The Cheltenham Festival 2019

On Tuesday 12^th March, the 2019 edition of the Cheltenham Festival will kick off and the famous “Cheltenham roar” will be heard for the first time in a year.

Set in the beautiful surroundings of the Cheltenham racecourse in the picturesque Cotswolds of Gloucestershire, the festival is four days of action packed racing and entertainment in the jump racing event of the year. Playing host to over 260,000 people, there is an atmosphere that is sure to get the heart beating and raise the hairs on the back of your neck.

The country’s finest horses, jockeys and trainers battle it out over for days for total prize money of £4.5 million at the most prestigious horse racing event of the year.

The event kicks off with Day One: Champion Day, and unites racegoers from around the world all in one place. Champion Day is not to be missed if you’re a fan of horse racing and the day also plays host to the most important hurdle race of the season, the Unibet Champion Hurdle.

2018’s Cheltenham Festival saw Nicky Henderson’s Buveur D’Air take the honours for the Unibet Champion Hurdle, becoming the first horse since Hardy Eustace in 2005 to retain the title.

Day 2 of the festival is Ladies day, where city girls can become country girls and tweed becomes rather fashionable for the day. Splashes of colour and fancy hats are the order of the day and high quality style matches with high quality racing. The day’s marquee race is the Champion Chase and is set to be an action packed run. 2018’s Ladies Day was a huge success and saw prize draws for the #colourmemarch competition.

After the colour and grandeur of Ladies Day, the third day of the event plays host to St Patrick’s Thursday, where the Emerald Isle is the centre of attention in Cheltenham. The famous Guinness village opens for business and the race course is awash with green and gold making the day a truly Irish affair. The Ryanair Chase will be the race of the day, along with many other action packed runs, making day three one of the most exciting days of the festival.

Last but by no means least, Day four of the festival is Gold Cup day. The pinnacle of horse racing and the most anticipated date in any racing fan’s diary. The day where legends are born. The best jump horses in the world go head to head in some of the most competitive racing available. Richard Johnson, the champion jockey of the 2018 Cheltenham Festival will be hoping to repeat his feat and ride his horse Native River to another famous win. After the sporing spectacle, the celebrations will go long into the night with live music from the Chip Shop Boy’s in the Final Flight bar or Tommy and the fuse, in the Centaur bar.

Throughout the four days of the festival, there will be world class hospitality offered to race goers. From Michelin star chefs creating sumptuous dishes in restaurants and food stalls, to live music from top bands, there really is something for everybody. And there is the tented shopping village, which holds over 70 stalls selling a range of boutique goods.

So make sure to get your tickets early and ensure your place at the most anticipated racing event of the year. And don’t forget to check out the Cheltenham odds if you’re feeling lucky ahead of March’s big event.