New start time, running order and race for Cheltenham Festival
The first is that racing will start each day at 1.30pm, 30 minutes earlier than in recent years. Commenting on this change, Managing Director Edward Gillespie, explained: “One of the lessons we learned from the unusual circumstances of The Festival in 2008, was that a significant number of our customers enjoyed the earlier start that we had on Thursday and Friday. With the gates opening at 10.30am, it can seem a long time until the first race, so we are going to commence racing at 1.30pm. It will also mean that five races on each day are now broadcast live on Channel 4.”
There will be a new race at the meeting in 2009, with the introduction of a race for Conditional Jockeys at The Festival for the first time, making a total of 26 races, with seven race cards on Wednesday and Friday. The Conditionals’ Hurdle will be a handicap over an extended two and a half miles on totesport Cheltenham Gold Cup Day.
The race will be an opportunity for some of the large number of horses which are eliminated from the Coral Cup each year to have a run at The Festival.
The third significant change is that on each day of The Festival, the feature race will be the fourth race of the day, giving more of a sense of building to a climax.
On that basis, the Smurfit Kappa Champion Hurdle, Seasons Holidays Queen Mother Champion Chase, Ladbrokes World Hurdle and totesport Cheltenham Gold Cup will be the fourth race on the card each day at 3.20pm.
The full Order of Running for The Festival will be revealed on October 7.
