The Cheltenham Festival 2026 will stream live free on ITVX. If you are outside of the UK, you can use a VPN to connect to a server in the UK and access ITVX from anywhere.
Cheltenham Festival 2026 details
The 167th running of the Cheltenham Festival is scheduled from Tuesday, 10 March to Friday, 13 March 2026 at Cheltenham Racecourse in Prestbury Park, Gloucestershire.
The four-day National Hunt meeting, one of the highlights of the British jump racing calendar, features 28 races, including the Cheltenham Gold Cup on the final day.
Organisers have confirmed several changes for 2026, including the return of Ladies’ Day and a reshuffle of the race programme. Constitution Hill, one of the most popular horses of recent seasons, is not expected to feature in this year’s meeting.
| Date: | Tuesday, 10 March to Friday, 13 March |
| Time: | First race approximately 1:30 pm GMT |
| Venue: | Cheltenham Racecourse, Prestbury Park |
| Streaming services: | Live coverage in the UK is available free-to-air via ITVX and with paid subscriptions on Sky Sports Racing; international fans can stream via paid subscriptions on Racing TV International |
How to watch Cheltenham Festival 2026 for free
The 2026 Cheltenham Festival (March 10–13) is broadcast live on ITV1 and streamed for free on ITVX in the UK, covering the first six races each day from 12:45 pm to 5 pm.
There are only a few ways to stream the Cheltenham Festival 2026 online for free:
- The UK – ITVX (free stream of the first six races daily)
- Ireland – Virgin Media One (covers the first six races of each day)
For viewers who want complete coverage of all seven races each day, several paid services are available:
- The UK and Ireland – Sky Sports Racing (£9.99/€12.99/month), Racing TV (£29.98/€34.98/month)
- International – Racing TV International (approx $52.46/month)
All Cheltenham Festival 2026 streaming platforms, except for Racing TV International, are geo-restricted. This means that access depends solely on your current location. For example, services like ITVX are generally only available in the UK, so viewers traveling abroad may not be able to access their usual content.
In such cases, you can check for official international broadcasters or local rights holders in the country you’re visiting. Some viewers also consider using a VPN to access services from their home country, but it’s important to ensure this complies with the platform’s terms of service and local laws.
Watch the Cheltenham Festival 2026 for free with NordVPN
For viewers who are temporarily outside their home country, a VPN can help you access your usual streaming subscription and watch the Cheltenham Festival 2026 while abroad. By routing your internet connection through a server in your home country, a VPN can make it appear as though you are browsing from there. Here’s how to do it:
1. Subscribe to a reliable streaming VPN, such as NordVPN.
2. Download the VPN app and install it on your device.
3. Connect to a server in a country where the Cheltenham Festival 2026 is streaming, for example, the UK for ITVX.
4. Head to the streaming site and watch the Cheltenham Festival live for free.
The best VPNs for live streaming usually require paid subscriptions, but many of them also offer free trials and money-back guarantees. This means you can watch the Cheltenham Festival 2026 risk-free and request a refund for your subscription within the money-back guarantee period if you so wish. Ultimately, using a VPN is a simple, secure, and cost-effective way to stream the Cheltenham Festival 2026 from anywhere in the world.
Cheltenham Festival 2026 race schedule
Although the Cheltenham Festival is full of action every minute, each day centers around a major feature race, usually held at around 4 pm GMT. Here’s the lineup of the feature races for this year’s Cheltenham:
- Day 1, March 10, The Champion Day. The first day of the Cheltenham 2026 features the Unibet Champion Hurdle, which is the premier race for two-mile hurdlers.
| Time | Race |
| 13:20 | Supreme Novices’ Hurdle (Grade 1) |
| 14:00 | Arkle Novices’ Chase (Grade 1) |
| 14:40 | Juvenile Handicap Hurdle (Premier Handicap) |
| 15:20 | Ultima Handicap Chase (Premier Handicap) |
| 16:00 | Unibet Champion Hurdle (Grade 1) |
| 16:40 | TrustATrader Plate Handicap Chase (Premier Handicap) |
| 17:20 | Princess Royal National Hunt Novices’ Handicap Chase |
- Day 2, March 11, Ladies’ Day. The reincarnation of the Ladies’ Day with the Best Dressed competition and the BetMGM Queen Mother Champion Chase race.
| Time | Race |
| 13:20 | Turners Novices’ Hurdle (Grade 1) |
| 14:00 | Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase (Grade 1) |
| 14:40 | Coral Cup Handicap Hurdle (Premier Handicap) |
| 15:20 | Glenfarclas Cross Country Handicap Chase |
| 16:00 | BetMGM Queen Mother Champion Chase (Grade 1) |
| 16:40 | Debenhams Johnny Henderson Grand Annual Handicap Chase |
| 17:20 | Weatherbys Champion Bumper (Grade 1) |
- Day 3, March 12, St. Patrick’s Thursday. The day will feature the Ryanair Chase and the Paddy Power Stayers’ Hurdle in celebration of the Irish horse racing traditions.
| Time | Race |
| 13:20 | Ryanair Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle (Grade 2) |
| 14:00 | Jack Richards Novices’ Limited Handicap Chase (Grade 2) |
| 14:40 | Close Brothers Mares’ Hurdle (Grade 1) |
| 15:20 | Paddy Power Stayers’ Hurdle (Grade 1) |
| 16:00 | Ryanair Chase (Grade 1) |
| 16:40 | Pertemps Network Final Handicap Hurdle (Premier Handicap) |
| 17:20 | Fulke Walwyn Kim Muir Challenge Cup Handicap Chase |
- Day 4, March 13, The Gold Cup Day. The last day of the Cheltenham event features the most important race – the Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup – to conclude the festivities.
| Time | Race |
| 13:20 | JCB Triumph Hurdle (Grade 1) |
| 14:00 | William Hill County Handicap Hurdle |
| 14:40 | Mrs Paddy Power Mares’ Chase (Grade 2) |
| 15:20 | Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle (Grade 1) |
| 16:00 | The Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup (Grade 1) |
| 16:40 | Festival Hunters’ Chase |
| 17:20 | Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap Hurdle |
You can find the full Cheltenham Festival 2026 schedule, including the daily handicap races, on the official Jockey Club website.
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