ITV Racing to show six races on each day of 2025 Cheltenham Festival - plus new running order revealed

Terrestrial television viewers will be treated to an extra four races at this season's Cheltenham Festival, with ITV Racing set to show six races each day in March.

The move means ITV will show 24 of the 28 races across the meeting, with the Fred Winter (Tuesday), Grand Annual (Wednesday), Plate (Thursday) and Hunter Chase (Friday) now the final contests to be shown throughout the four days.

Timings have also been tweaked, meaning the feature contests on each day – the Champion Hurdle, Champion Chase, Stayers' Hurdle and the Gold Cup – will be run as the fifth race rather than the fourth at 4pm. The meeting will also start ten minutes earlier, with the first race off at 1.20pm.

The Cheltenham Festival: the feature race will be run at 4pm each dayCredit: Michael Steele (Getty Images)

2025 Cheltenham Festival running order

Tuesday, March 11 (Old course)

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

Wednesday, March 12 (Old course)

1.20: Turners Novices' Hurdle (Grade 1), 2m5f, ITV, £150,000
2.00: Brown Advisory Novices' Chase, 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

Thursday, March 13 (New course)

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

Friday, March 14 (New course)

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 Place Festival Hunter Chase, 3m2f, ITV, £50,000
5.20: Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys' Handicap Hurdle, 2m4f, £75,000

ITV Racing editor Richard Willoughby said: "Terrestrial viewers will be delighted that ITV Racing are able to show an additional race each day of the festival in 2025.

"This means we'll be showing 24 live races across the week and be on air for more than four hours every day, as well as broadcasting our extended 90-minute Opening Show each morning."

Prize-money has also been boosted, with the two Grade 1 novice chases, the Arkle and Brown Advisory, boosted by £25,000 to £200,000. All of the meeting's handicap chases have also received the same cash injection, rising to £150,000.

Ian Renton, the Jockey Club's managing director for the racecourse, said: "The publication of the order of running follows on from the changes announced last month and sees the feature race now taking place later in the card each day, allowing the sense of excitement and anticipation to build through the afternoon."

The announcement comes after a raft of changes were made to this season's meeting, including the abolition of the Turners Novices' Chase.

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