How to watch Cheltenham Festival 2026 - Date, time, live stream and TV channel

The 2026 Cheltenham Festival takes place this week as some of the biggest names in horse racing descend on Prestbury Park.

As with tradition at the festival, there is high anticipation ahead of the latest staging of the Cheltenham Gold Cup, with Inothewayurthinkin bidding to retain the trophy that was won 12 months ago.

However, punters are treated to a wide array of races across the four days on what is one of the biggest weeks on the calendar.

Here, Sports Mole provides details of how to tune into the festival across the four days.

When does the 2026 Cheltenham Festival take place?

The latest staging of the Cheltenham Festival will take place between March 10 and March 13.

What time do the Cheltenham Festival races take place?

On each of the four days at the Cheltenham Festival, there will be seven races.

The first race is scheduled to start at 1.20pm (UK time) and the final race is due to commence at 5.20pm.

Each day is headlined by what is regarded as 'a champion race', which starts at 4pm and is the fifth race of the schedule.

How to watch the Cheltenham Festival in the UK

TV channels

ITV provides extensive coverage of the Cheltenham Festival, with their broadcast on ITV1 starting at 12.45pm.

The coverage runs until 5pm, meaning that the final race on each day will not be broadcast on ITV1.

There is also the option of watching the Cheltenham Festival on Racing TV, which shows all seven races. This is channel number 424 on Sky and channel number 536 on Virgin Media.

Streaming

The races will also be streamed on ITVX, while they are also available via the Racing TV website and app.

The full 2026 Cheltenham Festival racecard schedule

Day 1: Champion day – Tuesday, 10 March

1.20pm | The Sky Bet Supreme Novices’ Hurdle (Grade 1)
2.00pm | The Singer Arkle Novices’ Chase (Grade 1)
2.40pm | The Hallgarten and Novum Wines Juvenile Handicap Hurdle (Premier Handicap)
3.20pm | The Ultima Handicap Chase (Premier Handicap)
4.00pm | The Unibet Champion Hurdle (Grade 1)
4.40pm | The TrustATrader Plate Handicap Chase (Premier Handicap)
5.20pm | The Princess Royal National Hunt Novices’ Handicap Chase

Day 2: Ladies Day – Wednesday, 11 March

1.20pm | The Turners Novices’ Hurdle (Grade 1)
2.00pm | The Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase (Grade 1)
2.40pm | The Coral Cup Handicap Hurdle (Premier Handicap)
3.20pm | The Glenfarclas Cross Country Handicap Chase
4.00pm | The BetMGM Queen Mother Champion Chase (Grade 1)
4.40pm | The Debenhams Johnny Henderson Grand Annual Handicap Chase (Premier Handicap)
5.20pm | The Weatherbys Champion Bumper (Grade 1)

Day 3: St Patrick’s Thursday – Thursday, 12 March

1.20pm | The Ryanair Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle (Grade 2)
2.00pm | The Jack Richards Novices’ Limited Handicap Chase (Grade 2)
2.40pm | The Close Brothers Mares’ Hurdle (Grade 1)
3.20pm | The Paddy Power Stayers’ Hurdle (Grade 1)
4.00pm | The Ryanair Chase (Grade 1)
4.40pm | The Pertemps Network Final Handicap Hurdle (Premier Handicap.)
5.20pm | The Rosconn Group Fulke Walwyn Kim Muir Amateur Jockeys’ Handicap Chase

Day 4: Gold Cup Day – Friday, 13 March

1.20pm | The JCB Triumph Hurdle (Grade 1)
2.00pm | The William Hill County Handicap Hurdle (Premier Handicap)
2.40pm | The Mrs Paddy Power Mares’ Chase (Grade 2)
3.20pm | The Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle (Grade 1)
4.00pm | The Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup (Grade 1)
4.40pm | The Festival Challenge Cup Open Hunters’ Chase
5.20pm | The Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap Hurdle