Cheltenham Festival

Cleeve Hill was the making of it; nature had already designed the perfect amphitheatre before the course was even formalised.

The first recorded races at Prestbury Park took place in 1815, but it was in 1860 that the course was formally established on its current site beneath Cleeve Hill. Flat racing and steeplechasing shared the card in those early years, with the Gloucestershire countryside providing a natural amphitheatre that would prove ideal for jump racing.

Before it had a permanent home, it had a following.

The National Hunt Chase, the oldest race at the Festival, moved to Cheltenham in 1904, but the roots of the meeting stretch back to 1902 when a dedicated National Hunt steeplechase fixture was first staged. The meeting initially rotated between venues before Cheltenham's natural terrain and enthusiastic crowds made it the permanent home. By the Edwardian era, the March fixture was already drawing serious attention from trainers and owners across Britain and Ireland.

Red Splash won the first Gold Cup at 5/1, yet its destiny as the sport's ultimate championship was already written.

The inaugural Cheltenham Gold Cup was run on 12 March 1924, won by Red Splash at odds of 5/1. The race covered three miles and three furlongs, close to the three miles and two and a half furlongs it runs over today. It carried a modest prize fund, but its significance was clear from the start: this was to be the championship race of National Hunt racing, the ultimate test of stamina and jumping ability over fences.

Two races, one Festival; the Champion Hurdle's arrival in 1927 gave the crown its second jewel.

Three years after the Gold Cup, the Champion Hurdle was inaugurated in 1927, won by Blaris. Together with the Gold Cup, it gave the Festival two championship races that would define careers and reputations for the next century. The Champion Hurdle quickly established itself as the supreme test of hurdling speed and agility, attracting the finest two-mile hurdlers from both sides of the Irish Sea.

Three Gold Cups, each won with greater disdain than the last; Arkle did not merely beat Mill House, he retired the argument.

Arkle won the first of three consecutive Gold Cups in 1964, beating the reigning champion Mill House by five lengths in what many consider the greatest Gold Cup ever run. Trained by Tom Dreaper and ridden by Pat Taaffe, Arkle returned to win again in 1965 and 1966, each time with an authority that bordered on contempt. His rivalry with Mill House electrified the sport and drew enormous crowds to Prestbury Park. A statue of Arkle now stands at the racecourse, and the opening day of the Festival bears his name.

A royal renaming in 1980 completed the Festival's holy trinity; Gold Cup, Champion Hurdle, and at last, the Champion Chase.

Although the two-mile chase had been part of the Festival programme since 1959, it was upgraded and renamed the Queen Mother Champion Chase in 1980, honouring the Royal Family's deep connection to National Hunt racing. The race became the definitive test for two-mile chasers, producing legends like Badsworth Boy, Viking Flagship, and later Sprinter Sacre. With the Gold Cup, Champion Hurdle, and now the Champion Chase, the Festival had its holy trinity of championship races.

Four days, four champions, one week; attendance broke 200,000 the moment the format changed.

In 2005, the Cheltenham Festival expanded from three days to four, adding a new day built around the World Hurdle (now the Stayers' Hurdle) and the Ryanair Chase. The move was controversial among purists who felt it diluted the intensity, but it proved a commercial and sporting triumph. Total attendance surged past 200,000 for the first time, and the extra day allowed more races to be elevated to Grade 1 status. The four-day format gave each championship race its own day, building anticipation through the week towards Gold Cup Friday.

A £45 million grandstand does not signal doubt; it signals a Jockey Club certain that Cheltenham sits at the very top of jump racing.

The £45 million redevelopment of the main grandstand was completed in time for the 2016 Festival, but the project began in earnest in 2013. The new structure, the Princess Royal Stand, replaced the ageing facilities with a modern, five-and-a-half-storey grandstand offering panoramic views of the course and the Cotswold escarpment beyond. Capacity increased significantly, and the hospitality facilities were transformed. The investment signalled the Jockey Club's confidence in Cheltenham as the flagship venue of jump racing.

A quarter of a million racegoers filled the stands; the country closed its doors four days later.

The 2020 Cheltenham Festival took place from 10 to 13 March, just days before the United Kingdom entered its first COVID-19 lockdown. Over 250,000 people attended across the four days, making it one of the last major sporting occasions held with full crowds before the pandemic halted public life. The decision to proceed was later scrutinised, but the racing itself was memorable: Epatante won the Champion Hurdle, Politologue took the Champion Chase, and Al Boum Photo defended his Gold Cup crown for Willie Mullins.

Six million pounds in prize money, and the Irish are taking most of it home.

The modern Cheltenham Festival features 28 races across four days, with total prize money exceeding £6 million. Irish-trained horses have dominated in recent years, with trainers Willie Mullins and Gordon Elliott regularly raiding Prestbury Park with formidable squads. The rivalry between British and Irish yards has become the Festival's defining narrative, adding a layer of national pride to every race. Hospitality demand continues to grow, with the best options selling out months in advance. For four days each March, this corner of Gloucestershire remains the centre of the racing world.