The 2026 Cheltenham Festival is finally here and all the build-up and marking your card is now over as the racing gets underway at Prestbury Park.
And you can follow every single race throughout the Festival on ESPN, with all seven races from Champion Day on Tuesday covered right here.
– Cheltenham Festival Champion Day results, race times, weather, odds, favourites, more
– Cheltenham Festival 2026 explained: What to know, dates, races
– Prestbury Cup at the 2026 Cheltenham Festival explained: Score, winners, standings
The day’s racing begins at 1.20 p.m. in the Sky Bet Supreme Novices’ Hurdle as the famous Cheltenham roar will greet the horses as they get the festival underway.
Then at 2 p.m. there is the Arkle, named after the iconic Gold Cup winning horse, in which there appears to be a straight shoot-out between Willie Mullins’ Kopek des Bordes and Nicky Henderson’s Lulamba.
Races keep coming thick and fast and the Fred Winter at 2.40 p.m. is always a race that captures the eye, with juvenile horses looking to make their make at the Festival.
At 3.20 p.m. there is the Ultima Handicap, before the feature race of the opening day — the Champion Hurdle, which gets underway at 4 p.m.
Lossiemouth has been declared for the race, with Mullins opting not to pursue a three-peat in the Mares Hurdle and instead looking to continue the recent trend of mares succeeding in the Champion Hurdle.
The Sun Racing Plate is our penultimate race of the opening day at 4.40 p.m., before the final race of the opening day — the National Hunt Steeplechase, which is also our longest race of the day at three miles and six furlongs.
