{"id":66993,"date":"2026-02-03T12:09:29","date_gmt":"2026-02-03T12:09:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sportscasting.com\/uk\/?p=66993"},"modified":"2026-02-19T10:22:52","modified_gmt":"2026-02-19T10:22:52","slug":"new-cheltenham-festival-2026-running-order-schedule","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sportscasting.com\/uk\/news\/new-cheltenham-festival-2026-running-order-schedule\/","title":{"rendered":"NEW Cheltenham Festival 2026 Running Order As Mares&#8217; Hurdle Switched to Thursday"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>See below the Cheltenham Festival 2026 dates and UPDATED running order for the biggest jumps meeting on the planet &#8211; with several changes that will now see the Mares&#8217; Hurdle moved to Thursday and the Plate to Tuesday.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<h2><strong>When Is The Cheltenham Festival 2026? \ud83d\uddd3\ufe0f<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>This year&#8217;s Cheltenham Festival 2026 dates will see the four-day meeting run from Tuesday 10th March to Friday 13th March.<\/p>\n<div class=\"su-list\" style=\"margin-left:0px\"><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><i class=\"sui sui-check-circle-o\" style=\"color:#f11d33\"><\/i> \ud83c\udfc7Tuesday 10th March 2026: Day 1 &#8211; Champion Day<\/li>\n<li><i class=\"sui sui-check-circle-o\" style=\"color:#f11d33\"><\/i> \ud83c\udfc7Wednesday 11th March 2026: Day 2 &#8211; Ladies&#8217; Day<\/li>\n<li><i class=\"sui sui-check-circle-o\" style=\"color:#f11d33\"><\/i> \ud83c\udfc7Thursday 12th March 2026: Day 3 &#8211; St Patrick&#8217;s Thursday<\/li>\n<li><i class=\"sui sui-check-circle-o\" style=\"color:#f11d33\"><\/i> \ud83c\udfc7Friday 13th March 2026: Day 4 &#8211; Gold Cup Day<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><\/div>\n<h2><strong>Cheltenham Festival Changes 2026 &#8211; Mares&#8217; Hurdle Moved To Thursday and Plate Switched To Tuesday<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>The 2m4f Mares&#8217; Hurdle, which was won by Lossiemouth in 2025, will now be run on the Thursday of the Cheltenham Festival.<\/p>\n<p>Meaning the contest will also move from the Old Course to the New Course.<\/p>\n<p>As a result of the Mares&#8217; Hurdle moving, to make room &#8211; the TrustATrader Plate Handicap Chase (2m4f) will move the other way &#8211; and now switch from Thursday to Tuesday.<\/p>\n<p>These Cheltenham changes also come hot on the heels of the track announcing a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sportscasting.com\/uk\/news\/cheltenham-festival-changes-2026-guinness-prices-dropped\/\">Guinness price drop<\/a> at the 2026 Festival.<\/p>\n<p>Both races will form part of the extensive ITV Racing schedule from the 2026 Cheltenham Festival<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Cheltenham Festival 2026 Dates \ud83d\uddd3\ufe0f- Day ONE (Tuesday 10th March 2026): Old Course<br \/>\n<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>The Cheltenham Festival 2026 kicks-off with Champion Day on Tuesday 10th March, with the <strong>Champion Hurdle<\/strong> the feature race.<\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s a prize that had a shock result in 2025, when Golden Ace took advantage of big-guns State Man and Constitution Hill both falling.<\/p>\n<div class=\"su-table su-table-responsive su-table-alternate\"><\/p>\n<table>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td><b>Time<br \/>\n<\/b><\/td>\n<td><b>Race Name &amp; Class<br \/>\n<\/b><\/td>\n<td><b>Distance<br \/>\n<\/b><\/td>\n<td><b>TV<br \/>\n<\/b><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>1:20pm<\/td>\n<td>Supreme Novices\u2019 Hurdle (Grade 1)<\/td>\n<td>2m<\/td>\n<td>ITV \/ RTV<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>2:00pm<\/td>\n<td>Arkle Challenge Trophy Novices\u2019 Chase (Grade 1)<\/td>\n<td>2m<\/td>\n<td>ITV \/ RTV<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>2:40pm<\/td>\n<td>Hallgarten and Novum Wines Juvenile Handicap Hurdle (Premier Handicap)<\/td>\n<td>2m<\/td>\n<td>ITV \/ RTV<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>3:20pm<\/td>\n<td>Ultima Handicap Chase (Premier Handicap)<\/td>\n<td>3m 1f<\/td>\n<td>ITV \/ RTV<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>4:00pm<\/td>\n<td>Champion Hurdle (Grade 1)<\/td>\n<td>2m<\/td>\n<td>ITV \/ RTV<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>4:40pm<\/td>\n<td>TrustATrader Plate Handicap Chase (Premier Handicap)<\/td>\n<td>2m 4f<\/td>\n<td>ITV \/ RTV<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>5:20pm<\/td>\n<td>National Hunt Chase (Novices&#8217; Handicap) (Class 2)<\/td>\n<td>3m 6f<\/td>\n<td>RTV<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p><\/div>\n<h3><strong>WATCH: Golden Ace Winning The 2026 Champion Hurdle\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><iframe title=\"Unibet Champion Hurdle Challenge Trophy | Cheltenham 2025\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/sotTidSOM6w?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3><\/h3>\n<h2><strong>Cheltenham Festival 2026 Dates \ud83d\uddd3\ufe0f- Day TWO (Wednesday 11th March 2026): Old Course<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Onto day two at the 2026 Cheltenham Festival and horse racing fans have another top afternoon to look forward to.<\/p>\n<p>With the action getting going with the Grade One Turners Novices&#8217; Hurdle at 1:20pm.<\/p>\n<p>However, the <strong>Champion Chase<\/strong> at 4:00pm, is the main event &#8211; where last year we saw an emotional win for Marine Nationale (watch below).<\/p>\n<div class=\"su-table su-table-responsive su-table-alternate\"><\/p>\n<table>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td><b>Time<br \/>\n<\/b><\/td>\n<td><b>Race Name &amp; Class<br \/>\n<\/b><\/td>\n<td><b>Distance<br \/>\n<\/b><\/td>\n<td><b>TV<br \/>\n<\/b><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>1:20pm<\/td>\n<td>Turners Novices\u2019 Hurdle (Grade 1)<\/td>\n<td>2m 5f<\/td>\n<td>ITV \/ RTV<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>2:00pm<\/td>\n<td>Brown Advisory Novices\u2019 Chase (Grade 1)<\/td>\n<td>3m<\/td>\n<td>ITV \/ RTV<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>2:40pm<\/td>\n<td>Coral Cup Handicap Hurdle (Premier Handicap)<\/td>\n<td>2m 5f<\/td>\n<td>ITV \/ RTV<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>3:20pm<\/td>\n<td>Glenfarclas Cross Country Chase (A Limited Handicap) (Class 2)<\/td>\n<td>3m 6f<\/td>\n<td>ITV \/ RTV<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>4:00pm<\/td>\n<td>BetMGM Queen Mother Champion Chase (Grade 1)<\/td>\n<td>2m<\/td>\n<td>ITV \/ RTV<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>4:40pm<\/td>\n<td>Johnny Henderson Grand Annual Chase (Premier Handicap)<\/td>\n<td>2m<\/td>\n<td>ITV \/ RTV<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>5:20pm<\/td>\n<td>Weatherbys Champion Bumper (Grade 1)<\/td>\n<td>2m<\/td>\n<td>RTV<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p><\/div>\n<h3><strong>WATCH: Marine Nationale Winning The 2026 Champion Chase<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><iframe title=\"BetMGM Queen Mother Champion Chase | Cheltenham 2025\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ap9JvzNaVY8?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2><strong>Cheltenham Festival 2026 Dates \ud83d\uddd3\ufe0f- Day THREE (Thursday 12th March 2026): Old Course<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Day three at the Cheltenham Festival 2026 starts with the Ryanair Mares&#8217; Novices&#8217; Hurdle as we get a chance to see some potential stars of the future strutting their stuff.<\/p>\n<p>The Ryanair Chase at 4:00pm is also one of the feature contests. A prize the JP McManus-owned Fact To File won with ease in 2025.<\/p>\n<p>But we also have the Grade One <strong>Stayers&#8217; Hurdle<\/strong> on the third day. Where the classy Bob Olinger turned back the clock in 2025 to win the race aged 10.<\/p>\n<p>Plus the day will now include the Mares&#8217; Hurdle &#8211; having been one of the 2026 Cheltenham Festival changes.<\/p>\n<p>Where Lossiemouth could be heading and will be ridden by Paul Townend, who is the favourite in the 2026 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sportscasting.com\/uk\/news\/cheltenham-festival-top-jockey-betting-odds-2026\/\">Cheltenham Festival top jockey betting odds<\/a> market.<\/p>\n<div class=\"su-table su-table-responsive su-table-alternate\"><\/p>\n<table>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td><b>Time<br \/>\n<\/b><\/td>\n<td><b>Race Name &amp; Class<br \/>\n<\/b><\/td>\n<td><b>Distance<br \/>\n<\/b><\/td>\n<td><b>TV<br \/>\n<\/b><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>1:20pm<\/td>\n<td>Ryanair Mares\u2019 Novices\u2019 Hurdle (Grade 2)<\/td>\n<td>2m<\/td>\n<td>ITV \/ RTV<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>2:00pm<\/td>\n<td>Jack Richards Novices\u2019 Limited Handicap Chase (Grade 2)<\/td>\n<td>2m 4f<\/td>\n<td>ITV \/ RTV<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>2:40pm<\/td>\n<td>Close Brothers Mares&#8217; Hurdle (Grade 1)<\/td>\n<td>2m 4f<\/td>\n<td>ITV \/ RTV<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>3:20pm<\/td>\n<td>Paddy Power Stayers\u2019 Hurdle (Grade 1)<\/td>\n<td>3m<\/td>\n<td>ITV \/ RTV<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>4:00pm<\/td>\n<td>Ryanair Chase (Grade 1) (Grade 1)<\/td>\n<td>2m4f<\/td>\n<td>ITV \/ RTV<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>4:40pm<\/td>\n<td>Pertemps Network Final Handicap Hurdle (Premier Handicap)<\/td>\n<td>2m 7f<\/td>\n<td>ITV \/ RTV<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>5:20pm<\/td>\n<td>Fulke Walwyn Kim Muir Challenge Cup Handicap Chase (Class 2)<\/td>\n<td>3m 2f<\/td>\n<td>RTV<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p><\/div>\n<p>Ryanair Chase (Grade 1)<\/p>\n<h3><strong>WATCH: Bob Olinger Winning The 2026 Stayers&#8217; Hurdle<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><iframe title=\"BOB OLINGER captures Stayers&#039; Hurdle as Blackmore makes sporting history\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/OyLr1IXrwZE?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2><strong>Cheltenham Festival 2026 Dates \ud83d\uddd3\ufe0f- Day FOUR (Friday 13th March 2026): Old Course<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>The 2026 Cheltenham Festival draws to a close on Friday 13th March this year &#8211; hopefully not unlucky for some.<\/p>\n<p>With the biggest race at the meeting, the <strong>Gold Cup<\/strong> taking centre stage.<\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s a prize top Irish trainer Willie Mullins has won four times since 2019.<\/p>\n<p>Including in two of the last three seasons with his star staying chaser Galopin Des Champs.<\/p>\n<p>But he was toppled last season, when the Gavin Cromwell-trained Inotherwayurthinkin took the race for owner JP McManus.<\/p>\n<div class=\"su-table su-table-responsive su-table-alternate\"><\/p>\n<table>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td><b>Time<br \/>\n<\/b><\/td>\n<td><b>Race Name &amp; Class<br \/>\n<\/b><\/td>\n<td><b>Distance<br \/>\n<\/b><\/td>\n<td><b>TV<br \/>\n<\/b><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>1:20pm<\/td>\n<td>JCB Triumph Hurdle (Grade 1)<\/td>\n<td>2m<\/td>\n<td>ITV \/ RTV<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>2:00pm<\/td>\n<td>County Hurdle (Premier Handicap)<\/td>\n<td>2m<\/td>\n<td>ITV \/ RTV<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>2:40pm<\/td>\n<td>Mrs Paddy Power Mares\u2019 Chase (Grade 2)<\/td>\n<td>2m4f<\/td>\n<td>ITV \/ RTV<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>3:20pm<\/td>\n<td>Albert Bartlett Novices\u2019 Hurdle (Grade 1)<\/td>\n<td>3m<\/td>\n<td>ITV \/ RTV<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>4:00pm<\/td>\n<td>Cheltenham Gold Cup (Grade 1)<\/td>\n<td>3m 2f<\/td>\n<td>ITV \/ RTV<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>4:40pm<\/td>\n<td>St James\u2019s Place Festival Hunter Chase (Class 2)<\/td>\n<td>3m 2f<\/td>\n<td>ITV \/ RTV<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>5:20pm<\/td>\n<td>Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys\u2019 Handicap Hurdle (Class 2)<\/td>\n<td>2m 4f<\/td>\n<td>RTV<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p><\/div>\n<h3><strong>WATCH: Inotherwayurthinkin Winning The 2026 Cheltenham Gold Cup\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><iframe title=\"Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup | Cheltenham 2025\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/qZBi3jCjDlA?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h2><strong>Cheltenham Festival 2026 To Be Shown On ITV Racing \ud83d\udcfa<br \/>\n<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>It&#8217;s also been confirmed that the Cheltenham Festival 2026 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sportscasting.com\/uk\/news\/itv-racing-schedule-today\/\">ITV Racing schedule<\/a> will include the first SIX races on each day.<\/p>\n<p>Meaning that ITV Racing will be covering 24 of the 28 Cheltenham Festival 2026 races.<\/p>\n<p>Plus, all the races at the Festival will be shown on subscription channel Racing TV.<\/p>\n<p>Or, if having a wager with the best horse racing betting sites in the UK, then most will also have Cheltenham Festival 2026 streaming via their platforms.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>See below the Cheltenham Festival 2026 dates and UPDATED running order for the biggest jumps meeting on the planet &#8211; with several changes that will now see the Mares&#8217; Hurdle moved to Thursday and the Plate to Tuesday.\u00a0 When Is The Cheltenham Festival 2026? \ud83d\uddd3\ufe0f This year&#8217;s Cheltenham Festival 2026 dates will see the four-day [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":355,"featured_media":23930,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-66993","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-horse-racing"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>NEW Cheltenham Festival 2026 Running Order and Race Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Mares&#039; Hurdle has been moved to Thursday and the Plate switched to the Tuesday - see the new 2026 Cheltenham Festival running order.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sportscasting.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66993\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"NEW Cheltenham Festival 2026 Running Order and Race Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Mares&#039; 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