Cheltenham Festival Racing Schedule

Cheltenham National Hunt Festival at Cheltenham Racecourse 2005

A highlight on the calendar of any thoroughbred fan of horseracing is the annual Cheltenham Festival, held at the famous Cheltenham Racecourse in March each year just north of Cheltenham, Gloucestershire.

The festival runs over four days and includes some of the horse racing fraternity’s most prestigious races, such as the Champion Hurdle – the UK’s most renowned hurdle horse race.

Champion Hurdle odds and other horse racing bets are keenly punted throughout the festival. The amount of money bet at the Cheltenham Festival runs into hundreds of millions of pounds, which means your Champion Hurdle odds could turn out to be quite lucrative if things work in your favour. All the anticipation makes for a jolly atmosphere, so much so that the ‘Cheltenham roar’ is a term which has been coined in reference to the deafening noise produced by the crowd as the horses run down the long final straight.

Festival Line-up

The 2008 Cheltenham Festival will be structured as follows:

  • Tuesday 11 March: Champion Hurdle day
  • Wednesday 12 March: Queen Mother Champion Chase day
  • Thursday 13 March: World Hurdle day
  • Friday 14 March: Cheltenham Gold Cup day

The Champion Hurdle event run on the first day of the festival attracts a strong following of horse racing betters and general spectators. The intensity of the festival culminates on the Friday when ticket prices are upped slightly and the venue is packed to absolute capacity for the running of the Cheltenham Gold Cup.

Travel options to and from the racecourse are many and it is conveniently situated in close proximity of the M5 and the Cheltenham Spa Station. Ticketing options range from offerings for the budget conscious right through to premium tickets for discerning fans who are looking for the best possible horse racing experience.

History is known to have a habit of repeating itself at the Cheltenham Festival, which is why many punters are confident of the champion hurdle betting odds working in their favour.

You can get in on the action by placing your bets through William Hill, who we wholeheartedly recommend for horse racing betting.