In a change to the race programme at The Festival (Tuesday 10th March to Friday 13th March in 2026), Cheltenham Racecourse announces today that the Grade One Close Brothers Mares’ Hurdle will move from Champion Day (Tuesday) and now take place on St Patrick’s Thursday.
The Close Brothers Mares’ Hurdle was added to The Festival in 2008 and is registered as the David Nicholson Mares’ Hurdle in honour of the late jockey and trainer who enjoyed such great success at the Home of Jump Racing. Since 2009, it has taken place on Champion Day.
Initially a Grade Two contest, it was upgraded to Grade One status in 2015. The Willie Mullins-trained Quevega became the first horse to win a race six times at The Festival when successful in every running from 2009 to 2014.
With the Close Brothers Mares’ Hurdle now taking place on St Patrick’s Thursday, there is a slight change to the race distance due to the race moving to the New Course from the Old Course. The race distance on the New Course is now 2m 4f 56y compared to 2m 3f 200y on the Old Course.
Swapping places with the Close Brothers Mares’ Hurdle is the TrustATrader Plate Handicap Chase. The two-and a-half-mile Premier Handicap moves from St Patrick’s Thursday to become the sixth race on Champion Day.
A further change to the running order on St Patrick’s Thursday is that the feature race, the Ryanair Chase will now take place at 4pm with the Paddy Power Stayers’ Hurdle being run at 3:20pm.
Explaining the changes, Jon Pullin, Head of Racing at The Jockey Club & Clerk of the Course at Cheltenham Racecourse, said: “The race programme at The Festival is one of constant evolution and we are always looking at ways to enhance the experience for all stakeholders.
“We made a number of significant changes to the race programme ahead of the 2025 Cheltenham Festival and were pleased with the impact that these made in the first year. As a result, we aren’t making any further significant changes to the programme for 2026 but will be amending the running order by switching the Close Brothers Mares’ Hurdle to St Patrick’s Thursday and the TrustATrader plate will move to the opening day.
“Having previously been run on Champion Day, the Close Brothers Mares’ Hurdle was always somewhat in the shadow of the Unibet Champion Hurdle. This has been particularly evident in recent years since it was elevated to Grade One status and taking place as the race immediately before the Unibet Champion Hurdle on the card.
“The Close Brothers Mares’ Hurdle is the pinnacle of a very successful mares’ programme that has been developed by the industry over the last 20 years. In this time, we have seen the number of mares training in Great Britain increase from 18% to almost 25% and some of the most memorable moments at The Festival include performances by mares such as Honeysuckle and Epatante. By moving to St Patrick’s Thursday, we feel the Close Brothers Mares’ Hurdle will receive more attention and receive the coverage a race of its status merits.
“We also believe this change enhances the overall race programme across The Festival, with each of the four days now having at least three Grade One contests.”
Chair of the BHA’s Jump Pattern Committee, Simon Cox, added: "We are delighted to see the Close Brothers Mares’ Hurdle in a more prominent position at the Cheltenham Festival. The formation and evolution of the mares’ programme has been a tremendous success over the past few years and it is important to maintain the integrity of the entire programme. The Mares’ Hurdle itself has provided some great races, wonderful stories and is fully deserving of its place within The Festival programme.
“We strongly feel that it is no coincidence that in the last 10 years the Unibet Champion Hurdle has been won five times by a mare, but no mares had won the race in the previous 20. The mares’ programme is ensuring that more quality mares are being brought into training, which is a huge positive for the sport, especially during a time of declining foal crops and real financial pressure for breeders."
Harry Fry, the Cheltenham Festival-winning trainer based in Dorset and a member of the BHA Jump’s Pattern Committee, said: “You only have to look at the number of mares we now have in training and competing at the highest level to appreciate the success of the mares’ programme in recent years.
“The BHA and racecourses have done a fantastic job of ensuring that there are plenty of opportunities for mares at all levels and it's great to see the Close Brothers Mares’ Hurdle given a more prominent position during The Festival, the pinnacle of our sport."
It is also announced today that changes have been made to some approaches and start positions following the annual review of starting processes by the racecourse and the BHA inspectorate and Starting Team. These changes are hoped to facilitate more races being started at the first attempt.
In a series of meetings it was discussed whether anything could be done with the course layout to improve the approach to the tape to reduce the number of false starts. The outcome of the review is that a few changes will be made to the rail alignment to support the lead into the starting positions and the 3m 1/2f Chase (Old Course) and 3m 2f Chase (New Course) positions will be removed.
Jon Pullin explained: “A number of productive discussions were had in conjunction with the BHA Inspectorate and Starting Team over the summer months and we feel we’ve reached a positive conclusion which we hope will improve the starts at Cheltenham.
“The decision has been made to remove the 3m 1/2f Chase start on the Old Course due to the approach to the starting tape being on the Hurdle course and adjacent to the penultimate Chase fence. This meant that there was little room to activate the start and get full field back on the Chase track ready to jump the first fence.
“In place of this start position, the 3m 1f start will be used for the three races historically run from the 3m 1/2f start. This includes one race in October, one in November and the Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase at The Festival. As a result of this change, runners in these races will face an extra fence as they will jump the second last fence as the first.
“The removal of the 3m 2f start on the New Course is also due to similar reasons. This start is located on the home straight but with more space available at the 3m 2 1/2f start we feel using that in place of the 3m 2f start will improve the approach to the tapes without any more fences needing to be jumped. This start will be used for the four races historically run from the 3m 2f which includes one in December, one in April, one at the Hunter Chase Meeting and The Rosconn Group Fulke Walwyn Kim Muir Amateur Jockeys’ Handicap Chase at The Festival.
“We appreciate the support of the BHA Inspectorate and Starting team for their time and input into confirming these new positions and look forward to seeing them in use throughout the season.”
As part of the review into the Cheltenham Festival race programme, consideration was given to the maximum field sizes.
Jon Pullin continued: “We have decided to amend the maximum field size from three starts which impacts three races at The Festival. The maximum field size for the 2m 5f Old Course Hurdle start will be reduced from 26 to 24 for Handicaps and from 24 to 22 for Novice races, impacting the Coral Cup at The Festival.
“The maximum field size for 2m 1f Hurdle start on the New Course will be reduced from 26 to 24 for Handicaps and 24 to 22 for Novice contests. This will impact the William Hill County Hurdle at The Festival.
“The Weatherbys Champion Bumper will be impacted by the decision to reduce the maximum field size at the 2m National Hunt Flat start on the Old Course from 24 to 22.”
The changes to the race programme and course configuration at Cheltenham come after a series of customer service enhancements were announced last month.
The Cheltenham Festival 2026 – Order of Running
Champion Day – Tuesday 10th March (Old Course)
1.20pm Sky Bet Supreme Novices’ Hurdle (Grade 1) 2m 87y 4yo+
2.00pm Arkle Novices’ Chase (Grade 1) 1m 7f 199y 5yo+
2.40pm Hallgarten and Novum Wines Juvenile Handicap Hurdle (Premier Handicap) 2m 87y 4yo
3.20pm Ultima Handicap Chase (Premier Handicap) 3m 1f 5yo+
4.00pm Unibet Champion Hurdle (Grade 1) 2m 87y 4yo+
4.40pm TrustATrader Plate Handicap Chase (Premier Handicap) 2m 4f 44y 5yo+
5.20pm The Princess Royal National Hunt Novices’ Handicap Chase 3m 5f 201y 5yo+
Ladies Day – Wednesday 11th March (Old Course)
1.20pm Turners Novices’ Hurdle (Grade 1) 2m 5f 4yo+
2.00pm Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase (Grade 1) 3m 80y 5yo+
2.40pm Coral Cup Handicap Hurdle (Premier Handicap) 2m 5f 4yo+
3.20pm Glenfarclas Cross Country Handicap Chase 3m 6f 37y 5yo+
4.00pm BetMGM Queen Mother Champion Chase (Grade 1) 1m 7f 199y 5yo+
4.40pm Debenhams Johnny Henderson Grand Annual Handicap Chase (Premier Handicap) 1m 7f 199y 5yo+
5.20pm Weatherbys Champion Bumper (Grade 1) 2m 87y 4-6yo
St Patrick’s Thursday – Thursday 12th March (New Course)
1.20pm Ryanair Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle (Grade 2) 2m 179y 4yo+
2.00pm Jack Richards Novices’ Limited Handicap Chase (Grade 2) 2m 4f 127y 5yo+
2.40pm Close Brothers Mares’ Hurdle (Grade 1) 2m 4f 56y 4yo+
3.20pm Paddy Power Stayers' Hurdle (Grade 1) 2m 7f 213y 4yo+
4.00pm Ryanair Chase (Grade 1) 2m 4f 127y 5yo+
4.40pm Pertemps Network Final Handicap Hurdle (Premier Handicap.) 2m 7f 113y 5yo+
5.20pm The Rosconn Group Fulke Walwyn Kim Muir Amateur Jockeys’ Handicap Chase 3m 2f 5yo+
Gold Cup Day – Friday 13th March (New Course)
1.20pm JCB Triumph Hurdle (Grade 1) 2m 179y 4yo
2.00pm William Hill County Handicap Hurdle (Premier Handicap) 2m 179y 5yo+
2.40pm Mrs Paddy Power Mares’ Chase (Grade 2) 2m 4f 127y 5yo+
3.20pm Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle (Grade 1) 2m 7f 213y 5yo+
4.00pm Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup (Grade 1) 3m 2f 70y 5yo+
4.40pm St James's Place Festival Hunters’ Chase 3m 2f 70y 5yo+
5.20pm Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap Hurdle 2m 4f 56y 4yo+
