The Cheltenham Festival is the crown jewel of National Hunt racing in the UK and Ireland, featuring 28 races across four days with a record prize fund of around £4.93 million, similar to the total available in 2025. This purse is divided among winners, placed horses, trainers, owners, jockeys, and stable staff, making it one of the richest jump racing fixtures of the season.
At the Festival, each race has a set total prize purse, with a substantial majority allocated to the winner, and decreasing amounts paid to horses filling second, third, and lower placings. The 2026 edition of the Cheltenham Festival is just around the corner, and anticipation among fans, insiders, and bettors is growing by the day.
With dozens of races scheduled on the legendary Prestbury Park track, following every event and making reliable predictions is becoming increasingly complex. However, for those who want to stay up to date on favorites and possible surprises, the latest Cheltenham odds are a valuable tool: these betting odds, updated daily, highlight the favorite horses and help you understand how the antepost market is moving for each major race.
Day One: Champion Day (Tuesday 10 March)
The Festival gets underway with Champion Day, traditionally featuring high-profile championship and novice contests. On this opening day, the total prize money available is around £1.25 million.
Key races include the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle (total pot ~£150,000 with roughly £84,405 to the winner), the Arkle Novices’ Chase (£200,000 total, ~£112,540 to 1st), and the Ultima Handicap Chase (£150,000 total and about £84,405 to the 1st).
The highlight of the day is the Unibet Champion Hurdle, traditionally one of the most prestigious Festival races. It offers a total purse of around £450,000, with about £253,215 going to the winner.
Day Two: Ladies’ Wednesday (Wednesday 11 March)
Ladies’ Wednesday carries slightly less overall prize money than Tuesday, totalling roughly £1.155 million across seven races.
The marquee event is the Queen Mother Champion Chase, with a purse around £400,000 and an expected £225,080 to the winning connections, making it one of the richest two-mile championship chase prizes.
Novices’ contests like the Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase (£200,000 total) and the Turners Novices’ Hurdle (£150,000 total), plus handicaps like the Coral Cup, complete the card with competitive funds on offer.
Day Three: St Patrick’s Thursday (Thursday 12 March)
On the third day, the total prize money climbs back above £1.25 million. The Ryanair Chase, one of the Festival’s feature long-distance races, offers around £375,000 in total stakes, with approximately £211,013 to the winner. Another key race, the Paddy Power Stayers’ Hurdle, carries a total purse of nearly £325,000 with about £182,878 to first place.
Day Four: Gold Cup Friday (Friday 13 March)
Gold Cup Friday traditionally boasts the largest total prize pot of the week, with approximately £1.27 million available over the seven races.
The iconic Cheltenham Gold Cup is the headline race with the highest purse of the Festival, roughly £625,000, with around £351,687.50 to the winner. Other valuable races include the Triumph Hurdle and the Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle, with total purses of about £150,000 each. Lesser-funded races like the St. James’s Place Festival Hunter Chase and the Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap still contribute to the overall day’s strong prize distribution.
The Cheltenham Festival’s prize money structure emphasises both tradition and competitive balance, rewarding excellence in championship races while offering solid incentives across a broad range of handicaps and graded contests.
