Global Social SeasonWhere the world gathers ★
Cheltenham Festival

Equestrian · National Hunt racing · Cheltenham

Cheltenham Festival

Confirmed · Cheltenham Racecourse, Prestbury Park

Four days of championship jump racing at Prestbury Park in mid-March, and the loudest crowd in British sport.

An event page tells you when it happens (with how sure we are of the date), why it matters, how the week around it feels, when to arrive and leave, where people stay, how access works, and which events come before and after it on the circuit.

Dates ConfirmedThe Jockey Club publishes the 2027 Festival as 16–19 March 2027 on its Cheltenham pages.
DestinationCheltenham, United Kingdom · Cheltenham Racecourse, Prestbury Park
CategoryEquestrian · National Hunt racing
Importance59 Notable · Circuit Score, editorial and provisional
International drawInternational
AccessTicketed
Typical stay2–5 nights
Best arrivalMonday
Best departureSaturday
Typical timingfour days, Tuesday to Friday, in the middle of March, usually the week of St Patrick's Day
OrganizerThe Jockey Club (Cheltenham Racecourse) · since 1860
Official sitewww.thejockeyclub.co.uk/cheltenham-festival/ ↗
CalendarAdd to calendar (ICS) · Plan a trip around it
Champion Hurdle, Cheltenham Festival The 2010 Cheltenham Festival Cheltenham Festival 2010

Cheltenham is where National Hunt racing settles its arguments. Four days in the middle of March, on an undulating course under Cleeve Hill in Gloucestershire, decide the season's championships: the Champion Hurdle, the Queen Mother Champion Chase, the Stayers' Hurdle and the Cheltenham Gold Cup.

Attendance runs above 220,000 across the four days. The meeting's defining sound is the Cheltenham roar when the tape rises on Tuesday's opening race, and what gives it force is the Irish presence: much of the crowd has crossed the sea for it.

01Why it matters

This is the championship meeting of jump racing, the branch of the sport with the deepest hold on Britain and Ireland. In our reading its importance is social as much as sporting: no other British meeting has a genuinely bi-national crowd.

02The week around it

Cheltenham, a Regency spa town of 116,000, absorbs a crowd larger than itself: hotels across Gloucestershire and into the Cotswolds are taken at multi-night minimums, and shuttle buses link town and course all day.

03When to arrive

Tuesday and Friday matter most and are hardest to get into; arrive Monday evening and leave Saturday morning.

04Where to stay

Cheltenham town center is the obvious choice, a forty-minute walk or short shuttle from the course; the Cotswold villages give you a better week if you have a car.

05Access and hospitality

The Jockey Club sells enclosure admission across the four days — Best Mate, Tattersalls and Club — plus restaurants, boxes and packages, with annual badge schemes carrying priority. Demand exceeds supply for Tuesday and Friday.

06Where the social activity happens

The Guinness Village on course is the meeting's genuine center; beyond it, the Parade Ring lawn and the terraces above the finish. In town, the Montpellier bars and the Promenade hotels.

07Getting there

Commercial aviationBirmingham and Bristol are each about an hour by road.
RailCheltenham Spa from Paddington in about two and a quarter hours, with shuttle buses to the course.
CarM5 junction 10 or 11; car parks are sold in advance.
Private aviationGloucestershire Airport at Staverton, five miles away.
HelicopterThe racecourse operates a helicopter landing area, among the busiest in British racing.

08Practicalities

DressCheltenham is a country meeting in March and dresses like one: there is no formal dress code in the general enclosures, and the convention is tweed, a wool overcoat and boots that handle mud. The Club enclosure and hospitality areas apply a smarter standard with denim restricted, and hats are optional throughout.
WeatherMid-March in Gloucestershire is cold, often wet and frequently windy; the course sits under Cleeve Hill and is exposed, and going can change dramatically across the four days.
Getting aroundRail to Cheltenham Spa with a shuttle bus is the most reliable route; departure after the Gold Cup is the worst hour of the week on the roads.
HotelsThe tightest hotel market in British racing outside Royal Ascot week, with rooms held a year ahead.
RestaurantsThe racecourse runs a large restaurant and box programme sold as hospitality; the town's better restaurants book months ahead.
Reservation timingTickets go on general sale in the autumn, with badge holders given earlier access; hotels near the course are booked a year out.
TicketsDay tickets by enclosure plus four-day packages are sold through the Cheltenham Racecourse site and a ticket line; under-18s are admitted free with a paying adult, and parking is sold separately.
HospitalityRestaurants, private boxes and packaged experiences are sold directly with published inclusions; the annual badge schemes carry priority access, though they are open to anyone who joins.

09History

The meeting traces to 1860 and the National Hunt Chase, which settled at Prestbury Park from 1911. The championship races followed: the Stayers' Hurdle in 1912, the Gold Cup in 1924, the Champion Hurdle in 1927, the Queen Mother Champion Chase in 1959. It grew to four days in 2005.

10Who is there

Owners, trainers and stable staff from the British and Irish jumping yards; a very large Irish travelling public; the betting industry and professional punters; and a devoted racing public.

The circuit continues

WellingtonWinter Equestrian FestivalJan 6 – Mar 28, 2027 St Moritz, winter evening, with frozen Lake St, White Turf St. Moritz St. MoritzWhite Turf St. MoritzFeb 7, 2027 CheltenhamCheltenham FestivalMar 16–19, 2027Here Al Tayer Motors | 2014 Dubai World Cup DubaiDubai World CupMar 27, 2027 Paul Tapner and Inonothing, the winning combination at Badminton Horse Trials 2010, at The Lake during the cross-country, MARS Badminton Horse Trials BadmintonMARS Badminton Horse TrialsMay 5–9, 2027

Part of: Equestrian Circuit

Dates on record

EditionDatesStatusSourceVerified
2027 ConfirmedThe Jockey Club publishes the 2027 Festival as 16–19 March 2027 on its Cheltenham pages. Cheltenham Festival 2027 — The Jockey Club ↗ 6 September 2026
2026 CompletedThe 2026 Festival ran Tuesday 10 to Friday 13 March, with the Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup at 4 p.m. on the Friday. Wikipedia records attendance of 226,223 across the four days, up from 218,093 in 2025. Cheltenham Festival 2026 — The Jockey Club ↗ 6 September 2026
Confirmed means the organizer or governing body has published the dates. Expected and Historical pattern are estimates from the event’s usual timing and can move. Date pending means nothing reliable can be said yet.

Related events

Photograph of the Stand at Ascot Racecourse, Berkshire, England, Royal Ascot Ascot Royal Ascot Jun 15–19, 2027 Jaguar Style Stakes | Dubai World Cup 2012 Dubai Dubai World Cup Mar 27, 2027 Goodwood Racecourse, West Sussex, England, Qatar Goodwood Festival Goodwood Qatar Goodwood Festival Jul 27–31, 2027 012 Epsom Derby Day 2015 - Investec Private Banking Stakes - field at Tattenham corner Epsom Derby, The Derby Epsom The Derby Jun 4–5, 2027 Jeanette Brakewell and Major Buck (Irish Sport Horse [1]) at The Lake during the cross-country phase of Badminton Horse, MARS Badminton Horse Trials Badminton MARS Badminton Horse Trials May 5–9, 2027

In the press

All news →

Sources

  1. Cheltenham Festival 2027, The Jockey Club official accessed 6 September 2026
  2. Cheltenham Festival 2026 — tickets and information, The Jockey Club official accessed 6 September 2026
  3. Cheltenham Festival, Wikipedia encyclopedia accessed 6 September 2026
Last verified: 10 September 2026 · Confidence: HighReport an error on this page