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Cheltenham Festival

Équestre · National Hunt racing · Cheltenham

Cheltenham Festival

Confirmé · Cheltenham Racecourse, Prestbury Park

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

Une page d'événement vous indique quand il a lieu (avec le niveau de certitude sur la date), pourquoi il est important, quelle est l'atmosphère de la semaine qui l'entoure, quand arriver et repartir, où les participants séjournent, comment l'accès fonctionne, et quels événements le précèdent et le suivent sur le circuit.

Dates ConfirméThe Jockey Club publishes the 2027 Festival as 16–19 March 2027 on its Cheltenham pages.
DestinationCheltenham, United Kingdom · Cheltenham Racecourse, Prestbury Park
CatégorieÉquestre · National Hunt racing
Rayonnement internationalInternational
AccèsPayant
Séjour type2–5 nights
Meilleure arrivéeMonday
Meilleur départSaturday
Calendrier habituelfour days, Tuesday to Friday, in the middle of March, usually the week of St Patrick's Day
OrganisateurThe Jockey Club (Cheltenham Racecourse) · depuis 1860
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.

01Pourquoi c'est important

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.

02La semaine environnante

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.

03Quand arriver

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

04Où séjourner

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.

05Accès et hospitalité

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.

06Où se déroule l'activité sociale

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.

07Comment s'y rendre

Aviation commercialeBirmingham 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.
VoitureM5 junction 10 or 11; car parks are sold in advance.
Aviation privéeGloucestershire Airport at Staverton, five miles away.
HélicoptèreThe racecourse operates a helicopter landing area, among the busiest in British racing.

08Informations pratiques

Tenue vestimentaireCheltenham 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.
MétéoMid-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.
Se déplacerRail 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.
HôtelsThe 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.
Délais de réservationTickets go on general sale in the autumn, with badge holders given earlier access; hotels near the course are booked a year out.
BilletsDay 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.
HospitalitéRestaurants, 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.

09Historique

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.

10Qui s'y trouve

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.

Le circuit se poursuit

Fait partie de: Equestrian Circuit

Dates enregistrées

ÉditionDatesStatutSourceVérifié
2027 ConfirméThe 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 TerminéThe 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
Confirmé signifie que l'organisateur ou l'instance dirigeante a publié les dates. Attendu et Récurrence historique sont des estimations fondées sur le calendrier habituel de l'événement et peuvent évoluer. Date en attente signifie qu'aucune information fiable n'est encore disponible.

Événements associés

Sources

  1. Cheltenham Festival 2027, The Jockey Club official consulté 6 September 2026
  2. Cheltenham Festival 2026 — tickets and information, The Jockey Club official consulté 6 September 2026
  3. Cheltenham Festival, Wikipedia encyclopedia consulté 6 September 2026
Dernière vérification: 10 September 2026 · Confiance: ÉlevéSignaler une erreur sur cette page