The wait is nearly over. After a quiet summer on the Flat, jump racing returns to Prestbury Park this autumn, and the 2026/27 season at Cheltenham is packed with the fixtures that build, week by week, all the way to the Festival in March. Whether you are planning a day at the races, marking the big Saturdays in your diary, or simply want to know when the season’s best horses are in action, this is your complete guide to Cheltenham’s 2026/27 fixtures: the dates, the races that matter most, and the horses worth following from the first day of the campaign to the last.
The Showcase Meeting: 23–24 October 2026
Cheltenham’s jump season gets under way with the Showcase Meeting on Friday 23 and Saturday 24 October 2026. It is the first proper look at the new season’s runners over the famous undulating track, and a traditional launchpad for horses being aimed at the bigger autumn prizes. Do not expect the superstars just yet, but plenty of leading yards use these two days to blow away the cobwebs and give supporters an early steer on which of their string are heading in the right direction. For many fans, it is simply a welcome sign that the jumps are finally back.
The November Meeting and the Paddy Power Gold Cup: 13–15 November 2026
This is where the season truly ignites. The three-day November Meeting runs from Friday 13 to Sunday 15 November 2026 and is the first genuinely big fixture of the campaign. Friday’s Countryside Day eases you in, but Saturday 14 November is the centrepiece, headlined by the Paddy Power Gold Cup, one of the most competitive and historic handicap chases in the entire calendar. It is far more than a betting heat, too: the race has long been a stepping stone to the very top, with Imperial Commander famously winning it in 2008 before going on to land the 2010 Cheltenham Gold Cup. The same afternoon features the Unibet Greatwood Handicap Hurdle, another prestigious prize, while Sunday’s card is often lit up by the Grade 2 Shloer Chase, a race that has regularly welcomed back the country’s best two-milers, such as Jonbon. If you attend only one Cheltenham fixture before Christmas, make it this one.
The Christmas Meeting: 11–12 December 2026
The festive fixture on Friday 11 and Saturday 12 December 2026 keeps the momentum rolling through December, serving up quality jumping action at a time of year when the season’s leading players are starting to show their hands ahead of the big spring targets. It is a popular pre-Christmas day out and a genuinely useful form guide, as the picture for the Festival begins to sharpen and the leading contenders start to separate themselves from the pack.
New Year’s Day Meeting: 1 January 2027
There are few better ways to start the year than jump racing at Cheltenham. The New Year’s Day Meeting on Friday 1 January 2027 is a hugely popular fixture that draws a big, buzzing crowd and sets the tone for the crucial weeks ahead. With the Festival now firmly on the horizon, every run from here starts to carry a little more meaning, and connections begin to firm up their spring plans.
Festival Trials Day: 23 January 2027
If one fixture is unmissable for Festival planning, it is Trials Day on Saturday 23 January 2027. Headlined by the Cleeve Hurdle and the Cotswold Chase, it is exactly what the name suggests: a final major dress rehearsal over the Festival course itself. Because the track is the same one they will tackle in March, the form from Trials Day is among the most reliable you will find all winter, and a strong performance here can catapult a horse right to the head of the ante-post lists.
Horses to watch this season
Every one of these fixtures builds toward the main event: the Cheltenham Festival in March 2027. Last season set a high bar, and several familiar names will light up the winter along the way:
Gaelic Warrior: stormed to Gold Cup glory for Willie Mullins and Paul Townend before backing it up at Punchestown, and already heads the staying-chase picture.
Il Etait Temps: the one to beat over the minimum trip after his Champion Chase success.
Jonbon: a brilliant two-miler whose autumn reappearance, likely in the Shloer Chase, is always one of the season’s early highlights.
The novices: improving types such as Old Park Star, The Mourne Rambler and Fact To File will be aimed at graduating to the sport’s biggest stage.
There is also the intriguing question of whether dual Gold Cup winner Galopin Des Champs can return to his very best. As these autumn and winter fixtures play out, the early ante-post prices will shift with every result, which is a big part of what makes following the horse racing betting markets across a full jumps season so absorbing.
Cheltenham 2026/27 fixtures at a glance
The Showcase Meeting: Friday 23 to Saturday 24 October 2026
The November Meeting (including the Paddy Power Gold Cup on Saturday 14 November): Friday 13 to Sunday 15 November 2026
The Christmas Meeting: Friday 11 to Saturday 12 December 2026
New Year’s Day Meeting: Friday 1 January 2027
Festival Trials Day: Saturday 23 January 2027
The Cheltenham Festival: March 2027
Final word
From the Showcase in October to the roar of the Festival in March, the 2026/27 season at Cheltenham has every ingredient for another memorable winter of jump racing: world-class horses, fiercely competitive handicaps, and a steady build of drama that few sports can match. Mark the dates, keep an eye on the emerging stars, and enjoy the ride, because before you know it, the Festival will be upon us once again.
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