds and selections across four days of competitive racing at Prestbury Park.
Cheltenham race cards present guidance on the horses running that day and more. All of which comes in handy when looking at Cheltenham betting sites for odds and bets.
Here’s what you can learn from each one.
Distance covers the length of the race and you may also find ground expected alongside other key elements of any race card for Cheltenham today.
When the biggest races and other events conclude, you can click into today’s Cheltenham race card updates for results.
The Cheltenham Festival race card features 28 races across four spectacular days, including multiple Grade 1s and prestigious races. Each day showcases several championship events featuring past winners alongside competitive handicap races at the highest level in Jump racing.
Read on to find out more about this year’s Cheltenham races race cards for one of the most anticipated horse race meetings of the year.
Day 1 at Cheltenham Festival features the prestigious Champion Hurdle, Supreme Novices’ Hurdle, Arkle Chase, and the Mares’ Hurdle. This means makes for a total of four quality Grade 1 races to look forward to.
If that wasn’t enough, you can also find Cheltenham betting offers for two Premier Handicaps on the Tuesday Cheltenham race card – the Ultima Handicap Chase and the Fred Winter Juvenile Handicap Hurdle.
Here’s the full Day 1 Cheltenham race card for [current_year].
Start Time | Race | Race Class | Race Distance | Horses Open To | Total Prize Money |
1:20 | Michael O’Sullivan Supreme Novices’ Hurdle | Grade 1 | 2m 87y | 4yo+ | £150,000 |
2:00 | Arkle Challenge Trophy Novices’ Chase | Grade 1 | 1m 7f 199y | 5yo+ | £200,000 |
2:40 | Ultima Handicap Chase | Premier Handicap | 3m 1f | 5yo+ | £150,000 |
3:20 | Close Brothers Mares’ Hurdle | Grade 1 | 2m 3f 200y | 4yo+ | £120,000 |
4:00 | Champion Hurdle | Grade 1 | 2m 87y | 4yo+ | £450,000 |
4:40 | Fred Winter Juvenile Handicap Hurdle | Premier Handicap | 2m 87y | 4yo only | £80,000 |
5:20 | Princess Royal National Hunt Chase (Novices’ Handicap) | Class 2 | 3m 5f 201y | 5yo+ 0-145 | £100,000 |
The Wednesday Cheltenham race card is built around another feature race, the Champion Chase. Some punters may look up the Cheltenham results for Tuesday before planning their bets for Style Wednesday, which features some top-class contests for the animals involved.
Formerly known as Ladies Day, the opening two races on the Cheltenham Day 2 race card are back-to-back Grade 1s. The Queen Mother Champion Chase is the race of the day, but the Grand Annual Chase and Cross Country Chase will also be popular spectacles.
Here’s what to expect on Wednesday at the Cheltenham Festival.
Start Time | Race | Race Class | Race Distance | Horses Open To | Total Prize Money |
1:20 | Turners Novices’ Hurdle (Registered as the Baring Bingham) | Grade 1 | 2m 5f | 4yo+ | £150,000 |
2:00 | Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase (Registered as the Broadway) | Grade 1 | 3m 110y | 5yo+ | £200,000 |
2:40 | Coral Cup Handicap Hurdle | Premier Handicap | 2m 5f | 4yo+ | £100,000 |
3:20 | Glenfarclas Cross Country Chase (A Limited Handicap) | Class 2 | 3m 5f 56y | 5yo+ | £75,000 |
4:00 | Queen Mother Champion Chase | Grade 1 | 1m 7f 199y | 5yo+ | £400,000 |
4:40 | Johnny Henderson Grand Annual Chase | Premier Handicap | 1m 7f 199y | 5yo+ | £150,000 |
5:20 | Weatherbys Champion Bumper | Grade 1 | 2m 87y | 4yo-6yo | £80,000 |
The Thursday Cheltenham race card keeps the action pumping with some notable Grade 1 contests in the form of the Stayers’ Hurdle and the Ryanair Chase. Before those races get underway, there are back-to-back novice races and a handicap hurdle to enjoy.
The name of the Cheltenham Thursday race card is a nod to the Cheltenham Festival schedule often coinciding with the feast day of Ireland’s patron saint. Although St Patrick’s Day falls the following week in 2025.
Take a look at the Cheltenham Day 3 race card.
Start Time | Race | Race Class | Race Distance | Horses Open To | Total Prize Money |
1:20 | Ryanair Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle (Registered as the Dawn Run) | Grade 2 | 2m 179y | 4yo+ | £105,000 |
2:00 | Jack Richards Novices’ Limited Handicap Chase | Grade 2 | 2m 4f 127y | 5yo+ | £125,000 |
2:40 | Pertemps Network Final Handicap Hurdle | Premier Handicap | 2m 7f 213y | 5yo+ | £100,000 |
3:20 | Ryanair Chase (Registered as the Festival Trophy) | Grade 1 | 2m 4f 127y | 5yo+ | £375,000 |
4:00 | Paddy Power Stayers’ Hurdle | Grade 1 | 2m 7f 212y | 4yo+ | £325,000 |
4:40 | TrustATrader Plate Handicap Chase | Premier Handicap | 2m 4f 127y | 5yo+ | £150,000 |
5:20 | Fulke Walwyn Kim Muir Challenge Cup Handicap Chase (Amateur Riders) | Class 2 | 3m 2f | 5yo+ 0-145 | £75,000 |
The final day features the Cheltenham Gold Cup, which is the centrepiece race of the Festival. However, there is much more to Gold Cup Day than this steeplechase classic. There are two more Grade 1s in the lead-up to the big one, with the Triumph Hurdle and the Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle set to excite.
The County Hurdle at 2pm is another one to look forward to on the Cheltenham Friday race card. The final Premier Handicap of the Festival comes before the Mares’ Chase, with a hunter chase for amateur riders and conditional jockeys’ race warming us down after the Gold Cup.
Here’s the Friday Cheltenham race card in full.
Start Time | Race | Race Class | Race Distance | Horses Open To | Total Prize Money |
1:20 | JCB Triumph Hurdle | Grade 1 | 2m 179y | 4yo only | £150,000 |
2:00 | County Hurdle | Premier Handicap | 2m 179y | 5y0+ | £100,000 |
2:40 | Mrs Paddy Power Mares’ Chase (Registered as the Liberthine) | Grade 2 | 2m 4f 127y | 5yo+ | £120,000 |
3:20 | Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle (Registered as the Spa) | Grade 1 | 2m 7f 213y | 5yo+ | £150,000 |
4:00 | Cheltenham Gold Cup | Grade 1 | 3m 2f 70y | 5yo+ | £625,000 |
4:40 | St James’s Place Festival Hunter Chase | Class 2 | 3m 2f 70y | 5yo+ | £50,000 |
5:20 | Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap Hurdle | Class 2 | 2m 4f 56y | 4yo+ 0-145 | £75,000 |