Cheltenham Racecourse have annoucned that the final three meetings of the season have been cancelled to allow the drainage systems to be fixed.
Racing Cancelled At Cheltenham Racecourse To Fix Drainage System
Three racedays have been cancelled at Cheltenham to upgrade the drainage systems in the home straight.
The two-day April Meeting scheduled for Wednesday 15th and Thursday 16th April will no longer take place. And the all-Hunter Chase card planned for 1st May is also cancelled.
Cancelling the three racedays will allow work on the home straight to commence immediately and give plenty of time for the surface to recover before the new season.
Jon Pullin, Cheltenham’s Clerk of the Course said the following:
“Our priority is to provide the best possible racing surface for top-class Jump racing. Throughout the very wet winter, we have experienced a number of issues on the track and working with drainage experts, we have identified an area that would benefit from being upgraded. Thsi will allow us to address the issues that we believe contributed to the hole appearing on Festival Trials Day and subsequently created challenged in other areas of the track. As a result of this we moved rail and hurdle positions to ensure we were providing the best surface for both the Old and New courses.”
The Jockey Club Reschedule Four April Meeting Races & Hunters Chase Fixture
Luckily The Jockey Club have worked with the BHA to reschedule four races from the April Meeting and the whole Hunters Chase fixture.
- Mares’ Novices’ Handicap Chase (Class 1) will take place 14th April at Market Rasen
- Mares’ Chase Series Final Handicap Chase (Class 2) will take place 23rd April at Warwick
- Also Mares’ Hurdle Series Final Handciap Hurdle (Class 2) will take place 23rd April at Warwick
- Fillies’ Juvenile Handicap Hurdle (Class 1) will take place on Jump Finale card on 25th April at Sandown
Whilst Cheltenham’s Race Night fixture will remain scheduled for Friday 1st May 2026, but all seven races have been transferred to Warwick.
Cheltenham Festival 2027 Date
The 2027 Cheltenham Festival will take place between March 16-19 but official dates for other meetings next season are not yet known.
