Race 6 · Champion Day · Tuesday, 10 March 2026 · ~4:50pm
Festival Hunters' Chase
Live betting odds for the unique point-to-point championship of Cheltenham Festival 2026 — 3m 2f · Listed · Old Course
Live betting odds for the unique point-to-point championship of Cheltenham Festival 2026 — 3m 2f · Listed · Old Course
Compare the latest odds from leading bookmakers for the Festival Hunters' Chase. Updated as we approach Champion Day on 10 March 2026.
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The Festival Hunters' Chase is one of the most uniquely charming races in the entire Cheltenham Festival programme — a Listed contest for horses who have been properly hunted during the current season, ridden by amateur jockeys across the full Old Course distance of three miles and two furlongs.
Eligibility for the Hunters' Chase requires that competing horses have been regularly hunted with a recognised pack of hounds during the current season, giving the race a connection to the very origins of National Hunt racing that no other Festival event can match. It is a genuine celebration of the hunting and point-to-point world from which the sport evolved, and its presence at the Festival maintains that important cultural and historical link.
The quality of the Hunters' Chase field has improved markedly over recent decades. The point-to-point scene in Ireland in particular has produced a succession of horses who are good enough to win at the highest professional level, and it is not unusual for the Cheltenham Hunters' Chase to be won by a horse that would comfortably compete in the top tier of handicap chasing were they to be properly licensed for that purpose.
Amateur riders — some of whom are among the finest amateur jockeys in the sport — guide their mounts around the full Old Course. The spectacle of seeing the same fences and the same famous hill being tackled by amateurs on horses fresh from a morning's cubbing provides one of the Festival's most enjoyable and emotionally engaging contests.
The primary form guide for this race comes from the point-to-point sphere, particularly from the top Irish point-to-point courses. Horses who have won at Cheltenham Pony Club or similar prestigious hunter chase venues in their current season carry strong credentials.
At this level, the rider matters significantly. Amateur jockeys with Festival experience — particularly those who have partnered winners at the meeting before — carry a significant advantage over first-time Festival amateurs. Check the rider's record and experience level carefully.
Eligibility verification means all runners are bona fide hunters. However, some handlers are known to specifically prepare horses for the Festival Hunters' Chase rather than simply bringing a horse from the hunting field. Horses trained by professional handlers for the amateurs tend to be better prepared physically.
The three-mile-two-furlong trip is demanding, and horses who have convincingly stayed this sort of distance in hunter chases or point-to-points are the primary focus. Keen-going horses who have struggled to settle in their prep races are at a disadvantage on the Cheltenham Old Course.