When Does Cheltenham Start? 2026 & 2027 Dates & Times

The Cheltenham Festival draws tens of thousands each March to Prestbury Park for four days of elite jump racing, and timing matters when it comes to booking travel, tickets, and that all-important outfit. This article maps out the confirmed dates, daily schedules, and practical details you’ll need for both the 2026 and 2027 events, pulled straight from the official sources.

2026 Dates: Tuesday 10 March – Friday 13 March · 2027 Dates: Tuesday 16 March – Friday 19 March · Gates Open: 10:30 daily · Festival Days: 4 days · Venue: Cheltenham Racecourse, Gloucestershire

Key facts at a glance

The table below consolidates the core details from official and specialist sources for planning your 2026 or 2027 visit.

What time does Cheltenham start today?

The question sounds simple, but there’s a meaningful split between gate opening and the first race — and that window matters if you’re planning your day. According to The Jockey Club (the official operator of Cheltenham Racecourse), Prestbury Park opens its gates at 10:30am every day of the Festival. Racing gets underway at 1:20pm, leaving roughly two hours and fifty minutes for arrivals, finding your enclosure, and getting settled before the action starts.

Gates opening times

The gates-open time of 10:30am is consistent across both the 2026 and 2027 Festivals, according to the official Jockey Club schedule. This means you have a predictable window each morning, but it also means enclosures can get busy quickly once inside. For visitors arriving by car, parking fills early — worth factoring into your travel timing if you’re coming from further afield.

First race start

The first race goes off at 13:20 each afternoon across all four days. The Jockey Club confirms this timing holds for both Festival years. What varies slightly is the exact first-race card — final declarations are made 48 hours before each race day, so the precise lineup for race one isn’t locked in until then. Racing Breaks notes that the afternoon features seven races per day, with the final race at 17:20.

The implication: gate-open at 10:30 gives you a solid two-and-a-half-hour window before racing. Early arrivals can watch the Preview Show in the Parade Ring at 12:25, which The Jockey Club lists as a daily fixture — that’s the best preview of the afternoon’s runners you’ll get before the first race jumps.

What is the first race at Cheltenham?

The Festival card shifts daily, but every day follows the same seven-race structure. There isn’t a single “first race” that defines the event — rather, each day has its own opener that feeds into that day’s feature race. That said, each day’s lineup is anchored by a marquee contest: Champion Day leads with the Champion Hurdle, Ladies Day peaks with the Queen Mother Champion Chase, St Patrick’s Thursday features the Ryanair Chase, and Gold Cup Day closes the Festival with the Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup.

Daily racecards

Racecards are published through official channels and specialist racing outlets once final declarations are confirmed. Livescore tracks the 2026 declarations as they come in, with the full card typically released 48 hours before each race day. The seven-race daily structure runs at 13:20, 14:00, 14:40, 15:20, 16:00, 16:40, and 17:20 — a schedule that places the feature race at 4:00pm each afternoon, according to Livescore’s 2026 schedule.

2026 Festival runners

Specific runner declarations for 2026 were still being confirmed as the Festival approached, with final declarations locked in 48 hours before each day. The Cheltenham Festival.org.uk site carries the full 2027 schedule, which serves as the template for how the race cards are structured year to year. If you’re looking to plan ahead for 2026, the 2027 schedule gives a reliable preview of which races fall on which days.

The pattern: the feature race at 16:00 is the anchor point each day, with the supporting card built around it. Knowing that, you can time your arrival to be settled before the main event of your chosen day.

What time does the first race start in Cheltenham?

As noted above, the first race starts at 13:20 daily — confirmed across both the official Jockey Club schedule and specialist outlets including Racing Breaks and Irish Racing. This timing doesn’t shift dramatically between years; it’s one of the most reliable constants about the Festival.

Schedule overview

Every afternoon of the Festival follows the same seven-race cadence: 13:20, 14:00, 14:40, 15:20, 16:00, 16:40, 17:20. The 16:00 slot is reserved for feature races across all four days — Champion Hurdle on Day 1, Queen Mother Champion Chase on Day 2, Ryanair Chase on Day 3, and Gold Cup on Day 4. This consistency means once you know the structure, you can read any day’s card quickly.

Day-by-day timings

According to the Jockey Club’s official schedule for 2027, Champion Day on Tuesday 16 March starts with the Unibet Champion Hurdle as the day’s feature at 16:00. Ladies Day on Wednesday 17 March peaks with the BetMGM Queen Mother Champion Chase at 16:00. St Patrick’s Thursday on 18 March features the Ryanair Chase at 16:00. Gold Cup Day on Friday 19 March closes the Festival with the Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup at 16:00.

The same structure applied to 2026, with Champion Day on 10 March, Ladies Day on 11 March, St Patrick’s Thursday on 12 March, and Gold Cup Day on 13 March — each day’s feature at 16:00, per the Livescore schedule.

The catch: while the race times are consistent, the exact runners and horses in each race are confirmed only 48 hours before race day. If you’re buying tickets in advance, you’re booking for the event structure, not a specific runner — that’s the trade-off of planning ahead.

How much is an entry to Cheltenham Festival?

Ticket pricing at Cheltenham breaks down by enclosure type and when you book — and the difference between advance and on-the-day pricing is significant. The Jockey Club itself advises booking ahead because enclosures regularly sell out before the Festival week.

Ticket prices

For the 2026 Festival, Livescore reported early-bird pricing starting from £35 for super early-bird tickets. Advance pricing across enclosures in 2026 ran approximately £54 for the Best Mate Enclosure, £73.80 for Tattersalls, and £103.50 for the Club Enclosure. On-the-day gate prices were higher at approximately £70, £91, and £126 respectively across those same enclosures.

For 2027, the Jockey Club’s site lists tickets and hospitality packages, with Racing Breaks offering combined ticket and hotel packages from £159 per person. Exact 2027 single-day ticket prices had not been fully confirmed at the time of this article’s publication, so those looking for 2027 specific pricing should check the official Jockey Club site for the latest.

Booking guide

The practical advice from The Jockey Club is straightforward: buy in advance. Enclosures sell out, and the price premium for gate tickets makes early booking both cheaper and more reliable. Tickets for both years are available through Eventmasters and the official Jockey Club booking platform.

Can you wear jeans to Cheltenham Festival?

Dress code is a perennial question, and the short answer is nuanced: jeans are not forbidden outright, but where you can wear them depends on which enclosure you’re in. The Festival has a smart-casual to formal dress culture, particularly in the Club Enclosure, while other areas are more relaxed.

Dress code rules

Livescore’s 2026 guide notes that jeans are permitted in some areas under the dress code policy. The Club Enclosure is the most formal, with smart dress expected — and jeans there would stand out for the wrong reasons. The Best Mate and Tattersalls Enclosures are more flexible, with smart casual widely accepted.

Jockey Club guidelines

The Jockey Club’s official guidance across their Cheltenham pages reinforces a smart-casual standard for general enclosures and business casual or above for the Club Enclosure. There’s no explicit list of what’s banned, but the culture of the event leans toward dressy — especially on Ladies Day, where fashion is part of the tradition.

Day-by-day Festival timeline

The schedule below shows how the two Festivals align structurally, with each year following the same four-day arc.

The pattern: the 2027 Festival shifts one week later compared to 2026, but the day naming and feature race structure remain identical. Both years deliver the same four-day arc, just on slightly different calendar dates.

What we know — and what we don’t

What people are saying

Prestbury Park opens its gates at 10:30am every day of the Cheltenham Festival, with racing getting underway at 1:20pm each afternoon.Livescore (Racing News Outlet)

The Cheltenham Festival takes place between Tuesday 16 – Friday 19 March 2027, and it promises to be an event to remember.The Jockey Club (Official Organizer)

Cheltenham Festival is the pinnacle event of the jump-racing calendar.Visit Cheltenham (Tourism Authority)

What these three voices share is the emphasis on the Festival as a singular event — not just in terms of scale (tens of thousands daily, 28 races across four days), but in what it represents. The Jockey Club frames it as a must-attend occasion; Visit Cheltenham calls it the pinnacle of the sport; Livescore zeroes in on the daily rhythm that defines the spectator experience.

Whether you’re coming for the racing, the social scene, or the tradition, the Festival has a clear, predictable structure once you know when the gates open and when the first race jumps — everything else follows from there.

Bottom line

The Cheltenham Festival runs Tuesday through Friday every March, with the 2026 edition falling 10–13 March and the 2027 edition a week later, 16–19 March. Gates open at 10:30am; racing starts at 1:20pm; feature races are at 4:00pm each afternoon. The Festival draws crowds of up to 66,000 daily seeking the peak of the jump-racing calendar — and for anyone planning to attend, the smart move is booking early to lock in enclosure and price, rather than paying more on the day for a more limited selection.

Related reading: Mother’s Day in Ireland 2026

Cheltenham’s mid-March tradition holds firm, just as the 2025 festival schedule pinned 2025 dates to March 11-14.

Frequently asked questions