Welcome to Your Cheltenham Festival Survival Kit! The Cheltenham Festival is the pinnacle of National Hunt racing, drawing in thousands of racing enthusiasts every March. To ensure you have the best experience, we’ve compiled this survival kit to equip you with everything you need, from essential tips to insightful information about the races.
You will find all the info you need to know about this year’s renewal, including race times and dates, and which horses, trainers, and jockeys you should be keeping your eye on.
Cheltenham Festival 2026 Race Schedule
The Cheltenham Festival 2026 will take place from Tuesday, March 10 to Friday, March 13, 2026. Here’s a detailed race schedule for each day: The first race is at 13:20, and the last race is at 17:20.
The Cheltenham Festival 2026 will take place from Tuesday, March 10 to Friday, March 13, 2026. Here’s a detailed race schedule for each day:
Day 1: Champion Day – Tuesday, March 10, 2026
| Time | Race Title | Grade | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 13:20 | Supreme Novices’ Hurdle | Grade 1 | 2m |
| 14:00 | Arkle Novices’ Chase | Grade 1 | 2m |
| 14:40 | Juvenile Handicap Hurdle | Premier | 2m ½f |
| 15:20 | Ultima Handicap Chase | Grade 1 | 3m 1f |
| 16:00 | Champion Hurdle | Grade 1 | 2m |
| 16:40 | TrustATrader Plate Handicap Chase | Handicap | 2m 4f |
| 17:20 | National Hunt Novices’ Handicap Chase | Novice | 3m 6f |
Day 2: Ladies Day – Wednesday, March 11, 2026
| Time | Race Title | Grade | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 13:20 | Turners Novices’ Hurdle | Grade 1 | 2m 5f |
| 14:00 | Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase | Grade 1 | 3m |
| 14:40 | Coral Cup Handicap Hurdle | Premier | 2m 5f |
| 15:20 | Glenfarclas Cross Country Handicap Chase | Cross Country | 3m 5½f |
| 16:00 | Queen Mother Champion Chase | Grade 1 | 2m |
| 16:40 | Johnny Henderson Grand Annual Handicap Chase | Handicap | 2m |
| 17:20 | Champion Bumper (Weatherbys) | Grade 1 | 2m |
Day 3: St Patrick’s Thursday – Thursday, March 12, 2026
| Time | Race Title | Grade | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 13:20 | Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle | Grade 2 | 2m 1f |
| 14:00 | Jack Richards Novices’ Limited Handicap Chase | Handicap | 2m 4f |
| 14:40 | Close Brothers Mares’ Hurdle | Grade 1 | 2m 4f |
| 15:20 | Paddy Power Stayers’ Hurdle | Grade 1 | 3m |
| 16:00 | Ryanair Chase | Grade 1 | 2m 4f |
| 16:40 | Pertemps Network Final Handicap Hurdle | Handicap | 3m |
| 17:20 | Fulke Walwyn Kim Muir Challenge Cup Handicap Chase | Handicap | 3m 2f |
Day 4: Gold Cup Day – Friday, March 13, 2026
| Time | Race Title | Grade | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 13:20 | JCB Triumph Hurdle | Grade 1 | 2m |
| 14:00 | County Handicap Hurdle | Handicap | 2m |
| 14:40 | Mares’ Steeple Chase (Mrs Paddy Power) | Grade 2 | 2m 4f |
| 15:20 | Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle | Grade 1 | 3m |
| 16:00 | Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup | Grade 1 | 3m 2f |
| 16:40 | St James’s Place Festival Hunter Chase | Hunter Chase | 3m 2f |
| 17:20 | Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys’ Hurdle | Handicap | 2m 4f |
Notes
First Race: Begins at **13:20
Gates Open: Daily at 10:30 AM.
Free tips for Cheltenham
Here are this year’s free tips for Cheltenham from tipster reviews. Don’t forget to follow us on TikTok for our free daily nap for Cheltenham, too, and also check out our daily free tips page for more selections.
Day 1 – Opening Day
Arguably, the best race on day 1 is the Champions Hurdle, which is the first race of the day, and our free selection for day 1 at Cheltenham is The New Lion to win at around 5/2 currently.
Day 2 – Ladies’ Day
Well, if you can keep your eye on the horses and not the ladies on day two, the big race is the Queen Mother’s at 4.00, and our selection for this race is L’eau Du Sud to win at around 5/1 currently.
Day 3 – St Patrick’s Day
On the day of the festival, where the most alcohol or Guinness is consumed, others host the Stayers Hurdle at 15:20. Our free Cheltenham tip for this race is Teahupoo at 13/8 right now.
Day 4 – Gold Cup Day
The biggest race of the festival happens on the final day with the Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup race at 15:30. Our free tip for this year’s Cheltenham Gold Cup is Jango Baie each way at around 6/1 currently.
The Free Cheltenham Festival Lucky 15
All of the above selections, we recommend putting into a lucky 15 in case they all come in
10th March – 16:00 – The New Lion 5/2
11th March – 16:00 – L’eau Du Sud 5/1
12th March – 15:20 – Teahupoo 13/8
13th March – 16:00 – Jango Baie 5/1
50p stakes each way on a lucky 15 (15 bets) £15 stake, potential return if all win = £878.14!
Essential Tips for Cheltenham Festival
- What to Bring: Remember to pack your essentials!
- Weather Gear: The weather can be unpredictable; bring waterproof clothing and a hat.
- Comfortable Footwear: You’ll be on your feet a lot, so opt for sturdy shoes.
- Cash and Cards: Some vendors may not accept cards, so keep cash on hand.
- Navigating Cheltenham: Familiarise yourself with the layout before you arrive to avoid missing out on key races and events. Use our Course Map for a helpful guide.
- Hydrate and Fuel Up: Stay hydrated and make time for meals. There are plenty of food stalls, but lines can get long. Consider bringing snacks.
Cheltenham Festival Survival Guide – Best Tipsters For Cheltenham
The best time of the year to take the services of a professional is during the Cheltenham Festival, but with so many horse racing tipsters out there, it is hard to find ones that excel at this competition. Don’t worry, though, we have 3 tipsters that can improve your #cheltfest experience.
1. Cotswold Racing
One of, if not the best, horse racing tipsters around from Tipsters Empire.
Cotswold is a tipster that has gone from strength to strength over the years, delivering consistent results and plenty of big winners along the way to…read more
ROI = 15.11%, Profit since launch to £10 stakes = £4579 (457 points), Launched Feb 2020
2. Underdog Racing
Ultra consistent horse racing tipster that has been going since January 2021 and has only had 4 losing months (4 from 27), which means 23 months of profit… Read more
ROI – 37%, UNDERDOG Racing Tips has made £11,286 profit in the last 12 months across 1539 horse racing tips (roughly 30 tips per week), giving an average monthly profit of £938. Launched Jan 2021
3. Chicken Farmer Tips
Not forgetting this Tipster League horse racing tipster service, which is only 2 months old but has started very well. The tipster states he always does well at Cheltenham, so it may pay to try this service out for FREE over the Cheltenham festival this year.
ROI – n/a (less than 3 months of data), Overall Profit Since Launch = around 45-40 points at the time of writing, Launched– Jan 2023, 2 weeks free trial available
A combination of these tipsters could prove very fruitful for you over the festival, but if you don’t want to pay for tips from horse racing tipsters, we also have some resources for you where you can get more free Cheltenham festival tips than you can shake a whip at!
Free Cheltenham Tipsters
There are a number of places you can get free tips, both from us on our socials and our daily free tips page, but also on the following websites.
Tipstrr
Tiptrr enables you to access thousands of tipsters for all sports. It’s free to register and use too; all you need is an email address, and you can access free tips daily for horse racing and Cheltenham.
Cheltenham Festival Survival Guide – Other free tips providers that may be useful to you…
Tipsters Empire – Some of the best horse racing tipsters around
SVB Tips – Tipster of the year 2022 and 2023, continues to impress in 2025
WAP Bets – 100% free tips every day, no card details required, just an email address
Tipsters4U – Free tips weekly and free trials on all the pro tipsters too
Not sure what to do at Cheltenham when it comes to betting?
Why not read our betting guides, ones that you will find useful in particular are:
How to read a racecard – Look at the part of the course and know what you are talking about.
How to pick a winner in horse racing – it’s not easy to pick a winner, but following these steps can improve your chances.
Each-way betting guide – Learn all you need to know about each-way betting on the track.
How does Tote betting work? Tote is available on racecourses across the UK. If you don’t know what it is, this will help.
Horse racing betting guide – An overall good read if you want to have a chance of coming back with some money, as well as a hangover.
Conclusion
We hope this survival kit serves you well during the Cheltenham Festival! If you find this guide helpful, share it with your friends and follow us on social media for up-to-date tips and insights.