The Cheltenham Festival is a horse racing-based meeting in the National Hunt racing calendar in the United Kingdom, with race prize money second only to the Grand National. The four-day festival takes place annually in March at Cheltenham Racecourse in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire. It usually coincides with Saint Patrick's Day and is particularly popular with Irish visitors.
The meeting features several Grade I races including the Cheltenham Gold Cup, Champion Hurdle, Queen Mother Champion Chase and Stayers' Hurdle. Large amounts of money are gambled; hundreds of millions of pounds are bet over the course of the week. Cheltenham is noted for its atmosphere, including the "Cheltenham roar", which refers to the enormous amount of noise that the crowd generates as the starter raises the tape for the first race of the festival.
The Cheltenham Festival was not held between 1941 and 1945 because of World War II and in 2001 due to the foot-and-mouth disease crisis.
History Origins
The Cheltenham Festival originated in 1860 when the National Hunt Chase was first held at Market Harborough. It was initially titled the Grand National Hunt Meeting and took place at several locations since its institution, at the turn of the 20th century it was mostly held at Warwick Racecourse. In 1904 and 1905 it was staged at Cheltenham over a new course established at Prestbury Park in 1902, having previously taken place at Cheltenham in 1861. From 1906 to 1910 it was again held at Warwick but further additions and major improvements made at Cheltenham by Messrs. Pratt and Company, including a new stand (the fourth one), miles of drain to prevent unsuitable racing ground, tar paving in the enclosures and the paddock extended to 35 saddling boxes, proved enough to make the National Hunt Committee decide that the 1911 meeting was to return at Prestbury Park, Cheltenham where it remained to the present day. The earliest traceable reference to a "Festival" is in the Warwick Advertiser of 1907.Stevens, Peter, History of the National Hunt Chase 1860–2010.
The Stayers' Hurdle, which first ran in 1912, is the oldest race from the Cheltenham festival that is currently a championship race. The Gold Cup, established in 1924, was originally a supporting race for the County Hurdle. This was the main event of the first day but that quickly changed, and in the following seasons it became a championship race. For many years it was still used by the trainers as a preparation race for the Grand National. The Champion Hurdle first ran in 1927 and the Queen Mother Champion Chase in 1959; they were both championship races from the time they were introduced, unlike the Stayers' Hurdle and Gold Cup.
Races
Until 2005 the festival had traditionally been held over the course of three days, but this changed with the introduction of a fourth day, meaning there would be one championship race on each day, climaxing with the Gold Cup on the Friday. To ensure each day would still have six races, five new races were introduced. Four further races have since been added, bringing the total to 28 races overall, with grade one events including the Champion Bumper, Triumph Hurdle, Ryanair Chase, Supreme Novices' Hurdle, Ballymore Novices' Hurdle, Arkle Challenge Trophy, Brown Advisory Novices' Chase, Champion Hurdle, Stayers' Hurdle, Queen Mother Champion Chase and the feature race, the Gold Cup. The festival also includes one of the two biggest Hunter Chases of the season, the Festival Hunters' Chase, which is run on the Friday over the same course as the Gold Cup.
Unlike Royal Ascot and many other top flat racing events in Great Britain and Ireland, the Cheltenham Festival does not have a history of attracting many international contenders, though French-trained horses have done well. Baracouda was perhaps the best known, after landing the Stayers' Hurdle twice.
Notable events 1983–2019
In 1983 Caroline Beasley became the first female jockey to ride a winner at the festival. She won the Foxhunter Chase on Eliogarty.
On 17 March 1987, 21-year-old Gee Armytage won the Kim Muir Challenge Cup, back then held on Tuesdays and backed it with another victory the next day in the Mildmay of Flete Challenge Cup on a horse aptly named Gee-A, becoming the first female jockey to win a race against professionals at the festival.
In 2001 the festival was cancelled due to an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in Britain. The meeting had initially been postponed to April, but when a case of the disease was confirmed locally, putting the racecourse within an exclusion zone, all racing had to be called off.
In 2008, the second day of the festival was cancelled on safety grounds due to heavy storms making the marquees in the tented hospitality area unsafe. The races scheduled for that day were instead run on the third and final days. In 2019 a record opening day crowd of 67,934 people attended.
2020 coronavirus pandemic
During the COVID-19 pandemic, and in line with government advice, the festival went ahead from 10 to 13 March 2020. The World Health Organization declared the outbreak a pandemic on 11 March. On 16 March, three days after the festival, the British government advised against large gatherings and on 23 March ordered a lockdown.Stewart, Heather; Mason, Rowena; Dodd, Vikram (23 March 2020): Boris Johnson orders UK lockdown to be enforced by police. The Guardian. The festival attracted 251,684 visitors that year,"Shadow sports minister says there are 'serious questions' over why Cheltenham went ahead". BBC Sport, 4 April 2020. including a final-day crowd of 68,859, fewer than 2,000 down on the previous year's record.
There were fears in early April that the festival had helped spread the disease widely across the country. One visitor who developed COVID-19 later complained about having been "packed like sardines".Conn, David (3 June 2020). "'We were packed like sardines': evidence grows of mass-event dangers early in pandemic". The Guardian. Hundreds of festival visitors also said that they had developed symptoms. Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, which covers Cheltenham, recorded 125 deaths, roughly double that in two nearby trusts at Bristol (58 each), and those covering Swindon (67) and Bath (46).
2026 The 2026 Festival attracted 226,223 spectators across its four days, an increase of 8,130 on the 218,093 recorded in 2025.
Horse safety concerns For several years there have been concerns about the number of horse injuries and fatalities. In 2006, 11 horses died. In response the racecourse decreased the number of runners in certain races and re-sited one of the more difficult fences.. Animal Aid's Horse Death Watch has recorded the deaths every year at the festival since 2007: +Cheltenham Festival Horse Fatalities since 2007Year Horse NameCause of Death or Reason for Euthanasia2007Swift ThyneSpinal injury2007Little BrickBroken shoulder2008Whispered PromisesFatal fall2009ClarifiedFatal fall2010Casey JonesBrought down2010Citizen VicFatal fall2010Izita StarSpinal injury2010FairylandFatal fall2011Lush LifeInjured leg2012Educated EvansFatal fall2012Garde ChampetreBroke down2012ScotsirishBroken leg2012Featherbed LaneBroken leg2012AbergavennyBroken elbow2013MatuhiSpinal injury2014Our ConorSpinal inury2014Stack The DeckFracture2014AkdamBroken foreleg2014Captain CutterPelvic injury2014Raya StarFractured spine2015Rolling StarFatal fall2016RezorbiFatal fall2016Pont AlexandreBroken leg2016The GovanessFatal fall2016No More HeroesTendon injury2016NiceonefrankieFatal fall2016MontdragonFatal injury2016Long DogBroken leg2017Consul de ThaixBroken neck2017Toe the LineBroken leg2017Hadrians ApproachBroken leg2017Current EventTendon injury2018MossbackFractured Shoulder2018Report to BaseFractured neck2018Melrose BoyStruck into2018Some PlanFatal fall2018SansendBroken leg2018DresdenFatal fall2018North Hill HarveyFatal fall2019BallywardFatal fall2019Invitation OnlyFatal fall2019Sir ErecFatal fall2020Copper Gone WestBroken leg2021Kings TemptationFatal fall2022ShallwehaveonemoreFatal fall2022MindsmadeupFatal fall2022Born PatriotFatal fall2022GintoBroke down2023MalinelloFatal fall2024Highland HunterCollapsed2024Napper TandyBroken Neck2025Springwell bayFatal fall2025Corbetts CrossFatal fall2026HansardBroken leg2026HMS SeahorseFatal Fall2026Envoi AllenCollapsed and died following race2026Saint Le FortFatal Fall At the 2018 festival there were seven horse deaths, leading to a British Horseracing Authority (BHA) review into equine safety. The review was published in December 2018 and listed 17 recommendations for future Cheltenham fixtures and jump racing in general, including reduced field size numbers at Cheltenham and a pre-race veterinary check for all runners at the festival. At the 2019 festival there were three horse deaths, leading to another BHA review. There have continued to be fatalities every year.
2026 review of starting procedures Following several false starts during the 2026 Cheltenham Festival, the BHA conducted a review of starting procedures. In July 2026, it recommended changes including modifications to the course layout, starting procedures and regulation, with the aim of reducing false starts and improving consistency at the starts of races.
2026 races The number and type of races at the Cheltenham Festival has changed dramatically over the years of its existence. In particular, it has grown from a two-day meeting to a four-day meeting. In 2026, there will be 28 races as follows:
Day Race Obstacles Distance Class SponsorTuesday Supreme Novices' Hurdle Hurdles Grade 1 SkyBet Arkle Challenge Trophy Fences Grade 1 Singer Capital Markets Fred Winter Juvenile Handicap Hurdle Hurdles Premier Handicap McCoy Contractors Festival Trophy Handicap Chase Fences Premier Handicap Trustmarque Ultima Champion Hurdle Hurdles Grade 1 Unibet Sun Racing Plate Handicap Chase Fences Premier Handicap Sun Racing National Hunt Challenge Cup Fences Ungraded – Wednesday Baring Bingham Novices' Hurdle Hurdles Grade 1 Turners Brown Advisory Novices' Chase Fences Grade 1 Brown Advisory BetMGM Cup Hurdles Premier Handicap BetMGM Cross Country Chase Cross Country Ungraded Glenfarclas Queen Mother Champion Chase Fences Grade 1 BetMGM Johnny Henderson Grand Annual Chase Fences Premier Handicap Debenhams Champion Bumper NHF Grade 1 Weatherbys Thursday Golden Miller Novices' Chase Fences Grade 1 Jack Richards Pertemps Final Hurdles Premier Handicap Pertemps David Nicholson Mares' Hurdle Hurdles Grade 1 Close Brothers Group Stayers' Hurdle Hurdles Grade 1 Paddy Power Festival Trophy Fences Grade 1 Ryanair Dawn Run Mares' Novices' Hurdle Hurdle Grade 2 Ryanair Fulke Walwyn Kim Muir Challenge Cup Fences Ungraded Rosconn Group Friday Triumph Hurdle Hurdles Grade 1 JCB County Handicap Hurdle Hurdles Premier Handicap William Hill Spa Novices' Hurdle Hurdles Grade 1 Albert Bartlett Cheltenham Gold Cup Fences Grade 1 Boodles Foxhunter Chase Fences Ungraded - Liberthine Mares' Chase Fences Grade 2 Paddy Power Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys' Handicap Hurdle Hurdles Ungraded – The 2026 Festival was notable for the number of outsider winners. The average starting price of the winners was 14–1, the highest at the Festival in the previous decade, while Martator and Apolon De Charnie won at odds of 66–1 and 50–1 respectively.
The Festival attracted 226,223 visitors across its four days, with four arrests recorded at the racecourse.
Top jockeys The top jockey for the festival is the jockey who wins the most races over the four days. The winners since 1980, with wins in brackets, are:
2026 Paul Townend (5) 2025 Paul Townend (4) 2024 Paul Townend (6) 2023 Paul Townend (5) 2022 Paul Townend (5) 2021 Rachael Blackmore (6) 2020 Paul Townend (5) 2019 Nico de Boinville (3) 2018 Davy Russell (4) 2017 Ruby Walsh (4) 2016 Ruby Walsh (7) 2015 Ruby Walsh (4) 2014 Ruby Walsh (3) 2013 Ruby Walsh (4) 2012 Barry Geraghty (5) 2011 Ruby Walsh (5)