CHELTENHAM RACES

28 Cheltenham Festival races consist of 13 Chases (over fences) and 13 Hurdle races, plus a Cross Country Chase and a Bumper.

14 are Grade 1 contests, in addition to three Grade 2, seven Grade 3 and four Listed races.

Distances vary from 2 miles up to 3 miles, 6 furlongs - with Days 1 & 2 races on the Old Course and Days 3 & 4 on the New Course.

FEATURE RACES

Each day of the Festival has a showpiece contest, but there are five feature Cheltenham races - Thursday boasts two blue riband events.

Total prize money exceeded £4.6 million in 2023, with the respective purses of Festival races generally reflecting their status:

FESTIVAL RACES BY PRIZE MONEY

FESTIVAL HANDICAPS

There are nine handicaps at the Festival, all of which are Grade 3 or Listed races.

A handicap mark in the low 130s is the bare minimum required for entry to most - and at least 140 for the more valuable events.

In a handicap race the weight each horse carries is determined by the handicapper - the horse with the highest rating carries top weight.

The other horses carry less weight proportionate to their handicap ratings. So if the top-rated horse has a mark of 150 and carries a top weight of 11st 12lb, a 140 rated horse will carry 10lb less (11st 2lb).

FESTIVAL NOVICE RACES

Eight Festival races are for Novices only (4 hurdles and 4 chases).

Those hurdles are open to horses aged four years or older, but most novices' at the Festival are aged at least five or six.

These races feature horses that have the potential to become future Festival stars.

A novice is a horse that has yet to win, in its discipline (hurdles or fences), before the start of the current season.

JUVENILE RACES

There are also two Festival Juvenile Hurdle races, the more prestigious of which is the Grade 1 Triumph Hurdle.

These are for four-year-old's only, the youngest horses racing at Cheltenham.

Juveniles are horses aged three at the start of the season.

All horses turn a year older on 1st January, meaning that they are aged four when the Festival comes around in March.

AMATEUR JOCKEY RACES

Three Festival races are for amateur riders only (professional jockeys took part in 2021 due to Covid restrictions).  

Leading amateur jockeys with Festival wins include Jamie Codd, Patrick Mullins, Sam Waley-Cohen and Derek O'Connor.

Several of the leading amateurs regularly compete with the pros in other races too.

Notably, Jamie Codd has ridden a total of 10 Festival winners (7 amateur races).

CONDITIONAL JOCKEYS

There is also one Festival race that is only open to apprentice jockeys just starting out in the professional ranks.

FILLIES & MARES RACES

Finally, three of the races at the Festival are solely for female horses: fillies (four-year old's) and/or mares (five years+).

The Close Brothers Mares' Hurdle was a steppingstone for Honeysuckle, who went on to win the Champion Hurdle twice, before returning to win the Mares' Hurdle again in 2023.