Cheltenham Festival Races 2020 – Your Guide to the Festival
Cheltenham Races 2020 – Your Guide to the Festival
The Cheltenham Festival is the main stage for jump racing, the highlight of the National Hunt calendar. Cheltenham Racecourse comes alive for four days of stellar jump racing. The best from the sport of horse racing descend upon the county of Gloucestershire to battle it out to see who can claim a Cheltenham victory.
In the words of the famous ex-jockey AP McCoy, when talking about Cheltenham; “it’s the track in which every jockey wants to win!”
Are you ready to experience the famous Cheltenham Roar? Cheltenham is often noted for its atmosphere, most notably the “Cheltenham roar”, which refers to the enormous amount of noise that the crowd generates as the starter raises the tape for the first race of the festival.
Day one of the Cheltenham Festival (Champion Day)
At day one of the Cheltenham Festival racing fans and pundits alike are welcomed to a fascinating line up of 7 races. The feature race of day one is the Champion Hurdle. The Grade 1 is open to horses four years of age and older. Run over 2 miles and ½ a furlong, the winner receives £450,000 in prize money.
As its title suggests, the Champion Hurdle is the most prestigious hurdling event in the National Hunt calendar. Its list of winners features many of the most highly acclaimed hurdlers in the sport’s history and names such as National Spirit, Istabraq, Persian War and Lanzarote are just a few of the races famous winners. J.P. Mc Manus-owned Espoir D’Allen was ridden to victory by Mark Walsh in the 2019 contest at a price of 16/1.
(Sponsors, prize money, and race distances are correct as of The Festival 2019, these are subject to change)
Day two of the Cheltenham Festival (Ladies Day)
On day two of the Cheltenham Festival Ladies Day takes place, and the most glamorous women take to the stage in a bid to the prestigious title of best dressed.
The feature race of day two of the Cheltenham Festival is the The Betway Queen Mother Champion Steeplechase. It is run on the old course at Cheltenham Racecourse over a distance of about 2 miles and during its running there are 13 fences to be jumped. It is the leading minimum-distance chase in the National Hunt calendar and is open to horses five years of age and older.
Nicky Henderson-trained Altior has won the day-two feature race consecutively for the previous two years. Can the superstar make it a hat-trick? Only the Cheltenham Festival 2020 will tell.
Day Three of the Cheltenham Festival (St. Patrick’s Day)
Day three of the Cheltenham Festival welcomes a total of three Grade 1’s and is typically known as St. Patrick’s Day at the Cheltenham Festival. The 2020 Cheltenham Festival welcomes Irish bands to set the scene across the racecourse and bid to create an atmosphere that is electric.
The Stayers Hurdle is the leading long-distance hurdle event in the National Hunt calendar, it is run over 3 miles and it is the feature race on the third day of the Festival.
The Grade 1 Ryanair Chase is another competitive contest at the Cheltenham Festival. It is open to horses five years of age and older. Run on the new course at Cheltenham Racecourse it is run over 2 miles and 4 and a half furlongs and during it’s running there are 17 fences to be jumped. Paul Nicholls-trained Frodon did all the running in 2019 to give Bryony Frost a fantastic win.
Day Four of the Cheltenham Festival (Gold Cup Day)
The fourth and final day of the Cheltenham Festival is always the most popular day in terms of attendance at the racecourse. Cheltenham Racecourse can facilitate a crowd of 67,500 and Gold Cup day always draws numbers. The Cheltenham Gold Cup day is often referred to as the pinnacle of jump racing. The Grade 1 Gold Cup steeplechase is run on the new course at Cheltenham and is open to horses aged five years and over, is run over a distance of 3 miles, 2 furlongs 70 yards, with 22 fences to be jumped.
The Cheltenham Gold Cup is the most valuable non-handicap chase in Britain, and in 2019 it offered a total prize fund of £625,000. Its roll of honour features the names of such chasers as Arkle, Best Mate, Golden Miller, Kauto Star, Denman and Mill House. Willie Mullins trained Al Boum Photo partnered with Paul Townend did all the running at the 2019 Cheltenham Festival to take home the prestigious Gold Cup.
Frequently Asked Questions about the Festival
The Cheltenham Races take place at Cheltenham Racecourse, based in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, in the south west of England.
Here’s how to get to Cheltenham Festival!
The Cheltenham Festival 2020 kicks off on Tuesday, March 10th, where the gates of the racecourse will open at 10.30am, with the first race going to post at 1.30pm.
The Cheltenham Festival plays host to 28 races all of which are set to be highly entertaining, and each day of the Festival hosts an equal number of seven races.
Millions of people around the world will be tuning in to watch some of the most talented horses, trainers and jockeys from the UK, Ireland and other parts of the world, battle it out for coveted victories at Prestbury Park and the glorious right to be called as ‘Cheltenham winner.’
The Cheltenham Races will be shown live on both Racing TV and ITV Racing – with the majority of races (five per day) streamed live for free on the ITV HUB. The Cheltenham Festival can also be watched on ITV1, Channel 4.
RTE will provide coverage of the Cheltenham Festival 2020 for the audience in Ireland.
There are many different mediums to tune in to catch the action of the Cheltenham Festival 2020. BBC Radio 5live is an option to tune in to catch the action from the Cheltenham Festival. If you are within a 5 mile radius of Cheltenham Racecourse you can tune in to Cheltenham Radio on 87.7FM or you can catch the online web player via www.jockeyclub.co.uk/cheltenham.
RTE Radio 1 will provide coverage of the Cheltenham Festival for the Irish listeners.
