Cheltenham Festival Tips

Welcome to Cheltenham Festival Tips  your guide to the Cheltenham Festival 2026, with daily selections, key storylines, and quick links to every major race from Prestbury Park.

  • Meeting: Cheltenham Festival 2026 (Prestbury Park)
  • Format: 4 days, championship races + big-field handicaps
  • Best way to use this page: Start with your day guide, then click into the race previews for deeper analysis
  • >Updated: This hub is designed to be refreshed as declarations, going and markets develop

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Day by day is often the easiest way to approach Cheltenham: take a view on the Grade 1 races, then be more selective in the handicaps where pace, position and jumping under pressure can decide everything. When the Roar goes up in the Supreme, that’s the moment the Festival truly begins.

Cheltenham Festival Tips: Quick Help

  1. Start with the Grade 1 races – the market is often most efficient here, but class tends to rise.
  2. Handicaps are about position + jumping – big fields punish slow starts and messy rounds.
  3. Course form matters – Cheltenham’s undulations and hill expose weak finishers.
  4. Be careful with novices over fences– inexperience can outweigh raw ability in Festival pressure.
  5. Use multiples sparingly – Lucky 15s are fun, but keep stakes sensible across 15 lines.

Cheltenham Festival Help and FAQ

Our Cheltenham hub is designed to answer common Festival questions quickly, while giving you to the deeper race previews and day by day tip pages.

Cheltenham Festival tips are race by race selections and previews aimed at helping punters understand the key contenders, likely pace, conditions and best betting angles across the four-day meeting.

How do I use this site for Cheltenham Festival 2026?

Start with your day guide (Day 1 to Day 4), then click into any race preview you’re betting on, Supreme, Arkle, Champion Hurdle and Gold Cup pages are the most read.

Are odds and tips updated?

Yes markets can move sharply as declarations, going changes and jockey bookings land. Always check the latest prices before betting.

Do you cover Lucky 15 and betting offers?

Yes. We publish Lucky 15 content and also track Cheltenham betting offers when they’re available. Terms apply and offers can change quickly.

Will Constitution Hill continue his form in the Champion Hurdle? Are you lumping on the favourites or taking a more shrewd and cautious approach to your punting? Are you getting stuck in to the 6 horse challenge by Bet365?

The Cheltenham Festival 2026 is back and its sure to be an exhilarating four days of ups, downs and spills of Grade 1 horse racing.

Make sure to read our Cheltenham Festival bankers guide for more information, or read about our Cheltenham Lucky 15 here.

Cheltenham Day 1 Tuesday

The Cheltenham Festival kicks off with Champion Day, headlined by the prestigious Grade 1 Champion Hurdle. This two-mile contest determines the season’s top hurdler from Britain and Ireland and is the fastest of the Festival’s championship races.

The day’s action begins with the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle at 1.20pm, greeted by the famous “Cheltenham Roar.” This is followed by the Arkle Challenge Trophy, a thrilling two-mile chase for novice chasers.

Another top level contest on the card is the Mares’ Hurdle, don’t forget to red about our Champion Hurdle Tips for 2026 as well.

The Ultima Handicap Chase, Boodles Juvenile Handicap Hurdle, and National Hunt Chase offer competitive racing, giving horses just below elite level a shot at Festival glory.

Time Race Race Type
1:20 Supreme Novices’ Hurdle Novice Hurdle
2:00 Arkle Chase Novice Chase
2:40 Juvenile Handicap Hurdle Handicap Hurdle
3:20 Ultima Handicap Chase Handicap Chase
4:00 Champion Hurdle Championship Race
4:40 Plate Handicap Chase Handicap Chase
5:20 National Hunt Chase Novice Chase For Amateur Jockeys

Cheltenham Day 2 Wednesday

Day Two on the Wednesday 13th March 2024 starts off with the Ballymore Novices Hurdle. You can read about the Cheltenham day 2 tips here.

The second day of the Cheltenham Festival, known as Ladies Day, is fittingly highlighted by our Champion Chase tips. This thrilling two-mile race over large fences has seen some legendary winners in recent years, including Sprinter Sacre, Altior, and Energumene.

The opening Grade 1 race is now backed by Turners, a returning sponsor to the Festival. It’s a 2m5f novice hurdle, with Ballyburn claiming a remarkable victory in the event last year.

The Queen Mother Champion Chase is the featured race set for Wednesday, with Nicky Henderson’s Jonbon heading the markets. The ITV7 racing competition is sure to be in full swing so don’t forget to enter as well.

This is one of the most popular races of the Cheltenham Festival.

Next up is the Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase, an important prep race for the Gold Cup, while the Champion Bumper is another prestigious race on Wednesday. The Coral Cup, Grand Annual, and Cross Country Handicap Chase offer exciting betting opportunities for punters.

Time Race Race Type
1:20 The Turners Novices’ Hurdle Grade 1 Novice Hurdle
2:00 The Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase Grade 1 Novice Chase
2:40 The Coral Cup Handicap Hurdle Premier Handicap Hurdle
3:20 The Glenfarclas Cross Country Handicap Chase Cross Country Handicap Chase
4:00 The BetMGM Queen Mother Champion Chase Grade 1 Championship Chase
4:40 The Debenhams Johnny Henderson Grand Annual Handicap Chase Premier Handicap Chase
5:20 The Weatherbys Champion Bumper Grade 1 National Hunt Flat Race

Cheltenham Day 3 Thursday

Thursday at the Cheltenham Festival is known as St Patricks Day and opens with the Turners Novices Chase. The day’s schedule has been refreshed, with the Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle, one of the Festival’s newest race now opening proceedings. It is followed by the newly introduced Jack Richards Novices’ Handicap Chase.

The standout contests of the day are the Ryanair Chase and the Stayers’ Hurdle, both Grade 1 events that have produced modern legends such as Cue Card and Big Buck’s.

The Stayers Hurdle is the feature race at 16:00, with Teahupoo the current favourite at evens.

Later in the afternoon the Pertemps Final joins the TrustATrader Plate and the Fulke Walwyn Kim Muir Trophy. These races often attract large fields and have a history of producing winners at decent prices.

There’s certainly to be plenty of high spirits and Guinness involved – you can read all about our Cheltenham day 3 tips here.

Time Race Race Type
1:20 The Ryanair Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle Grade 2 Mares’ Novice Hurdle (2m 1f)
2:00 The Jack Richards Novices’ Limited Handicap Chase Grade 2 Limited Handicap Chase (2m 4f)
2:40 The Close Brothers Mares’ Hurdle Grade 1 Mares’ Hurdle (2m 4f 56y)
3:20 The Paddy Power Stayers’ Hurdle Grade 1 Stayers’ Hurdle (3m)
4:00 The Ryanair Chase Grade 1 Championship Chase (2m 5f)
4:40 The Pertemps Network Final Handicap Hurdle Premier Handicap Hurdle (3m)
5:20 Kim Muir Amateur Jockeys’ Handicap Chase Amateur Riders’ Handicap Chase (3m 2f)

Cheltenham Day 4

Day Four, Friday at the Cheltenham Festival features the stand out race of the four day’s the 2025 Cheltenham Gold Cup, which takes place at 16:00. read about our Gold Cup tips here.

Galopin Des Champs heads the market currently aiming for a third victory for Willie Mullins, and can be backed at 8/13.

Alongside the Gold Cup, Friday also features two other Grade 1 contests. The Triumph Hurdle is the top prize for juvenile hurdlers, while the Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle provides a stern stamina test for young horses stepping up in trip.

Rounding out the card is the St James’s Place Hunter Chase, which mirrors the Gold Cup’s course and distance but is exclusively for amateur jockeys, offering a unique challenge on the Festival’s biggest stage.

The Cheltenham Gold Cup, the festival’s most prestigious race, will take place on Friday. You can read more about that with our Templegate tips page,

Time Race Race Type
1:20 The JCB Triumph Hurdle Grade 1 Juvenile Hurdle (2m 1f)
2:00 The William Hill County Handicap Hurdle Premier Handicap Hurdle (2m 1f)
2:40 The Mrs Paddy Power Mares’ Chase Grade 2 Mares’ Chase (2m 4f 127y)
3:20 The Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle Grade 1 Novice Hurdle (2m 7f 213y)
4:00 The Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup Grade 1 Championship Chase (3m 2f ½f)
4:40 The St James’s Place Festival Hunters’ Chase Amateur Riders’ Hunter Chase (3m 2f ½f)
5:20 The Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap Hurdle Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap Hurdle (2m 4f ½f)