Less than a month is left until the famous Cheltenham roar announces the start of the very first race of this year’s festival. One of the two largest and most important National Hunt events in the United Kingdom and horse racing world at large, it holds a central place not only in British sports, but cultural life as well.
Cheltenham Festival takes place every year in the third week of March and brings together some of the best horses, jockeys, and a motley crowd of spectators. This year Prestbury Park where the Cheltenham Racecourse is located will open its gates on Tuesday, 11 March and host the Festival until Friday, 14 March.
In 2024, average attendance during four days was registered at 65,000, with this number increasing to 71,500 on the Gold Cup Day. The prize pool at Cheltenham Festival is the second largest in the country after the Grand National. At the same time, amounts spent on betting during the festival week could reach six figures.
Cheltenham Festival 2025 at a Glance
Start: Tuesday, 11 March 2025
Finish: Friday, 14 March 2025
Venue: Cheltenham Course, Prestbury Park, Cheltehnham, Gloucestershire
Number of races: 28
Number of hurdles: 13
Number of chases: 13
Other races: 1 bumper, 1 cross country
Number of Grade 1 races: 13
Number of championships: 4
Prize: varies per championship
History of the Cheltenham Festival
The very first Cheltenham Festival race wasn’t actually conducted in Cheltenham. Dating back to 1860, it took place at Market Harborough in Leicestershire. The next year, in 1861, it was moved to Cheltenham, but changed location in 1862 again.
The Festival kept moving around for several decades, returning to Cheltenham every now and then, until it was permanently established in Cheltenham.
Out of the four championships that are conducted annually at the Cheltenham Course during the third week of March, the Stayers’ Hurdle is the oldest. During its inaugural run in 1912 the prize money was £100. The Gold Cup, which is probably the most prestigious race of both the Cheltenham Festival and the Cheltenham Racecourse in general, was launched in 1924.
In its early days, the Cheltenham Festival lasted for three days and included a total of 18 races, six per day. In 2005 the event was prolonged to run for four days and host 28 races, or seven per day.
Cheltenham Festival 2025 Format
Following the modern programme of the Festival, this year’s events will take place over the course of four days:
- 11 March – Champion Day
- 12 March – Style Wednesday
- 13 March – St. Patrick’s Thursday
- 14 March – Gold Cup Day
The on-course events include several Grade 1 races, including 4 championships, to give all National Hunt racing lovers plenty of entertainment.
The schedule for the Grade 1 events, not including four championships, runs as follows:
| Date | Race | Distance | Prize Money |
| 11 March | Supreme Novices’ Hurdle | 2m 87y | £132,800 |
| 11 March | Arkle Challenge Trophy | 1m 7f 199y | £172,148 |
| 11 March | Close Brothers Mares’ Hurdle | 2m 3f 200y | £118,044 |
| 12 March | Novices’ Hurdle Race | 2m 5f | £132,530 |
| 12 March | Brown Advisory Novices’ Steeple Chase | 3m 110y | £176,631 |
| 12 March | Weatherbys Champion Bumper | 2m 87y | £78,696 |
| 13 March | Ryanair Steeple Chase | 2m 4f 127y | £381,000 |
| 14 March | JCB Triumph Hurdle | 2m 179y | £132,800 |
| 14 March | Spa Novices’ Hurdle | 2m 7f 213y | £132,800 |
Four championship races are distributed throughout the Festival week:
| Date | Race | Distance | Grade | Prize Money |
| 11 March | The Champion Hurdle | 2m 87y | Grade 1 | £458,158 |
| 12 March | Queen Mother Champion Chase | 1m 7f 199y | Grade 1 | £389,480 |
| 13 March | The Stayers’ Hurdle | 2m 7f 213y | Grade 1 | £319,703 |
| 14 March | The Cheltenham Gold Cup | 3m 2f 70y | Grade 1 | £614,813 |
Off the course, guests can enjoy live music of various genres and an exclusive dining experience in several restaurants operating at the venue.
The Champion Hurdle
Day: Champion Day (first day of the Festival)
Distance: 2m 87y (3,298 metres)
Horses allowed: four years and older
Racecourse: Old Course
Number of obstacles: 8 hurdles
The opening championship of the Festival, the Championship Hurdle is a left-handed course that was conducted for the first time in 1927. The horse to go down in history as the inaugural winner who won £365 was Blaris. The race was cancelled and renewed several times throughout its history, first in 1931, then during World War II in 1943-1944, and once again as late as 2001.
While today it is one of the most prestigious races of the Cheltenham Festival, this reputation was earned over time. Back in 1932, there were only three horses participating in the race, the lowest number the Champion Hurdle had seen.
Queen Mother Champion Chase
Day: Style Wednesday (second day of the Festival)
Distance: 1m 7f 199y (3,199 metres)
Horses allowed: five years and older
Racecourse: Old Course
Number of obstacles: 13 fences
Otherwise known as Ladies’ Day, Style Wednesday hosts another left-handed race on the Old Course, known as the Queen Mother Champion Chase. Compared to other races, it was established later, in 1959, and until 1980 was known as National Hunt Two-Mile Champion Chase. The very first winner of the race was Quita Que.
Often considered as the toughest minimum-distance chase run in the UK and Ireland, this steeplechase got its name after Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon, the wife of King George VI and mother of Elizabeth II. Queen Mother was a well-known jump racing enthusiast and supporter. The race was renamed on her 80th birthday to commemorate her support.
The Stayers’ Hurdle
Day: St. Patrick’s Thursday (third day of the Festival)
Distance: 2m 7f 213y (4,785 metres)
Horses allowed: four years and older
Racecourse: New Course
Number of obstacles: 12 hurdles
First run in 1912, it was dropped from the Festival programme and renewed as many as nine times, the latest occurring in 2001, when most major races were conducted elsewhere due to the foot-and-mouth disease outbreak.
While the bottom age limit for the horses to participate in the Stayers’ Hurdle is four years old, so far only two horses of that age managed to win the race. The first horse to do so was Icy Kiss in 1932. Fobdown repeated this success in 1934. Almost a hundred years later, no 4 year old horse has been able to finish the Stayers’ Hurdle in the first place.
The Cheltenham Gold Cup
Day: Gold Cup Day (fourth day of the Festival)
Distance: 3m 2f 70y (5,294 metres)
Horses allowed: five years and older
Racecourse: New Course
Number of obstacles: 22 fences
The culmination of the Cheltenham Festival, the Gold Cup is one of the most prestigious races in the horse racing world, but also one of the most challenging ones. Interestingly, it started out in 1819 as a flat race. Later in 1924 it was reinvented as a jump race under the same name. History still carries the names of both winners, Spectre (1819) and Red Splash (1924).
From 1932 to 1936 the Gold Cup saw the rise of its most successful horse. Golden Miller won the race in all these five years, something no other horse has done after that. The closest anyone could get to repeating this success was three consecutive wins, achieved by Cottage Rake (1948-1950), Arkle (1964-1966), and Best Mate (2002-2004).
Cheltenham Festival 2025: Best Horses
The Cheltenham Festival mostly attracts horses from Britain and Ireland, however French horses are often seen among the contenders.
At the latest acceptor stage, four horses have been withdrawn from the competition: Embassy Gardens, Gerri Colombe, Il Est Francais, and Minella Cocooner.
Like any other competition, this year’s Cheltenham Festival has some favourites for the Gold Cup and other races. Let’s take a look at fifteen best horses to take part in the Cheltenham Festival 2025.
Galopin Des Champs
Sex: gelding
Colour: bay
Age: 9 years old
Country: France
Trainer: Willie Mullins
The ruling champion Galopin Des Champs is coming back to the race in a clear attempt to win the Gold Cup for the third time in a row. If he achieves this milestone, he will be joining the ranks of Cottage Rake, Arkle, and Best Mate. His latest run was at the Irish Gold Cup Chase in Leopardstown, which he finished in first position.
Fact To File
Sex: gelding
Colour: bay
Age: 8 years old
Country: France
Trainer: Willie Mullins
Fact to File has two very impressive wins in his recent history that make him a serious rival to the current favourite Galopin Des Champs. Last year, this French gelding won the Brown Advisory Novices’ Steeple Chase at the Cheltenham Festival 2024. In November same year he participated in the John Durkan Memorial Punchestown Chase in Ireland and took home the champion title.
Banbridge
Sex: gelding
Colour: chestnut
Age: 8 years old
Country: Ireland
Trainer: Joseph O’Brien
Banbridge will enter this year’s Gold Cup championship with a solid claim for the title. Last Boxing Day he participated in the 3 miles King George VI Chase at Kempton Park and won it. Now everyone is waiting to see if he can translate this success into another one at the Gold Cup.
Corbetts Cross
Sex: gelding
Colour: chestnut
Age: 8 years old
Country: Ireland
Trainer: Emmet Mullins
He may have been second in the Ascot Chase on 15 February 2025, but many believe The Gold Cup run could be more suitable for him, giving Corbetts Cross a shot at victory.
Grangeclare West
Sex: gelding
Colour: bay
Age: 9 years old
Country: Ireland
Trainer: Willie Mullins
Grangeclare West may still be finding his footing in races beyond the novice level, but the latest impressive second place in the Irish Gold Cup speaks of huge potential.
Monty’s Star
Sex: gelding
Colour: bay
Age: 8 years old
Country: Ireland
Trainer: Henry De Bromhead
Having finished second in the last season’s Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase at Cheltenham and fifth in the 2025 Irish Gold Cup, Monty’s Star isn’t considered a direct contender for the champion title this season. However, he may still very well get a winning position.
L’Homme Presse
Sex: gelding
Colour: bay
Age: 10 years old
Country: France
Trainer: Venetia Williams
L’Homme Presse took a laudable fourth place in the last season’s Gold Cup at Cheltenham. In January this year he won the Cotswold Chase at Cheltenham Racecourse, but pulled up in Ascot Chace later in February.
Grey Dawning
Sex: gelding
Colour: grey
Age: 7 years old
Country: Ireland
Trainer: Dan Skelton
Last year Grey Dawning was the first to cross the finish line in the Turners Novices’ Chase at Cheltenham, later adding a commendable third place in the Close Brothers Manifesto Novices’ Chase at Aintree to the list of his accomplishments. However, in the latest King George VI Chase he was pulled up.
Jungle Boogie
Sex: gelding
Colour: bay
Age: 10 years old
Country: Ireland
Trainer: Henry De Bromhead
Last year was Jungle Boogie’s first run at the Cheltenham Festival, that’s why finishing sixth was considered pretty impressive. His latest race was Howden Graduation Chase at Ascot that brought him the champion title.
Gentlemansgame
Sex: gelding
Colour: grey
Age: 9 years old
Country: Great Britain
Trainer: Mouse Morris
Gentlemansgame tends to do better in smaller chases but still has to achieve more stable results in the bigger ones. His latest run at the Cheltenham Racecourse was Cotswold Chase, where he ended third.
The Real Whacker
Sex: gelding
Colour: bay
Age: 8 years old
Country: Ireland
Trainer: Patrick Neville
In 2023 The Real Whacker took home a champion title from the Cheltenham Festival when he won the Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase. However, he had to pull up in the 2024 Gold Cup Chase.
Hewick
Sex: gelding
Colour: bay
Age: 10 years old
Country: Ireland
Trainer: Tara Lee Cogan
Hewick made waves when he won the King George VI Chase at Kempton Park in 2023. However, the highest position he managed to achieve afterwards was two second places: the French Grande Course de Haies D’Auteuil Hurdle in May and Champion Chase at Down Royal in November 2024.
Royale Pagaille
Sex: gelding
Colour: bay
Age: 11 years old
Country: France
Trainer: Venetia Williams
It seems like the ground of Haydock Park gives Royale Pagaille some inner power, as he tends to do very well at this racecourse. At Cheltenham, however, he is still to show some improvement, as the highest he has made so far was fifth place in 2022.
Ahoy Senor
Sex: gelding
Colour: bay
Age: 10 years old
Country: Ireland
Trainer: Lucinda Russel
Ahoy Senor’s record at Cheltenham ranges all the way from second place in the 2022 Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase in his debut appearance to first place at Cotswold Chase in 2023 and falling in the Gold Cup just a month later.
Conflated
Sex: gelding
Colour: bay
Age: 11 years old
Country: Ireland
Trainer: Gordon Elliott
Now in the seventh year of his racing experience, Conflated has shown some spectacular results throughout his career. At 11 years old, he is considered a veteran whose prime years are past him and is not seen as a direct contender for the championship.
If you are interested in the odds or would like to place a bet on a Cheltenham Festival race, 7bet offers a variety of picks on major horse races. Note that the odds are always being updated, so make sure to check the latest odds before placing a bet.
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