A concept has been introduced by The Jockey Club with talks about moving the Cheltenham Festival a day forward, meaning that Gold Cup day will fall on a Saturday instead of the usual Friday and the Champion’s hurdle will move to Wednesday instead of Tuesday.
Although there have been no official meetings between stakeholders of the festival, the mention has caused a stir between racing fans around the world.
The Cheltenham Festival could undergo its biggest change since a fourth day was added 20 years ago after it emerged early consideration is being given to running jump racing’s showpiece fixture from Wednesday to Saturday
— Racing Post (@RacingPost) October 19, 2025
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The change would bring more people to the festival, which has been struggling with falling numbers over the past few years as a weekend makes the festival more accessible for those who are working in the week.
Festival organisers have already made changes in an attempt to incline attendance over the four days including moving the Grade One Close Brothers Mares’ Hurdle from Tuesday to Thursday switching with the TrustATrader Plate. They have also reduced alcohol prices with a decrease of 30p on draught beer and ciders and upgraded bars and car parks.
The movement would also aid workers in Cheltenham as traffic becomes severe and footfall is packed during the week of the festival.
Racing TV journalist Ash Symmonds looked at both sides of the argument.
“I like the Tuesday-Friday, but if it means more money for the Jockey Club and cheaper ticket prices, then it could get more people in.
“But I would like to see it stay (Tuesday-Friday), but it’s a conversation we can have”.
Numbers show that Friday is the most popular day of the festival with 68,026 people attending in 2025 and just 53,366 the day before on the Thursday. Although Friday is Gold Cup day, this shows that weekends tend to be more popular due to ease.
This change would be the biggest since the festival added a fourth day in 2005, the festival also had a consultation three years ago about adding a fifth day to the festival.
On the other hand, TV would take a big blow for the Saturday races. The festival falls around the time of the Guinness Six Nations which ITV has the rights to, alongside the festival, forcing ITV to show major sports on one of their secondary channels. ITV could be a big factor into determining this decision, should it reach the consultation stage.
ITV do have the opportunity to consult with the Six Nations as they share the broadcasting rights with the BBC, as well as the tournament being able to fall on a Sunday.
A traditionalist’s views would also be against the decision, as horse racing tends to be a very traditional sport, some fans and stakeholders may dislike the idea in the event of change.
Although the falling attendances is a big worry for the sport and the festival itself, potentially being a sign that the sport is becoming less popular.
If the change is implemented, there is a chance that the Gold Cup will stay on the Friday creating less anticipation for the main event of the festival. But Gold Cup day could also be moved to the Saturday, which will almost certainly raise the festival attendance.
I believe that the move would be very beneficial for the growth of not just the festival, but the sport. Moving to the Saturday would be more efficient for fans travelling to Cheltenham as the weekend will strive racing fans into attending, aswell as helping businesses in Cheltenham by reducing traffic during the week.
This would be a huge step forward for the Jockey Club in boosting attendance and keeping the sport popular, it would also be beneficial to businesses in Cheltenham from an economical standpoint – keeping Cheltenham shops and bars in business.
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