CHELTENHAM 2025: CHANGES TO FESTIVAL RACES, SCHEDULE & MORE

Festival Fans
October 30, 2024

The 2025 Cheltenham Festival is set to undergo significant changes aimed at enhancing the quality of racing and the overall experience for fans.

These updates come after an extensive review, prompted by an 18% drop in attendance over the past two years.

The wide-ranging package of measures include changes to the racing programme as well as upgrades to racecourse facilities.

According to Cheltenham's organisers, The Jockey Club, these changes will provide:

‘MORE COMPETITIVE RACING AND A BETTER EXPERIENCE AND VALUE FOR ALL VISITORS TO THE HOME OF JUMP RACING’

2025 FESTIVAL PROGRAMME

Race timings have been adjusted, with the feature contest on each day now running as the fifth race (previously the fourth) at 4pm.

Each day will start ten minutes earlier, with the first race off at 1:20pm and the last at 5:20pm.

ITV viewers can look forward to an additional four races being televised during the 2025 Festival, bringing the total to six each day.

This means that 24 of the 28 Festival races will now be aired on terrestrial TV, with four hours of live coverage daily.

2025 FESTIVAL RUNNING ORDER

Tuesday, March 11

1.20: Supreme Novices' Hurdle, ITV
2.00: Arkle Novices' Chase, ITV
2.40: Ultima Chase, ITV
3.20: Close Brothers Mares' Hurdle, ITV
4.00: Champion Hurdle, ITV
4.40: Fred Winter Hurdle, ITV
5.20: National Hunt Chase

Wednesday, March 12

1.20: Turners Novices' Hurdle, ITV
2.00: Brown Advisory Novices' Chase, ITV
2.40: Coral Cup Hurdle, ITV
3.20: Cross Country Chase, ITV
4.00: Queen Mother Champion Chase, ITV
4.40: Grand Annual Chase, ITV
5.20: Champion Bumper

Thursday, March 13

1.20: Ryanair Mares' Novices' Hurdle, ITV
2.00: Jack Richards Novices' Chase, ITV
2.40: Pertemps Network Final Hurdle, ITV
3.20: Ryanair Chase, ITV
4.00: Stayers' Hurdle, ITV
4.40: Trustatrader Plate Chase, ITV
5.20: Fulke Walwyn Kim Muir Chase

Friday, March 14

1.20: Triumph Hurdle, ITV
2.00: County Handicap Hurdle, ITV
2.40: Mares' Chase, ITV
3.20: Albert Bartlett Novices' Hurdle, ITV
4.00: Cheltenham Gold Cup, ITV
4.40: Festival Hunter Chase, ITV
5.20: Martin Pipe Hurdle

FESTIVAL RACES

In an attempt to increase interest and field sizes, conditions for five Festival races will be altered from 2025, including three additional handicaps and new requirements for horses running in non-novice handicaps.

The changes announced are:

  • The Grade One Turners Novices’ Chase will be replaced by a Grade Two novice handicap chase: the Jack Richards Novices' Handicap Chase.
  • Professional jockeys will now be allowed to ride in the National Hunt Chase, which had previously been only for amateurs. It becomes a novice handicap for horses with an official rating up to 145.
  • The Cross Country Chase will revert to being a handicap race.
  • Race conditions for the Ryanair Mares’ Novices Hurdle will be changed to remove the penalty structure, resulting in a level weights contest.
  • Any winner of a series qualifier will be guaranteed a run in the Pertemps Final Handicap Hurdle, if they meet the weights requirement at the declaration stage.
  • Horses must have run four times in chases (from three) and five in hurdles (was four) to be eligible for non-novice handicaps.
  • Prize money will increase over the four days by £115,000, taking the total on offer to £4.93m in 2015.

The replacement of the Turners has been welcomed by many, aiming to guide the best novice chasers toward either the Arkle over two miles or the Brown Advisory over three miles.

Last season, only six runners participated in the Brown Advisory Novices' Chase.

Cheltenham clerk of the course Jon Pullin said:

‘IT IS HOPED THAT BY CREATING TWO NOVICE HANDICAP CHASES, WE WILL HAVE TWO COMPETITIVE RACES WITH LARGE FIELDS AND ENCOURAGE THE TOP NOVICE CHASERS OF THE SEASON TO GO DOWN THE GRADED ROUTE’

The requirement for unexposed horses to have run at least four times over fences or five over hurdles before entering non-novice handicaps is another significant change.

This adjustment, dubbed the 'State Man rule', would have prevented Willie Mullins' State Man from competing in the 2022 County Hurdle, as he had only run twice prior.

State Man went into the contest as a massively unexposed runner, albeit with a big reputation. Sent off 11/4 favourite, he made a mockery of his 141 rating.

Ruby Walsh, the most successful jockey of all time at the Festival, was one of those consulted about the race changes:

‘THE IDEA OF A HANDICAP IS TO GIVE EVERYONE A LEVEL CHANCE, BUT UNFORTUNATELY WHEN YOU HAVE LIMITED INFORMATION IT IS VERY HARD TO PUT THE CORRECT MARK ON SOME HORSES’
‘BY INCREASING THE NUMBER OF RUNS REQUIREMENT, HOPEFULLY YOU WILL HAVE MORE OF THE RIGHT HORSES IN THE RIGHT RACES’
‘ALL THE CHANGES ARE GEARED TOWARDS MAKING THE RACES MORE COMPETITIVE. THE AIM IS TO ATTRACT AS MANY OF THE BEST HORSES AS POSSIBLE...AND FOR THEM TO RUN IN THE RIGHT RACES’

RACECOURSE FACILITIES

To enhance the experience for racegoers, several measures have been introduced for the Cheltenham Festival next year:

  • Ticket prices will be frozen for 2025. People buying a ticket for one day will be given a 20% discount for other days, excluding Gold Cup day.
  • Groups of six people can save 10% on ticket prices when booking together.
  • More hardstanding 'trackway' will be laid in the racecourse’s grass car parks.
  • A new park-and-ride system will be launched within easy access of Cheltenham.
  • A partnership with National Express will offer coach travel direct to the track from more than 20 pick-up locations.
  • Sports tour operator Venatour Racing will offer discounted packages including tickets, hotels and travel, in a one-stop shop initiative known as ‘Room To Race’.
  • More course-facing areas serving refreshments, meal deals and bar facilities upgraded to give greater choice and indoor seating, including a new 'sports bar-style space' in the main grandstand.

NEW FESTIVAL SPONSORS

BetMGM will be the new sponsors of the Queen Mother Champion Chase in a three year deal.

William Hill will sponsor the County Hurdle, having previously sponsored both the Supreme Novices Hurdle and what is now the Ultima Handicap Chase.

With the axing of the Turners Novices' Chase, Turners will now sponsor the Turners Novices' Hurdle (formerly sponsored by Sun Alliance, Neptune, Ballymore & Gallagher).

The 2025 Cheltenham Festival will take place from Tuesday 11th March to Friday 14th March - check out the latest Cheltenham Odds!

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