2025 Cheltenham Festival's new running order in full: day-by-day guide and how to watch the big-race action
Come March, hundreds of thousands of people will once again descend on Cheltenham for the highlight of the jumps calendar.
Taking place from Tuesday, March 11 to Friday, March 14, the Cheltenham Festival features many of the clashes that racing fans have been waiting all season to see, with 13 Grade 1 races across the four days.
What changes have been made to the Cheltenham Festival?
Back in September the Jockey Club announced a slew of changes to the Cheltenham Festival intended to deliver more competitive action, increased value for money and a better racecourse experience.
There have also been tweaks made to the order and timings of the races on each day. Here are the main changes to be aware of :
- Golden Miller (Turners) Novices' Chase axed and replaced with a 2m4f novice handicap
- National Hunt Chase has changed to a 0-145 novice handicap open to professional jockeys
- The Cross Country Chase is now a limited handicap
- The action runs from 1.20pm-5.20pm (changed from 1.30pm-5.30pm) and the feature race on each day will be run at 4.00pm rather than 3.30pm.
How to watch the Cheltenham Festival
The first six races each day of the 2025 Cheltenham Festival will be broadcast live on ITV's main channel (up from five in previous years), while the entire card will be shown on Racing TV for those with a subscription.
This can be accessed through Sky and Virgin Media, or streamed online. Virgin Media One will be the first port of call for viewers in Ireland.
You can also watch all live races from Cheltenham through the Racing Post app – all you need to do is log in to your bookmaker account and find the eligible races.
Tickets to attend are available through the Jockey Club website for each of the first four days. Single or multi-day tickets, hospitality packages and group bookings are all available.
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Cheltenham Festival day-by-day race schedule
Day one: Tuesday, March 11
1.20: Sky Bet Supreme Novices' Hurdle (Grade 1), 2m, ITV, £150,000
2.00: My Pension Expert Arkle Novices' Chase (Grade 1), 2m, ITV, £200,000
2.40: Ultima Handicap Chase, 3m1f, ITV, £150,000
3.20: Close Brothers Mares' Hurdle (Grade 1), 2m4f, ITV, £120,000
4.00: Unibet Champion Hurdle (Grade 1), 2m, ITV, £450,000
4.40: Fred Winter Juvenile Handicap Hurdle, 2m, ITV, £80,000
5.20: National Hunt Chase (Novices' Handicap) , 3m6f, £100,000
The big race
The Champion Hurdle, run over two miles, headlines the first day’s action, and this year's running is shaping up to be an all-time classic.
After missing the 2024 Cheltenham Festival, the unbeaten Constitution Hill (4-7) is back this year bidding to regain the crown he first won in emphatic style in 2023. Is he as good as he was after suffering a multitude of health problems? His trainer Nicky Henderson believes so, but Constitution Hill is set to face his toughest task yet with three big challengers from Ireland potentially lying in wait.
State Man (8-1) won the Champion Hurdle last year and has landed a magnificent 11 Grade 1s, but he has not been at his best so far this season and has twice been beaten by the Gordon Elliott-trained Brighterdaysahead (11-4), including in blistering style at Leopardstown over Christmas.
Then there is Lossiemouth (5-1), winner of the Mares' Hurdle last year but beaten by Constitution Hill in the Christmas Hurdle on Boxing Day. She must recover from the heavy fall she suffered when taking on State Man at the Dublin Racing Festival, but is unbeaten in three starts at Cheltenham and has had this race as the long-term aim for almost two years. She and Brighterdaysahead also have the option of running in the Mares' Hurdle earlier on the card, but if all four of these superstars line up we will be in for some occasion.
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Day two: Wednesday, March 12
1.20: Turners Novices' Hurdle (Grade 1), 2m5f, ITV, £150,000
2.00: Brown Advisory Novices' Chase (Grade 1), 3m, ITV, £200,000
2.40: Coral Cup Handicap Hurdle, 2m5f, ITV, £100,000
3.20: Glenfarclas Cross Country Limited Handicap Chase, 3m5f, ITV, £75,000
4.00: BetMGM Queen Mother Champion Chase (Grade 1), 2m, ITV, £400,000
4.40: Johnny Henderson Grand Annual Handicap Chase, 2m, ITV, £150,000
5.20: Weatherbys Champion Bumper (Grade 1), 2m, £80,000
The big race
Jonbon (5-6), another Nicky Henderson-trained star, dominates the betting for the two-mile Champion Chase as he seeks a first victory at the Cheltenham Festival.
With a record of 17 wins from 20 starts including nine at Grade 1 level, Jonbon's quality cannot be doubted but he has come up short in the Supreme and Arkle on previous festival visits and missed last year's Champion Chase when Henderson withdrew the majority of his runners.
Dual winner Energumene also missed last year's festival through injury and was soundly beaten by Jonbon in the Clarence House Chase at Ascot in January, although he is still a force to be reckoned with, particularly if the ground is soft.
Arkle winner Gaelic Warrior, 2023 Supreme winner Marine Nationale and French ace Il Est Francais would all be fascinating runners.
Day three: Thursday, March 13
1.20: Ryanair Mares' Novices' Hurdle (Grade 2), 2m1f, ITV, £105,000
2.00: Jack Richards Novices' Handicap Chase, 2m4f, ITV, £125,000
2.40: Pertemps Network Final (Handicap Hurdle), 3m, ITV, £100,000
3.20: Ryanair Chase (Grade 1), 2m4f, ITV, £375,000
4.00: Paddy Power Stayers' Hurdle (Grade 1), 3m, ITV, £325,000
4.40: TrustATrader Plate (Handicap Chase), 2m4f, ITV, £150,000
5.20: Fulke Walwyn Kim Muir Handicap Chase (Sponsored by the JRL Group), 3m2f, £75,000
The big race
Since the turn of the century four horses – Baracouda, Inglis Drever, Big Buck's and Flooring Porter – have won multiple Stayers' Hurdles, and Teahupoo (11-10) will bid to add his name to that illustrious list this year.
Only one bookmaker (Betfair) is brave enough to go odds-against Gordon Elliott's eight-year-old winning this Grade 1 for the second year in a row, with the potential opposition to him plentiful in number but perhaps not in quality.
Home By The Lee (7-1) for Joseph O'Brien is second favourite, but he was comprehensively beaten twice by Teahupoo last spring, while the likes of Lucky Place, The Wallpark, Gowel Road and Langer Dan all are not without chances but will have to improve substantially to dethrone the favourite.
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Day four: Friday, March 14
1.20: JCB Triumph Hurdle (Grade 1), 2m, ITV, £150,000
2.00: William Hill County Handicap Hurdle, 2m, ITV, £100,000
2.40: Mrs Paddy Power Mares' Chase (Grade 2), 2m4f, ITV, £120,000
3.20: Albert Bartlett Novices' Hurdle (Grade 1), 3m, ITV, £150,000
4.00: Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup (Grade 1), 3m2f, ITV, £625,000
4.40: St James's Place Festival Hunters Chase, 3m2f, ITV, £50,000
5.20: Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys' Handicap Hurdle, 2m4f, £75,000
The big race
The big race of the week, the Cheltenham Gold Cup, is the most prestigious prize in jump racing and this year's event could be a historic one with Galopin Des Champs bidding to emulate legends such as Arkle and Best Mate by winning it for a third time.
Trained by the dominant Willie Mullins, Galopin Des Champs has won the Gold Cup in each of the least two years and would be chasing a fifth straight victory at the Cheltenham Festival were it not for an unfortunate final-fence fall when well clear in the Turners Novices' Chase in 2022.
He has looked as good as ever this season with two emphatic victories in the Savills Chase and Irish Gold Cup, and seems to be operating in a league of his own. His dominance could scare some of his opposition, including stablemate and second favourite Fact To File (7-1), away to either the Ryanair or other targets at Aintree.
King George VI Chase winner Banbridge (7-1) is the only other entry priced in single figures.
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