Cheltenham Festival 2027

The Cheltenham Festival is the pinnacle of the National Hunt season — four days, 28 races, seven championship contests and the loudest roar in sport. The 2027 renewal is scheduled for 9–12 March at Prestbury Park in Gloucestershire.

The meeting at a glance

Cheltenham is unique. Every race is a championship in its own division: the best chasers, the best hurdlers, the best novices, the best mares, and the best bumper horses on the Island all converge for four days. Total prize money exceeds £5 million, and the cream of Irish and British stables target this week above everything else.

The Festival runs Tuesday to Friday, with each day themed around a flagship Grade 1: Champion Day, Ladies Day, St Patrick's Thursday, and Gold Cup Day.

Feature races

The Championship Races (Grade 1)

Cheltenham Gold Cup (Friday) — 3m 2½f chase for staying chasers. The most prestigious chase in the world. Past winners include Galopin Des Champs, Al Boum Photo, Kauto Star and Best Mate.

Champion Hurdle (Tuesday) — 2m 1f for the best hurdlers. The opening championship — and the race that sets the tone for the week.

Queen Mother Champion Chase (Wednesday) — 2m chase. The speed-chasing championship; Sprinter Sacre and Altior have dominated in recent memory.

Stayers' Hurdle (Thursday) — 3m hurdle. The marathon championship — where staying hurdlers prove themselves over the longer trip.

Other Grade 1s

Supreme Novices' Hurdle (Tuesday, race 1) — the meeting's opener.

Arkle Challenge Trophy (Tuesday) — 2m novice chase.

Ballymore Novices' Hurdle (Wednesday) — 2m 5f novice hurdle.

RSA Chase (Wednesday) — 3m novice chase.

Turners Novices' Chase (Thursday) — 2m 4f novice chase.

Albert Bartlett Novices' Hurdle (Friday) — 3m novice hurdle.

Festival Handicaps — the Coral Cup, Ultima, County Hurdle, Grand Annual and Kim Muir are enormous betting heats with huge fields and ferocious market action.

Understanding the course

Cheltenham is a left-handed undulating track with two courses — the Old Course (used Tuesday and Wednesday) and the New Course (Thursday and Friday). Both share the famous uphill finish, where races are won and lost in the final furlong. Stamina, jumping accuracy and a willing attitude to the hill are essential — Cheltenham punishes any horse that doesn't truly stay.

Ground conditions vary wildly in March. Soft ground through the week can turn heavy after rain, or quick under a drying wind; check going updates every morning.

Betting angles

Irish form is worth a premium. The Dublin Racing Festival in February is the key prep meeting — horses who've won there routinely upgrade at Cheltenham.

Festival specialists. Some horses simply run their best race at Cheltenham — read trainers' pre-Festival comments carefully.

Handicap mark trends matter. Recent trends in the big handicaps favour horses rated mid-range (140–155) with a recent run; outsiders over 20/1 land them more often than not.

Each-way terms explode. Bookmakers compete aggressively with extra places on the handicaps — the difference between 4 and 6 places can be enormous. Our each-way betting guide explains where extra places add real value.

Beaten favourites often bounce back. A horse beaten in one Cheltenham race can turn up two days later and win another — don't write them off.

How we surface the value

Our value engine compares every UK bookmaker's Cheltenham price against the Betfair Exchange benchmark in real time. Festival overrounds tend to be tight on the championship races but much looser in the handicaps — and that's where edge emerges. Our overround guide explains why the biggest-field races offer the fattest edges.

Ante-post markets for the main championships open 12 months in advance and the action really heats up from the Dublin Racing Festival onward.

Key dates — 2027

Day	Date	Theme	Feature Race
Tuesday	9 March	Champion Day	Champion Hurdle
Wednesday	10 March	Ladies Day	Queen Mother Champion Chase
Thursday	11 March	St Patrick's Thursday	Stayers' Hurdle
Friday	12 March	Gold Cup Day	Cheltenham Gold Cup

Declarations are published five days before each race. Live odds, market moves, non-runners and each-way terms appear here as soon as fields are confirmed.