The new year means it is only two months until the greatest show on turf renews for 2025. The Cheltenham Festival brings with it greater anticipation than any other horse racing event and the entries for every race between the 11-14th March will begin to come through shortly.
We run down all of the key dates for entries in every single race at the revamped 2025 Cheltenham Festival, with the first ones arriving in the first two weeks of January…
Cheltenham Festival Entries 2025
There are three open Grade 1 chases at the Cheltenham Festival, with the biggest of the lot being the Cheltenham Gold Cup. The Friday showpiece is the highlight of the entire meeting, and is the most coveted trophy in the jumps side of the sport, won in successive years most recently by Galopin Des Champs, who will be seeking a hat-trick in the race. Entries for the contest will arrive on Tuesday, 7th January, as they will for the Ryanair Chase, the 2m5f chase run on the Thursday of Cheltenham.
Just below the Gold Cup in importance and pedigree is the Queen Mother Champion Chase. This is the 2m championship over fences for speedier chasers, won by the likes of Sprinter Sacre, Altior and Energumene in recent years. Entries will also be published on the 7th of January.
A week later it will be the turn of the hurdling showcases to have their entries made. The Champion Hurdle went to State Man in 2024, but an immense supporting cast including 2023 winner Constitution Hill, and up-and-coming mares Brighterdaysahead and Lossiemouth could make it the race of the week in 2025. The latter pair could also be entered in the Mares’ Hurdle, another of the timber Grade 1s, while the Stayers’ Hurdle is the 3m championship over the smaller obstacles, with defending champion Teahupoo a strong favourite to retain his title. The entries for these three races will be available to view on Tuesday, 14th January.
The 21st January will be the busiest date for Cheltenham fans, with entries for all of the Grade 1 novice events over both hurdles and fences published at once. These will include the Supreme Novice’ Hurdle, the opening race of the 2025 Cheltenham Festival, the Arkle Challenge Trophy, and the Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase, with hugely exciting novices Sir Gino and Ballyburn likely to be among those named in those races. The Triumph Hurdle, Turners Novices’ Hurdle and Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle will also close their initial entries on this date.
A break of a few weeks will ensue before entries for the Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle and Mares’ Chase are released on the 11th February. Both contests are Grade 2s exclusive to female horses, while all of the handicap entries will be available for perusal on Tuesday, 18th February.
The last races to have their entries published are the Champion Bumper, the only flat race of the Festival, and the Hunter Chase, the amateurs’ equivalent of the Gold Cup. The 25th February will see their entries confirmed.
2025 Cheltenham Festival Entries Release Dates
January 7, 2025
January 14, 2025
January 21, 2025
- Arkle Challenge Trophy
- Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase
- Supreme Novices’ Hurdle
- Turners Novices’ Hurdle
- Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle
- Triumph Hurdle
February 11, 2025
- Mares’ Chase
- Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle
February 18, 2025
- Ultima Handicap Chase
- Coral Cup
- Boodles Fred Winter Juvenile Handicap Hurdle
- Pertemps Final
- Plate Handicap Chase
- Kim Muir Handicap Chase
- County Hurdle
- Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap Hurdle
- Grand Annual Handicap Chase
- National Hunt Chase
- Turners Novices’ Handicap Chase
- Cross Country Handicap Chase
February 25, 2025
- Champion Bumper
- Hunters’ Chase
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