Cheltenham Festival 2026 Preview: Races, Odds, Favourites and More

The sun is setting a little later, final preparations are beginning, and spring is making itself known. Or, for many of us, it means the Cheltenham Festival is four weeks away! Let's dive into the festival and what to expect.

Day 1: Champion Day Preview

In terms of horse racing, there are few things more anticipated than the first roar of the Cheltenham crowd on Day 1 of the festival. Months of ante-post selections, trainers' words and punters' predictions just pause for a minute whilst the first race sets off.

A feeling that, truthfully, cannot be replicated anywhere else, whether you're at the festival, at the pub, at home, or even abroad.

Anyways, we're not here to talk about where you might be watching the racing; instead, we're looking at why, and Day 1 is a beauty of a card, as it always is.

That aforementioned first race of the Day and Cheltenham is the Supreme Novices' Hurdle. A fantastic start to the four days of racing, which showcases some of the best up-and-coming talents in the jumps division.

This year, the betting has been quite mixed, with several names taking the favouritism at different points. However, the market, seemingly, has settled on Old Park Star as its first favourite.

Following that, at 14:00, we have the Arkle Novices' Chase, which looks like it'll be a peach of a race. Kopek Des Bordes and Lulamba are the big stars of the novice chase division, and it is difficult to pick between them.

Finding a group that fully agrees is tough, and before the festival, most will have certainly had a punt or two at either, maybe even both...

Forty minutes later, we have the Juvenile Handicap Hurdle, where the market is rather split currently. The leaders of the market are Winston Junior and Saratoga, whilst two others join them inside the 10/1 bracket. A very open race, which certainly could offer punters a bit of value!

Fourth on the day is the Ultima Handicap Chase, which is a really difficult race to call. Several people are waiting for handicap marks to get some nice prices, so it is another race for value.

Following that, there has been a switch-up. For those of you who haven't seen, the Mares Hurdle will now take place on Thursday, meaning the Champion Hurdle will sit fifth in the card, as normal, albeit with a different warm-up.

So, we head to the biggest race of the day, the aforementioned Champion Hurdle. Which is shaping up to be a bit of a weak renewal, at least as it stands. Injuries to Sir Gino and State Man have automatically weakened the field.

Lossiemouth could head to the aforementioned mare's race, which is a weakener here. Then, Constitution Hill is no longer bulletproof, and holes can be picked in the market leaders.

Saying that, if there is ever a time to show up, it would be there, and it is a chance for someone to establish themself as the leader of the two-mile hurdle division.

Following that race is never easy, but the TrustATrader Plate Handicap Chase, which offers a completely different prospect. Madara is the current favourite at 7/1.

However, there are several names in the mix, with it too tough to call currently. Again, many punters are waiting on the weights...

To end Tuesday off, we have the National Hunt Novices Handicap Chase, which is another very open race. Currently, seven horses are backable under 10/1, but there is a clear favourite in The Wallpark.

Though his position in the market could change significantly if his weight is too high. Another case of waiting for many punters!

Day 2: Ladies Wednesday Preview

As is expected, Day 2 hosts another fantastic card, with some great racing on the day - with most of the races being chases, including the highlight race of the day, which we will get to shortly.

We start with the Turners Novices' Hurdle at 13:20, which looks like it'll be another fantastic renewal, with another excellent group of novices. Headlined currently by No Drama This End, Paul Nicholls is searching for his first win in the race, and he certainly has a good chance!

Following that, we have the Brown Advisory Novice Chase, which is the second Grade 1 race of the day. Until recently, this race looked to have a clear favourite in Final Demand, who was 1/1 in the Antepost markets.

However, it is now a much fiercer contested race, with the Willie Mullins horse drifting to 4/1. But Romeo Coolio, Gordon Elliott's next potential superstar, is favoured in some places, for example, Bet365 have him at 3/1.

Picking between the two is certainly difficult with many torn about their chances, which makes the anticipation for the race that much greater.

The quality does not stop there and the Coral Cup Handicap Hurdle comes next. In recent times, this has been the Dan Skelton race, given he had so much success with the late Langer Dan.

At present, he does not train the favourite, with I Started A Joke, Iberico Lord, Khrisma and The Passing Wife all priced at 14/1 with Unibet. However, Skelton is not far behind, with Nurse Susan at 16/1. This will be a very interesting race with plenty of value left.

Following that, we have the Cross Country Chase, which again looks to be a very open race. Stumptown, once again, leads the market quite healthily. However, keep an eye out for Favori De Champdou and Desertmore House, who are both well backed around 5/1 and 6/1.

Number four is the headline of the day, and what a race we could have. The Queen Mother Champion Chase is a phenomenal race at just under two miles long, and it has been shaken up this season.

Majborough is the current favourite, but he will face the biggest threat from Marine Nationale, whom he beat in Ireland at the Dublin Racing Festival a few weeks ago.

The JP McManus-owned favourite is 13/8 with most bookmakers currently, whilst Marine Nationale is available at 5/2. A potential clash for the ages, certainly.

Following what is potentially the most closed-off race of the festival is the Grand Annual Chase, which looks to be incredibly open currently. At present, the favourite, Vanderpoel, is priced at 10/1; there is certainly room for value here!

To round off Wednesday, we have the Champion Bumper, which again has quite a wide field. Deemed the 'most prestigious' flat race in the National Hunt calendar, this is a real race to watch for the future!

Love Sign Daunou is the current favourite, and is 5/1 in some places. However, Unibet are still offering 7/1. Certainly a nice race to end another good day of racing.

Day 3: St Patrick's Thursday Preview

As you may guess from the name, St Patrick's Day is a celebration of Irish culture, with punters rocking green a little more often than they may on other days. For the English trainers, though, there will be no generosity offered.

Thursday offers us another seven races with two headline races once again. Thanks to a reshuffling of the card, it could certainly be argued that there are now three headliners.

Starting with the Mares Novices' Hurdle, racing gets off to a good start, and this is shaping up to be a really nice race. Bambino Fever is set to take on Oldschool Outlaw.

The latter is the only horse to beat the current favourite, and after being purchased by JP McManus, there has been a lot of money for the mare. It will be a great watch.

Number two on the card is the Jack Richards Novices’ Limited Handicap Chase, which looks to be quite an open affair over two miles four furlongs. But, there is a bit of a preference in the market.

Firstly, Regent's Stroll heads to the festival for the first time, and is the current favourite to win on debut at 7/1 with the best horse racing betting sites. However, McLaurey is also well backed at 8/1, though he still available at 10/1.

Following that, a potential new headliner in the Mares Hurdle, which was previously run on Champions Day. A reshuffling means it now sits here, but that is all that punters can really be sure of currently.

Lossiemouth is the favourite to win this race again, but there are doubts about which race she will head to. Wodhooh, the second favourite, also has an entry into the Stayers Hurdle too, so this race could be massively shaken up.

The first headline spot goes to the Stayers' Hurdle, which looks to be a difficult race to call currently. Teahupoo is the favourite currently, but he will face strong competition.

Strong cases can be made for Honesty Policy and Bob Olinger, also, whilst others in the field also bring strong shouts. Another incredible race, certainly.

Then, we have the second headline race of the day, the Ryanair Chase, which has some huge names fighting for the £375,000 purse. Again, though, questions can be asked about the lineup.

Willie Mullins provides the two market leaders in Fact To File and Gaelic Warrior, and it seems massively unlikely that one of them doesn't show up here.

Right now, it seems that Gaelic Warrior is the more likely of the two, with the former looking like a possible Gold Cup contender.

Sitting in sixth spot on the card is the Pertemps Network Final Handicap Hurdle, which is a very different market to the one that comes before it. The favourite is currently 10/1, which shows how much of an open race this looks to be.

Finishing off the day is the Kim Muir Amateur Jockeys’ Handicap Chase. This is always an interesting one to end Thursday, and picking winners can be challenging at times.

JP McManus owns the two favourites in Jeriko Du Reponet and The Wallpark, but the former is currently more likely to head to the race, with the latter well backed in the National Hunt Chase on Tuesday.

Day 4: Gold Cup Day Preview

Finally, we come to Gold Cup day. Unfortunately, it is the last dance of the festival, but there are some cracking races to look forward to and that is something worth paying attention to.

We start with a really exciting race, the Triumph Hurdle, which should be excellent once again. It is no surprise that JP McManus owns the two favourites either.

Narciso Has is the big interest for many punters, and the French horse is the current favourite at as short as 5/4 in some places. However, Proactif could be another of interest here.

The County Hurdle follows after, and this is another really well-contested race, with a few horses of interest for me. Murcia, the current market leader, looks like a potential repeat.

Sharing the same owners as Kargese, who won this race last year, the Mullins-trained horse could follow in the footsteps of that horse.

Number three on Friday is the Mares Chase, which looks to be a really competitive race, as you'd expect from a graded contest. At present, there are four fancies for the market, but they are led by last year's winner, Dinoblue.

However, Spindleberry, Panic Attack and Only By Night are also well fancied.

Following that is the Albert Bartlett Novices Hurdle, which could be a really big race for the future. There have been some superb runs from the candidates this season.

However, the most impressive so far has probably been Doctor Steinberg, who heads the market at 11/4 with the Flutter brands.

It needs no introduction; the Gold Cup follows next. It is probably the biggest race of the 28 and perhaps even the season itself. However, this year looks different.

In recent years, it has seemed a pretty closed-off race, thanks to the domination of Galopin Des Champs, but he has begun to dwindle slightly.

As a result, the field is rather open, but Willie Mullins will not stress, given he trains the new favourite and potential Gold Cup superstar, Fact To File.

However, he requires supplementation at this stage, which will cost his owner, JP McManus, a pretty penny indeed. It is worth noting that this same fate was required for last year's winner, too, in Inothewayurthinkin.

The penultimate race of the festival is the Hunters Chase, and following the Gold Cup is certainly a very difficult challenge. With four horses competing for favouritism, this will certainly be one to watch over the next few weeks.

For any Oasis fans, though, a small punt on the current favourite Wonderwall could potentially return a nice result for the second year in a row. Favouritism is not a case of he'll definitely win, though, horse racing only offers maybes, as last season's festival showed.

Finally, to wrap up the week's racing, we have the Martin Pipe Handicap Hurdle, which looks to be an interesting end to the festival. A Pai De Nom is the new favourite, after a substantial move from 20/1 to 8/1 with NRNB.