How To Watch The Cheltenham Festival Races
Looking to watch the Cheltenham Festival? Learn how to stream Cheltenham Festival events for free or watch the races live on your TV.
Where to Watch Cheltenham Festival Events for Free
The Cheltenham Festival is one of the most significant horse racing events of the calendar year. This guide will teach you how to watch Cheltenham for free on TV.
ITV extended its rights for free-to-air horse racing coverage, including the Grand National, the Cheltenham Festival, Royal Ascot and the Derby. This means you can watch almost all Cheltenham races on your TV, the ITV website or the ITV player app. The first five races are available on ITVX (live streaming) and a mix of ITV1 and ITV4.
You will need a Racing TV account to watch the last two races daily, but it requires a subscription. ITV Racing will cover the Cheltenham Festival racing daily from 1:00 pm to 4:30 pm.
Betting Sites with Cheltenham Racing Live Streams
Some of the best UK betting sites offer live streaming services to their existing customers if you have a funded account, a bet on the race, or have placed a bet in the last 24 hours.
If you plan to bet on the Cheltenham Festival, we recommend checking out our list of free bets and welcome offers during the week leading up to the event. There are usually several good Cheltenham-tailored offers, while most bookmakers also offer Cheltenham promotions for existing customers.
Horse racing is usually a 'bet-to-watch' live streaming service, in which punters need to place a small bet (usually £1) on a race to watch the live stream. However, during the Cheltenham Festival, some betting sites waive this requirement to make the races even more accessible. In short, thanks to ITV, Racing TV and betting sites, you will have no issues watching the races.
Watch Cheltenham Races on William Hill
William Hill offers a vast number of free-to-air UK, Irish, and US horse racing events available with Betting TV and Racing Radio. They also offer UK greyhound action, daily racing naps and free podcasts.
To watch the free horse racing streams on William Hill, log in to your account, navigate to the horse racing category and click on an event with a green video symbol. Users can watch these races for free on William Hill's Betting TV, but the yellow cross symbols show which races are bet to watch restricted events.
Join William Hill
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 | Betting Offer Bet £10 Get £40 in Free Bets | G40 | Claim Offer | 18+. Play Safe. Online only. New UK customers using promo code G40. Deposit & place £10 cash single bet (min odds 1/2) on sportsbook (excl. Virtuals). Get £40 in Free Bets (4x£10), valid for sportsbook (excl. Virtuals), 7 days expiry, must use in full (£10 each). Not valid with deposits via PayPal, Neosurf, Paysafe, Apple Pay, NETELLER, Skrill, ecoPayz, Kalibra/Postpay or WH PLUS Card. Full T&Cs apply. www.gambleaware.org #ad |
When is the 2026 Cheltenham Festival?
The 2026 rendition of the Cheltenham Festival starts on Tuesday, March 10, and runs until Friday, March 13. Each day, there are seven races, taking place every 40 minutes, totalling 28 races over the course of four days.
In other words, punters are in for a real treat, as they always are when the Festival rolls around.
Steven is an experienced iGaming content writer who has been working in the industry since 2018. He is passionate about sports betting and enjoys writing about all aspects of the industry, including bookmaker reviews, betting tips and strategies, and news and analysis.