Cheltenham Racecourse

This article is about the racecourse in the United Kingdom. For the racecourse in Australia, see Cheltenham Park Racecourse.
Cheltenham Racecourse

The Racecourse, seen from Cleeve Hill
Location Cheltenham, Gloucestershire
Owned by Jockey Club Racecourses
Screened on Racing UK
Course type National Hunt
Official website

Cheltenham Racecourse is a racecourse for horse racing events, located at Prestbury Park, near Cheltenham in Gloucestershire. Its most prestigious meeting is the Cheltenham Festival, held in March, which features several Grade I races including the Cheltenham Gold Cup, Champion Hurdle, Queen Mother Champion Chase and World Hurdle.

The racecourse has a scenic location in a natural amphitheatre just below the escarpment of the Cotswold Hills, at Cleeve Hill, with a capacity of 67,500 spectators. The racecourse also has its own steam railway station (of the same name), although this no longer connects to the national rail network but has since rather been the current southern terminus of the preserved Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway.

The main racecourse has two separate courses alongside each other, the Old Course and the New Course. The New Course has a tricky downhill fence and a longer run-in for steeplechases than the Old Course. Hurdle races over two miles on the New Course also have a slight peculiarity in that most of the hurdles are jumped early on in the race with only two hurdles being jumped in the last seven furlongs.

There is also a cross-country course which is laid out inside the main racecourse and is used for cross-country steeplechases.

The racecourse is the home of The Centaur, one of the largest auditoria in the South West of England. This multiple-use complex seats over 2,000 people for conferences and around 4,000 standing for concerts. It is also home to the Steeplechasing Hall of Fame. From 1999 to 2013 the racecourse was the venue for the annual Greenbelt festival and remains the venue for the Wychwood Music Festival. The University of Gloucestershire holds its graduation ceremony and summer ball at the racecourse.

From 2008, the racecourse and "The Jockey Club" were in talks with Cheltenham Town F.C. about a possible move to the racecourse. This would have meant the building of a new stadium with a double sided stand, one side in the stadium and the other for watching the races. Talks went on for a while but in December 2011, Cheltenham Town F.C. decided against the move due to the financial gap, which the football club's chairman Paul Baker described as "in the millions".

On 19 July 2013, Cheltenham Racecourse is to have a £45m redevelopment and is to include a new 6,500-capacity grandstand and royal box has been unanimously approved by planners.[1]

Notable races

Month Meeting DOW Race Name Type Grade Distance Course Age/Sex
January New Year 1st Fairlawne Handicap Chase Chase Grade 3 2m 5f New 5yo +
January New Year 1st Dipper Novices' Chase Chase Grade 2 2m 5f New 5yo +
January Trials Saturday Finesse Juvenile Novices' Hurdle Hurdle Grade 2 2m 1f New 4yo only
January Trials Saturday Murphy Group Chase Chase Grade 3 2m 5f New 5yo +
January Trials Saturday Cotswold Chase Chase Grade 2 3m 1f 110y New 5yo +
January Trials Saturday Cleeve Hurdle Hurdle Grade 2 3m New 5yo +
January Trials Saturday Classic Novices' Hurdle Hurdle Grade 2 2m 4f 110y New 4yo +
March Festival Tuesday Arkle Challenge Trophy Chase Grade 1 2m Old 5yo +
March Festival Tuesday Festival Trophy Handicap Chase Chase Grade 3 3m 110y Old 5yo +
March Festival Tuesday National Hunt Chase Challenge Cup Chase Listed 4m Old 5yo +
March Festival Tuesday Supreme Novices' Hurdle Hurdle Grade 1 2m 110y Old 4yo +
March Festival Tuesday David Nicholson Mares' Hurdle Hurdle Grade 1 2m 4f Old 4yo + m
March Festival Tuesday Champion Hurdle Hurdle Grade 1 2m 110y Old 4yo +
March Festival Tuesday Centenary Novices' Handicap Chase Chase Handicap 2m 4f 110y Old 5yo +
March Festival Wednesday Glenfarclas Cross Country Handicap Chase Chase Handicap 3m 7f Cross 5yo +
March Festival Wednesday Neptune Investment Management Novices' Hurdle Hurdle Grade 1 2m 5f Old 4yo +
March Festival Wednesday Coral Cup Hurdle Grade 3 2m 5f Old 4yo +
March Festival Wednesday RSA Chase Chase Grade 1 3m 110y Old 5yo +
March Festival Wednesday Champion Bumper N H Flat Grade 1 2m 110y Old 4yo-6yo
March Festival Wednesday Queen Mother Champion Chase Chase Grade 1 2m Old 5yo +
March Festival Wednesday Fred Winter Juvenile Novices' Handicap Hurdle Hurdle Grade 3 2m 110y Old 4yo only
March Festival Thursday Pertemps Final Hurdle Handicap 3m New 5yo +
March Festival Thursday World Hurdle Hurdle Grade 1 3m New 4yo +
March Festival Thursday Fulke Walwyn Kim Muir Challenge Cup Chase Handicap 3m 1f 110y New 5yo +
March Festival Thursday JLT Novices' Chase Chase Grade 1 2m 4f New 5yo +
March Festival Thursday Ryanair Chase Chase Grade 1 2m 5f New 5yo +
March Festival Thursday Byrne Group Plate Chase Grade 3 2m 4f New 5yo +
March Festival Friday CGA Foxhunter Chase Chase Conditions 3m 2f 110y New 5yo +
March Festival Friday Triumph Hurdle Hurdle Grade 1 2m 1f New 4yo only
March Festival Friday Vincent O'Brien County Handicap Hurdle Hurdle Grade 3 2m 1f New 5yo +
March Festival Friday Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys' Handicap Hurdle Hurdle Handicap 2m 4f 110y New 4yo +
March Festival Friday Spa Novices' Hurdle Hurdle Grade 1 3m New 4yo +
March Festival Friday Cheltenham Gold Cup Chase Grade 1 3m 2f 110y New 5yo +
March Festival Friday Johnny Henderson Grand Annual Chase Chase Grade 3 2m 110y New 5yo +
April April Meeting Wednesday Silver Trophy Chase Chase Grade 2 2m 5f New 5yo +
November Open Saturday BetVictor Gold Cup Chase Grade 3 2m 4f 110y Old 4yo +
November Open Saturday Murphy Group Handicap Chase Chase Grade 3 3m 3f 110y Old 4yo +
November Open Saturday Hyde Novices' Hurdle Hurdle Grade 2 2m 5f Old 4yo +
November Open Saturday Prestbury Juvenile Novices' Hurdle Hurdle Grade 2 2m 110y Old 3yo only
November Open Saturday Mares' Standard Open NH Flat Race Flat Listed 2m 87y Old 4-6yo m
November Open Sunday November Novices' Chase Chase Grade 2 2m Old 4yo +
November Open Sunday Sharp Novices' Hurdle Hurdle Grade 2 2m 110y Old 4yo +
November Open Sunday Greatwood Hurdle Hurdle Grade 3 2m 110y Old 4yo +
December International Friday Ryman Stationery Handicap Chase Chase Grade 3 3m 1f 110y New 4yo +
December International Saturday Bristol Novices' Hurdle Hurdle Grade 2 3m New 4yo +
December International Saturday December Gold Cup Chase Grade 3 2m 5f New 4yo +
December International Saturday International Hurdle Hurdle Grade 2 2m 1f New 4yo +
December International Saturday Relkeel Hurdle Hurdle Grade 2 2m 4f 110y New 4yo +

References

  1. ↑ "Cheltenham Racecourse's £45m development approved". BBC News. 19 July 2013. Retrieved 20 July 2013.

External links

Coordinates: 51°55′13″N 2°3′28″W / 51.92028°N 2.05778°W / 51.92028; -2.05778

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