Picking a winner is never easy at the Cheltenham Festival. The fiercely competitive nature of the races and with over 500 horses to choose from, it can sometimes feel like an impossible task.

Our in-depth Cheltenham racecards are jam-packed with form, statistics and data to provide you with all the information you need to solve the puzzle and pinpoint your festival bets.

Horse’s number

A horse’s number is displayed in bold on the left-hand side of the racecard next to the horse’s name. Numbers are often allocated by weight in handicap races with number 1 carrying the highest weight in the race.

Jockey Silks

The jockey wears silks designed by the owner of the horse.This helps to identify each horse in the race. The silks are displayed next to the horse’s name.

Horse’s name

The name of the horse is displayed in bold next to its allocated number.

Betting Odds

The odds are shown in bold on the right hand side of the horse’s details and highlighted in green underneath the name of its trainer and jockey. Use the dropdown to select your chosen bookmakers.

Trainer

The trainer’s full name is written to the right of the horse’s name, above the jockey’s name. An in-form trainer will have a good ‘strike-rate’, this is their ratio of winners-to-runners in the past 14 days.The number of winners the trainer has recently sent out can be found by clicking on the trainer’s name.

Jockey

The jockey rides the horse in the race and does the all-important steering. Their full name is written underneath the trainer’s name. The recent record of each jockey can be found by clicking on their name.

Race Conditions

The type/class of the race is displayed at the header of the racecard in bold along with the distance of the race, age of the horses and number declared. The ‘conditions’ tab displays race conditions such as which horses must carry penalties (extra weight).

Previous form

Racing enthusiasts will delve into a horse’s previous form when studying the racecard.

Form figures of ‘12’ are read as first and second. The horse has run twice in its lifetime and has finished first and second.

A dash separates seasons and a slash indicates a prolonged break.

The following can also be visible on a horse’s previous form:

• 0 – finished outside of the first nine
• PU – pulled up
• BD – brought down
• F – fell
• R – refused
• U – unseated rider
• S - Slipped

Clicking on the horse’s name allows you to find details on where the horse ran these races, the ability of the horses they ran against and the type of race.

Age

The age of the horse is in bold to the right of its name.

Weight (wgt)

The weight the horse carries is to the right of the horse’s gender in bold, for example 9-8.

Official rating (OR)

The horse’s official rating is in bold below the horse’s details, for example ‘Rated 113’. A rating is given by the handicapper based on previous runs. Most horses are given an official rating once the horse has run three times.

Days

This figure is the number of days since a horse’s last run shown in brackets.

Equipment (Equip)

This section reveals if the horse is wearing additional equipment in the race which can aid the horse. If the horse is wearing the equipment for the first time there will be a 1 next to the letter. The letters are highlighted in red or grey.

• b – blinkers
• es – eye shields
• h - hood
• p – cheek pieces
• ts – tongue strap
• v – visor
• cp - cheek pieces
• w - wind operation

You will also see these letters highlighted in purple:

• D (distance) - this shows the horse has won previously over the distance of the race.
• C (course) - the horse has won at the same racecourse.
• CD (course and distance) - won at the same racecourse over the same distance.
• BF (beaten favourite) - indicates the horse was a beaten favourite last time out.

Previous Winner

At the footer of the racecard for the big races is the previous winners of the race, punters often look at the record of trainers and jockeys in a race to identify if they target certain races from year-to-year.

irishracing.com Form Filter

You can use the form filter located next to the time of the race to filter by ground, course, type of race and more.

Breeding

The horse’s sire (father) is highlighted in green below its name next to its dam in grey. You can also see the horses relations next to by hovering on the icon in bold.

Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle (Grade 1) - high-quality hurdlers aged four years and up, line up for day two’s opener over two miles and five furlongs on the old course. Taking in ten hurdles, the field is synonymous with star names. Istabraq, Hardy Eustace and Faugheen have won the contest in the past before going on to triumph in the Champion Hurdle.

Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase (Grade 1) - formerly known as the RSA this is a competitive affair run over an extended 3 miles for horses aged five years and up and there are 20 fences to be jumped. This is a key race for up and coming Gold Cup contenders and is staged on the old course.

Coral Cup Handicap Hurdle (Grade 3) - a tricky puzzle to decipher for punters but as a result it is a magnificent betting heat bursting with intrigue. Run over an extended two miles and five furlongs, this competitive handicap is staged on the old course and contenders tackle 10 hurdles.

Queen Mother Champion Chase (Grade 1) - a true spectacle as the fastest and classiest two-mile chasers go head-to-head in the feature race on day two of the Festival on the old course. Horses aged five years and up face 13 fences at high speed - a delight for racegoers. Legends of the race include Moscow Flyer, Viking Flagship, Master Minded and Sprinter Sacre who all won it more than once.

Glenfarclas Cross Country Chase - this contest provides something a bit different as contenders tackle an array of obstacles on the cross country course, located in the centre of the track. It is a stamina-sapping test over a distance of 3 miles and 6 furlongs and horses face 32 fences from fences to raised banks. The tough and tenacious Tiger Roll won this race three times.

Grand Annual (Grade 3) - speed is key in this handicap chase held over an extended 2 miles on the old course. It is the most historic race at the Cheltenham Festival, first held in 1834 and is named after trainer Nicky Henderson’s father. Open to horses aged five years and older, it is another popular betting contest.

Champion Bumper (Grade 1) - the bumper is run on the flat with no obstacles, staged on the old course over two miles and half a furlong. It is a race for more inexperienced horses aged between four and six years. Willie Mullins has a sensational record in the race having won it twelve times since its inception.

Turners Novices’ Chase (Grade 1) - action switches to the new course at Cheltenham on Thursday and the opener is often a thrilling contest as top novice chasers meet in this often fascinating contest over 2 miles and four furlongs. Ireland’s record in this race is exemplary with the prize heading back over the Irish sea nine times since its inception in 2011.

Pertemps Network Final Handicap Hurdle (Grade 3) - a fiercely competitive handicap hurdle, typical of the Cheltenham Festival. Hardy handicappers, aged 5 years and up, face 12 hurdles on the new course over 3 miles. Trainer Jonjo O’Neill has an excellent record in the race so look out for his contenders.

Ryanair Chase (Grade 1) - held on the new course over an extended two miles and four furlongs, this race is for high-class chasers, past victors Cue Card and Frodon went on to win the King George VI Chase at Kempton. It is one of the richest races of the Festival and runners jump 17 fences and must be aged five years and up.

Stayers’ Hurdle (Grade 1) - the feature race of the day is the Stayers’ Hurdle, a 3-mile contest on the new course which tests the staying power of some of the classiest horses around. Big Buck’s was the champion of this division, taking the crown across four consecutive years. The championship race is open to horses aged four years and up.

Plate Handicap Chase (Grade 3) - a difficult race to pick apart but a good place to start with this handicap over an extended two miles and four furlongs is with trainer David Pipe who is the winning-most trainer of the race. Run on the new course over a total of 17 fences, it usually attracts a big field of horses aged five years and up.

Mares’ Novices Hurdle (Grade 2) - the inaugural running of this race was in 2016 and it has been dominated by Irish contenders, unsurprisingly by Willie Mullins, until last year when Love Envoi took the spoils for the home team and trainer Harry Fry. The mares face 8 hurdles over 2 miles and 1 furlong on the new course and must be aged four and up.

Kim Muir Challenge Cup - a race for amateur riders over fences on the new course, brave stayers face 19 fences over 3 miles and 2 furlongs. Look out for the experienced jockeys in this race, it can make all the difference. Jamie Codd has notched up the highest number of wins in this race and is worth watching.

Triumph Hurdle (Grade 1) - the final day of the Cheltenham Festival kicks off with this cracking contest on the new course over two miles and one furlong. This is used as a stepping stone to the Champion Hurdle and four winners of this race have gone on to win Tuesday’s feature. Vauban, Tiger Roll, Zarkandra and Katichit are among the big winners of this race run over 8 hurdles, for horses aged four years and up.

County Hurdle (Grade 3) - open to horses aged five years and up and staged on the new course over 2 miles and 1 furlong taking in 8 hurdles, this handicap is a head scratcher and takes some time to study as a huge field of 25 - 30 horses line up. It is worth looking for Willie Mullins and Dan Skelton horses in this race as they have excellent records.

Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle (Grade 1) - a top-class contest run over three miles taking in 12 hurdles on the new course, for horses aged four years and up. In time some runners go on to run in the Cheltenham Gold Cup. Willie Mullins is the most successful trainer in the race having won it three times.

Cheltenham Gold Cup (Grade 1) - the showpiece of the entire Cheltenham Festival, it is the race that everyone wants to win and is staged for champion staying chasers. This blue riband event is run over an extended 3 miles and 2 furlongs and is a fascinating betting heat. Contenders take in 22 fences on the new course and whoever comes out victorious goes down in history as a champion. Notable winners include Arkle, Golden Miller, Desert Orchid, Kauto Star and three-time winner Best Mate.

Hunters’ Chase (Grade 1) - formerly known as the Foxhunters’ this is run over an extended 3 miles and 2 furlongs and tests the amateur riders - it is their Gold Cup staged over 22 fences on the new course. Paul Nicholls and Enda Bolger have a good record in the race, having won it twice.

Mares’ Chase (Grade 2) - first run in 2021, this race was introduced to boost the programme for quality mares. It is held on the new course over an extended two miles and four furlongs and takes in 17 fences. Mares must be aged five years and up and it may come as no surprise that Willlie Mullins has won both runnings of this race.

Martin Pipe Handicap Hurdle (Grade 2) - this race is for conditional jockeys only and is the final race of the Festival. Horses must be aged four years and up and take in 9 hurdles on the new course, over a distance of and extended two miles and four furlongs. Willie Mullins has won this contest four times since it was first staged in 2009.