Cheltenham – the highlight of the jump race calendar – returns in March. Here’s all the information on this year’s festival
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It is considered to be the Olympic Games of jump racing – pitting the season’s best horses against one another.
The much-loved Cheltenham Festival is back once again in March – promising four scintillating days of action at the iconic Prestbury Park racecourse.
There will be 28 races in total, featuring the very best jockeys and trainers from Britain and Ireland.
READ MORE: How Cheltenham High Street has changed in 10 years
And with last year’s meeting held behind closed doors due to Covid, the 2022 edition promises to be one to remember.
Here is everything you need to know about this year’s Cheltenham Festival.
The meeting runs from Tuesday, March 15 to Friday, March 18 – with seven races each day – and takes place at Cheltenham Racecourse in Gloucestershire.
Day one kicks off the festival with four Grade 1 races, headlined by the Champion Hurdle while day two, on Wednesday, features the Champion Chase. Thursday is centred around the Stayers’ Hurdle and Ryanair Chase – while the final day (Friday) is headlined by the Cheltenham Gold Cup at 3.30pm.
Cheltenham is the pinnacle of the jump race calendar, bringing together the most talented horses to battle it out for one of the biggest prizes in horse racing. It also pits the leading stars in Ireland versus those in Britain. It is often a goal that trainers work towards for months or even years.
As a result, it attracts about 250,000 spectators across the four days – around 60,000 per day.
The meeting is also massive for bookmakers – with punters betting huge sums in the hopes of finding a winner.
How much are tickets and is there parking at Cheltenham?
Tickets are available from The Jockey Club, which owns 15 of Britain's most famous racecourses – including Cheltenham.
Tickets available for the first three days start at £40-£45 and will grant you access to the Best Mate Enclosure – which promises an "atmosphere like no other" with "arguably with the best views of the racing directly opposite the main grandstand and adjacent to the finish line".
The cheapest tickets currently available for the final day – Gold Cup Day – on The Jockey Club’s website are in the Club Enclosure and cost £215.
There are also currently some tickets available at inflated prices on resale websites.
There is a public car park at Cheltenham Racecourse that costs £20 for the day. Tickets are available from The Jockey Club website – where it says advanced booking secures the best price.
Although there is no official dress code for Cheltenham, with the racecourse recommending that people dress for the March weather, smart clothing is what race-goers prefer. That generally means suits for men, cocktail dresses for women and no jeans. Hats are not required but many women do wear them.
The majority of the races across all four days will be shown on ITV1. The entire card will be on Racing TV for subscribers.
The schedule is as follows:
Tuesday, March 15
Wednesday, March 16
Thursday, March 17
Friday, March 18
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Cheltenham Festival 2022: Tickets, dates and everything you need to know for this year's races – Gloucestershire Live
