Cheltenham Festival 2023 Race Cards & Entries

Day one of the Cheltenham festival takes place on the Tuesday and marks the very start of the 4-day long racing spectacle. It is usually referred to as Champions Day due to the main feature race that takes place later in the day.

1. The first race of the day starts is the Supreme Novices Hurdle which takes place at 13:30 (1:30) and always goes off from a loud roar from the crowd known as the ‘Cheltenham Roar’. The race is a Grade 1 National Hunt hurdle race which is open to horses aged 4 years and over. It’s run on the old course over a track of 2 miles and half a furlong.
2. Race 2 of the first day sees the Arkle Challenge Trophy taking place at 14:10 (2:10) and is a Grade 1 National Hunt steeplechase which is only open to horses 5 years or older. The race takes place over a distance of 2 miles and features 13 fences to be jumped.
3. The Festival Trophy Handicap Chase is the first Grade 3 National Hunt steeplechase of the festival and is only open to horses aged 5 and older. It is run on the old course at Cheltenham over a distance of 3 miles and 1 furlong with 20 fences to be jumped on the track.
4. Day 1’s main bumper race is the Champion Hurdle that takes place in the middle of the day at 15:30 (3:30). It is only open to horses aged 4 years or older and is sponsored by Unibet. Run over a distance of 2 miles and half a furlong and features just 8 hurdles to be jumped.
5. As the day continues, we see the David Nicholson Mares’ Hurdle. This Grade 1 National Hunt hurdle races is only open to mares aged 4 or older. Run-on the old course, it takes place over a distance of 2 miles and 4 furlongs. During the race, there are 10 hurdles to be jumped.
6. This National Hunt steeplechase is only open to five years or older. It takes place on the old course at the festival and takes place over 2 miles and 4 and a half furlongs. This handicap race is only open to novices chasers with a handicap of between 0 - 145.
7. The last race on day one is the National Hunt Chase and sees the first day come to a close at 17:30 (5:30). This is the first grade 2 race of the day and is open to amateur riders and horses aged 5 years and older. With a distance of 3 miles and 7 and a half furlongs as well as 25 fences to be jumped, it is also the longest race of the first day at the Cheltenham Festival.

We will be offering Cheltenham Festival Day One Tips over on our specific page, see our bets and reasons why there.

Usually remembered for being Ladies Day, day two of the Cheltenham Festival entertains some extremely interesting races.

Day 2 of the Cheltenham Festival features the Grade one race, the Queen Mother Champion Chase. There are generally fewer entrants in this race, but the quality of the field is insurmountable with the higher quality horses usually taking the lucrative first spot.

1. The opening race on ladies day is the Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle which is an exciting Grade 1 National Hunt Hurdles race open to horses just ages 4 years or older. It is run over a distance of 2 miles and 5 furlongs with a total of 10 hurdles that need to be jumped.
2. Race two of the festival is the RSA Novices Chase is a 3-mile long race open to horses that are five years old or older. This grade 1 national hunt chase takes place on the old course and features 20 fences that competitors will need to overcome.
3. The Coral Cup is a Grade 3 National Hunt hurdle race that is run over a 2 mile and 5-furlong track on the old course at Cheltenham festival. In this handicap race, there are 10 hurdles to deal with for the competitors that are aged 4 and older.
4. Wednesday's bumper race is the Queen Mother Champion Chase that takes place at 15:30 and is a Grade 1 National Hunt steeplechase. It is only open to horses aged 5 or older and is run over a relatively short distance of 2 miles with 13 fences to jump.
5. Following the Queen Mother Chase is the Cross Country Chase which is a National Hunt chase open only to horses 5 years or older. It is run on the cross-country course over an extreme distance of 3 miles and 6 furlongs. In addition to the impressive length, there are 32 obstacles to clear during the event as a whole.
6. The Fred Winter Juvenile Novices’ Hurdle, also known as the Boodles Juvenile Handicap Hurdle takes place on the old course at the Cheltenham Festival. The race is run over a distance of just over 2 miles with a conservative 8 hurdles to jump. It is a handicap race strictly for 4-year-olds in the handicap weight division.
7. Bringing the second day of the Cheltenham to a close is the Champion Bumper. A Grade 1 National Hunt flat race that is only open to horses in the age range of 4 to 6 years old. This is the most prestigious flat race in the National Hunt Calendar. It is run over a distance of 2 miles and half a furlong.

All of our bets for day 2 of the Cheltenham Festival can be found on our specific day 2 tips page.

The penultimate day of the Cheltenham Festival sees another four highly recognised races, but none are as highly-regarded as The Stayers Hurdle. Over thirty horses compete and there’s always likely to be a handful of horses that are favourable among the horse racing betting community.

Thursday at the Festival has two main races along with several other potentially exciting stretches too. The two people I'm most excited about on the day are the Stayers’ Hurdle and the Ryanair Chase.

Favourites, on day 3, traditionally have a great chance of achieving first place in the Stayers’ Hurdle race.

1. Day 3 of Cheltenham kicks off with the Marsh Novices Hurdle a Grade 1 National Hunt open to horses five years or older and is run on the New Course. With 17 fences to be jumped over the distance of 2 miles and 4 furlongs, it’s an exciting spectacle to open the 3rd day.
2. Next up on day 3 is the Pertemps Final Grade 3 National Hunt race that takes place at 14:10. The purse last year was £100,000 and was only open to horses 5 and over. Run over 3 miles on the new course it features 12 hurdles for competitors to deal with along the way.
3. As the day begins to progress, next we see the Ryanair Chase which has been a Grade 1 event since 2008. Again only open to horses 5 years and older this race has an impressive purse of £350,000 up for grabs. During the race, competitors must tackle 17 fences around the 2 miles and 4 and a half furlong track.
4. The featured race of Day three at Cheltenham is the Stayers Hurdle which is the leading long-distance hurdle event in the National Hunt Calendar. With a distance of 3 miles horses that manage to place in this race will get access to the £325,000 purse this race has to offer.
5. The Grade 3 event, the Festival plate, is the next race to take place at the Festival. This event runs on the New Course at Cheltenham features 17 fences and is sponsored by Brown Advisory & Merriebelle Stable for the year 2022.
6. The second to last race of day 3 is the Dawn Run Mares Novices Hurdle ran on the new course at Cheltenham over a distance of 2 miles and 1 furlong featuring just 8 hurdles.
7. Closing out the second to last day is the Fulke Walwyn Kim Muir Challenge Cup. The race features the most hurdles to deal with of the day sporting 21 fences over the distance of 3 miles and 2 furlongs.

We will also be providing tips for day 3 at the Cheltenham Festival on our specific page day 3 tips page.

Concluding the Cheltenham Festival on day four, the highlight is the Cheltenham Gold Cup, which ranks among the UK and Ireland’s biggest and most hotly-contested races. The Cheltenham Gold Cup 2022 betting opens up relatively early, allowing more time for our followers to back any Cheltenham Gold Cup tips we have for the next edition. There aren’t many races more difficult to predict than the Gold Cup, and this is mostly down to the competitive nature as well as so many decorated racehorses taking part. We use the same level of research, statistics, and reasoning to pick our Cheltenham Gold Cup tips in order to identify the winner, as well as any horses that we see as being capable of finishing each-way.

1. Opening the final day of the festival is the Triumph Hurdle race going off at 1:30 as usual with the opening race each day. It is a relatively short race at 2 miles and 1 furlong during which there are a total of 8 hurdles to deal with.
2. Another short race at just over 2 miles is the County Hurdle that is just available for horses 5 and older. Again like the previous race, there are 8 hurdles on the track. This race hasn’t been won by one horse more than once since 1946.
3. As the day goes on, Grade 1 horses aged 4 and over will step up for the Albert Bartlett Novices Hurdle. Featuring 12 hurdles over a distance of around 3 miles the race is only open to novice hurdlers.
4. The Cheltenham Gold Cup is the main featured event at the festival. With a purse of £625,000 and the stigma surrounding it, it’s the race trainers, jockeys & owners all want to win. This steeplechase open to horses 5 years and older is run over the distance of 3 miles and 2 and a half furlongs. There are 22 fences to be jumped.
5. Next up is the Foxhunters Chase which is a chase event open only to amateur riders on horses 5 and older. It is run on the exact same course as the Gold Cup meaning there are also 22 fences over the distance.
6. The Grand Annual Chase is the next race for Grade 3 rated National Hunt steeplechase horses. With 14 fences over a distance just over 2 miles this handicap race is only open to horses 5 years or older.
7. The very final race of the Cheltenham Festival is the Martin Pipe Hurdle Jockeys race only open to horses aged 4 or older. It is a handicap race that trainer Willie Mullins has seen a fair amount of success in over the past 10 years.