The Cheltenham Festival is set to return this month with the famous Gold Cup taking place on the final day of the event.
The biggest week in horse racing is fast approaching as fans prepare to flock to Prestbury Park for the first time in two years.
The 2021 Cheltenham Festival was held behind closed doors due to the Covid-19 pandemic and will make its much-anticipated return this month.
The festival will see the likes of Honeysuckle, Shishkin and Minella Indo, the British coaches keen to impress after the Irish dominated last year with wins in 23 of the Festival’s 28 races.
Here’s everything you need to know about this year’s Cheltenham Festival…
When is it?
The 2022 Cheltenham Festival will kick off on Tuesday March 15 and run for four days until it ends on Friday March 18.
There are seven races each day, with the first race at 1:30 p.m. and the last at 5:30 p.m.
Program
tuesday march 15
- 1:30 p.m. – Obstacle of the Supreme Novices
- 2:10 p.m. – Arkle Challenge Trophy
- 2:50 p.m. – Ultima Handicap hunting
- 3:30 p.m. – Champion Hurdle
- 4:10 p.m. – Mares Hurdle
- 4:50 p.m. – Boodles Juvenile Handicap Hurdle
- 5:30 p.m. – National hunt
Wednesday March 16
- 1:30 p.m. – Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle
- 2:10 p.m. – Brown Advisory Novice Hunt
- 2:40 p.m. – Coral Cup
- 3:30 p.m. – Queen Mother Champion Hunt
- 4:10 p.m. – Cross-country race
- 4:50 p.m. – Grand Annual
- 5:30 p.m. – Champion Bumper
Thursday March 17
- 1:30 p.m. – Turners Novice Hunt
- 2:10 p.m. – Pertemps Network Final
- 2:40 p.m. – Ryanair Chase
- 3:30 p.m. – Resteurs Obstacle
- 4:10 p.m. – Cheltenham platter
- 4:50 p.m. – Mares Novices’ Hurdle
- 5:30 p.m. – Kim Muir Challenge Cup
Friday 18th March
- 1:30 p.m. – Triumph Hurdle
- 2:10 p.m. – County Obstacle
- 2:50 p.m. – Albert Bartlett Novice Hurdle
- 3:30 p.m. – Gold Cup
- 4:10 p.m. – Foxhunter hunt
- 4:50 p.m. – Mare hunt
- 5:30 p.m. – Martin Pipe Handicap Hurdle
How to get tickets
Non-Hospitality tickets for Thursday and Friday are now sold out, but are still available for both opening days.
For more information on tickets, visit the Cheltenham Festival website here.
Weather forecast
At the time of writing (6 March), BBC Weather is expecting mostly cloudy and dry weather for those attending the 2022 Cheltenham Festival.
tuesday 15
• Light rain and light breeze
wednesday 16
• Light clouds and light breeze
thursday 17
• Sunny intervals and moderate breeze
Friday 18
• Light clouds and light breeze
Cheltenham Gold Cup Odds
Here are the odds for Friday’s Cheltenham Gold Cup race.