The Festival, held at Cheltenham Racecourse will be taking place from Tuesday 13 to Friday 16 March. Back for its annual extravaganza, The Festival has been long awaited and is anticipated to bring just as much racing, entertainment and community where lovers of the sport can share their passion. The four-day line-up will be anything but boring this year. Starting on the Tuesday with Champions Day.
Champions Day will dive right in to the nitty gritty of the fixture with the most important hurdle race of the season, the Unibet Champion Hurdle. In 2017, Nicky Henderson’s Buveur D’Air took the honours and began Noel Fehily’s most successful festival to date. The spectacle doesn’t end at jumpracing, OLBG Mares’ Hurdle Race and The Sky Bet Supreme Novices’ Hurdle, there will also be music to add to the atmosphere of the day. This will include appearances from The Hipcats as well as The Wickermen.
Wednesday presents Ladies Day. This gives festival goers the chance to dress up in their finest outfits and join in with the fashionable style of other race goers. #ColourMeMarch is this year’s theme for the Ladies Day competition, which will add not only plenty of vibrancy to the day, but extra excitement for those involved. The competition, exclusively for ladies only, will give some lucky winners a chance to win some amazing prizes from a MINI ONE Car to luxurious jewellery and dinner and drink goodies. You could get a piece of the action and bet on Cheltenham Ladies Day 2018
St Patrick’s Thursday is on the agenda for day three as Guinness will be in abundance in the Guinness Village, as well as Irish music being played throughout the day. Folk duo Taylor & The Mason, as well as Manchester Irish band The Lucky 15’s, will be performing, so you can get jiggy. Races will also be at their usual calibre with The JLT Novices’ Chase kicking the day off, as well as The Sun Bets Stayers’ Hurdle and The Ryanair Steeple Chase. It will be a Saint Patrick’s celebration to (attempt) to remember!
The final day will be Gold Cup Day and this grand finale is always sure to be the greatest spectacle. The day will begin with various hurdle races and close off with some chases. The St. James’s Place Foxhunter Steeple Chase Challenge Cup will take place along with The Timico Cheltenham Gold Cup. This cup is a race associated with elite of the sport and nothing can beat the thunderous cheer of Cheltenham as the horses charge up the famous hill. Of course, the day will consist of a range of music and as the races come to an end, the fun continues! Top class entertainment will take place the Final Flight Bar and at The Centaur as festival goers can say a joyous goodbye to the days just passed.
The Festival is a truly exhilarating experience and encompasses everything that people love about jump racing, whilst horses, jockeys, owners and festival attendees battle out to see their favourite win. Ticket prices will increase on Sun 11 March, so get your tickets before they go up.
