New Cheltenham Festival Schedule For 2026 – Here Are All The Changes

Once again, as we head into the new jumps season, changes are afoot. It seems like the powers that be simply cannot leave things alone, and in particular, the 2026 Cheltenham Festival is undergoing yet another series of alterations to the schedule.

Understandably, sponsors change from year to year, and occasionally a race gets bumped up in class. However, the constant tinkering with the four-day festival, which is becoming a regular annual event, often causes more angst than support.

This time around, the changes have been designed to reflect The Jockey Club’s effort to refine race balance, improve spectator experience, and enhance coverage for each of the four days.

By all accounts, they are part of a broader evolution of the Festival to ensure that the programme remains both competitive and commercially strong.​

Why the Changes Are Happening

The adjustments for 2026 arise from two main factors: improving attendance and giving key races greater individuality.

In 2025, the Jockey Club announced modified race timings to fit expanded television coverage and manage fan experience more effectively.

Despite a positive reception, attendance continued to taper slightly, particularly midweek, prompting Cheltenham’s new chief executive, Guy Lavender, to reassess the Festival’s layout and daily offerings.​

I’m going to go out on a limb here and suggest that charging £7.50 for a pint of Guinness (following a 30p price reduction) at Cheltenham Racecourse doesn’t help with the attendance figures! But I digress…

Jon Pullin, Clerk of the Course, confirmed that 2026 involves limited but meaningful changes to create “a more balanced programme across all four days.”

This includes moving the Close Brothers Mares’ Hurdle from Tuesday to Thursday, giving it greater prominence, while the TrustATrader Plate Handicap returns to Day One.

The idea is to ensure that each day of the Festival now has at least three Grade One races, creating a stronger headline lineup across the week.​

Champion Day (Tuesday, March 10, 2026)

Champion Day retains much of its traditional structure on the Old Course, with the Unibet Champion Hurdle at 4:00pm as the feature contest.

The key difference for 2026 is the addition of the TrustATrader Plate Handicap Chase as the penultimate race, having moved from Thursday. This fills the slot vacated by the Mares’ Hurdle, contributing a more handicap-heavy finale to Day One.​

The shift means Day One now features two major handicaps alongside three Grade One races, appealing to racing fans who favour big fields and unpredictable outcomes. That applies to everyone who follows the action, so whether you keep up via sports media and social channels or explore online casinos for general entertainment and brand content, the excitement remains the same.

New 2026 Champion Day Schedule

Ladies Day (Wednesday, March 11, 2026)

Ladies Day holds steady on the Old Course, but the order of races has been carefully adjusted to maintain pacing and narrative.

The Queen Mother Champion Chase remains at 4:00pm, with the ever-popular Glenfarclas Cross Country Chase at 3:20pm.

This day now benefits from reduced field sizes in high-traffic races such as the Coral Cup, where the maximum number of runners has been reduced to just 24.

The changes aim to improve jump safety, flow, and race starts, which have become key goals for Cheltenham after past delays due to false starts.​

New 2026 Ladies Day Schedule

St Patrick’s Thursday (Thursday, March 12, 2026)

The headline change of the 2026 Festival occurs on St Patrick’s Thursday. The Close Brothers Mares’ Hurdle moves from Tuesday to this day, now run over a slightly longer distance on the New Course (2m 4f 56y).

Up to and including 2025, when Lossiemouth won for Willie Mullins, this race was 2 miles and 4 furlongs, so 56 yards have been added to the distance.

The Ryanair Chase shifts back to a 4:00pm start, following the Stayers’ Hurdle at 3:20pm, essentially flipping the order from previous years when the Ryanair was run first.

The rationale is to give the Mares’ Hurdle a standalone platform away from the Champion Hurdle, boosting its prestige and media coverage.

This revision ensures each day carries at least three elite-level contests, balancing the competitive depth of the entire week.​

New 2026 St Patrick’s Thursday Schedule

Gold Cup Day (Friday, March 13, 2026)

Gold Cup Day remains substantially unchanged, with the Boodles-sponsored Cheltenham Gold Cup at 4:00pm as the final feature. The earlier races are set to follow their established rhythm, including the Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle and the Triumph Hurdle.

The field size cap for the County Hurdle will fall to 24 (was previously 26), supporting improved safety and smoother starts. Honestly, I’m not sure what difference that will make, given that last season only 16 ran in the race anyway.

That said, it’s another tweak and a reduced field, which should make things safer for all participants.

New 2026 Gold Cup Day Schedule

When Schedules Have Changed Before

Cheltenham’s race distribution has evolved several times across its history. The Festival expanded from three to four days in 2005, a major move that allowed each feature race – Champion Hurdle, Queen Mother Champion Chase, Stayers’ Hurdle, and Gold Cup – to headline its own day.​

More minor changes since then, like the introduction of the Mares’ Hurdle in 2008 and the creation of new novice races, have generally strengthened the Festival’s reputation and diversity.

The current 2026 reshuffle recalls those earlier refinements, reflecting the same philosophy: keeping the event attractive to a wide audience without disturbing its core traditions.​

In short, while the 2026 schedule brings only moderate adjustments, they represent a continued balancing act between modernising the Festival while protecting what makes it the pinnacle of National Hunt racing.