Cheltenham Festival 2025: Schedule & Preview of the Championship Races

National Hunt racing takes centre stage in March as the prestigious 2025 Cheltenham Festival takes place in the United Kingdom.

The four-day meeting is the pinnacle of jumps racing and always generates massive activity in the betting industry worldwide.

Punters clamour to find Cheltenham betting odds ahead of the meeting, while wagering goes through the roof on each of the race days.

Read on as we look at the schedule for the 2025 Cheltenham Festival, before previewing the four championship races which headline each day.

Cheltenham Festival 2025 – Schedule

Tuesday, March 11

• 1.20 pm – The Supreme Novices’ Hurdle Race
• 2.00 pm – The My Pension Expert Arkle Novices’ Chase
• 2.40 pm – The Ultima Handicap Chase
• 3.20 pm – The Close Brothers Mares’ Hurdle Race
• 4.00 pm – The Champion Hurdle
• 4.40 pm – The Fred Winter Juvenile Handicap Hurdle Race
• 5.20 pm – The National Hunt Novices’ Chase

Wednesday, March 12

• 1.20 pm – The Turners Novices’ Hurdle Race
• 2.00 pm – The Brown Advisory Novices’ Steeple Chase
• 2.40 pm – The Coral Cup Hurdle
• 3.20 pm – The Glenfarclas Cross Country Steeple Chase
• 4.00 pm – The Champion Steeple Chase
• 4.40 pm – The Johnny Henderson Grand Annual Handicap Steeple Chase Challenge Cup
• 5.20 pm – The Weatherbys Champion Bumper

Thursday, March 13

• 1.20 pm – The Ryanair Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle
• 2.00 pm – The Jack Richards Novices’ Limited Handicap Chase
• 2.40 pm – The Pertemps Network Handicap Hurdle Final
• 3.20 pm – The Ryanair Steeple Chase
• 4.00 pm – The Stayers’ Hurdle
• 4.40 pm – The TrustATrader Plate
• 5.20 pm – The Fulke Walwyn Kim Muir Challenge Cup Handicap Steeple Chase

Friday, March 14

• 1.20 pm – The JCB Triumph Hurdle
• 2.00 pm – The County Handicap Hurdle
• 2.40 pm – The Mares’ Steeple Chase
• 3.20 pm – The Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle Race
• 4.00 pm – The Cheltenham Gold Cup Steeple Chase
• 4.40 pm – The St. James’s Place Festival Hunters Chase
• 5.20 pm – Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap Hurdle

Cheltenham Festival 2025 – Championship Races Preview

The highlight of the opening day is the two-mile Champion Hurdle, which should be a thriller if all of the leading contenders are in the line-up.

Reigning champion State Man showcased his credentials by recently winning the Irish equivalent at Leopardstown and should mount a strong bid at Cheltenham.

Stablemate Lossiemouth fell in the Irish Champion Hurdle, but has suffered no ill-effects and remains on course to renew rivalries with State Man next month.

However, the horse to beat is undoubtedly 2023 Champion Hurdle winner Constitution Hill, who has recorded two emphatic victories this season.

Trainer Nicky Henderson’s stable star looks to be a class above his rivals and is a banker bet to regain the two-mile hurdling crown at Cheltenham.

The standout race on Day Two is the two-mile Champion Chase, and Henderson has another well-fancied runner in the shape of Jonbon.

The nine-year-old has never been out of the first two during his illustrious career and is strongly fancied to record another big-race victory.

Teahupoo is difficult to oppose in the Stayers’ Hurdle on the third day. He won the race impressively in 2024 and faces a weaker line-up this year.

The Cheltenham Gold Cup is the headline event on the final day and could deliver a moment which would go down in horse racing folklore.

Galopin Des Champs is bidding to win the race for the third consecutive year – a feat which has only previously been achieved by a handful of horses.

He romped home in the Irish Gold Cup on his most recent start and is expected to follow up by winning the big one at Cheltenham next month.

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