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Cheltenham Festival in pictures: Day one round-up

Bea SwallowWest of England
News imageBBC Two girls posing for a picture, standing inside the Cheltenham Festival arena and holding a pint of cider. The one on the left is wearing a patterned tweed jacket, brown gloves and a fluffy hat. The girl on the right is wearing a white buttoned shirt, sunglasses, a fluffy hat and a black handbag.BBC
Crowds gather for day one of The Cheltenham Festival 2026, which takes place from 10-13 March

Hundreds of thousands of people have descended onto Cheltenham Racecourse for one of the biggest events in the horse racing calendar.

The Cheltenham Festival in Gloucestershire has officially begun, marking the first of four days of elite jump racing, bustling crowds and high-stakes betting.

Day one is known as Champion Day because of its feature event, the Unibet Champion Hurdle - which takes place over two miles (3.2km).

The festival will culminate on Friday, with an expected crowd of 70,000 set to gather to watch top jockeys and racehorses compete in the Gold Cup.

News imagePA Jockeys and their horses running along the bright green racecourse at Cheltenham Festival. The grandstands in the foreground are packed full of crowds. In the distance there are TV screens showing a live zoomed-in view of the race.PA

Racing royalty: The festival, held every March, brings together the best horses from Britain and Ireland to compete in a series of 28 prestigious National Hunt races over fences and hurdles.

News imagePA A group of five people screaming and cheering as the horses pass them on the racecourse. The grandstands behind them are packed full of people.PA

Festival frenzy: Opening day begins with a traditional roar from the crowd as the first race, the Supreme Novices' Hurdle, gets under way.

News imagePA A close up of four jockeys riding their horses on the bright green grass of the racecourse. In the background is a large hill covered in fields and trees. It is an overcast grey day.PA

Crowning moment: The day is composed of seven races in total, including the Arkle Challenge Trophy and the Ultima Handicap Chase, before the afternoon builds to the Champion Hurdle.

News imagePA A picture taken from above of five men in the centre of the image, standing on the concrete steps in the grandstands at Cheltenham Racecourse. They are studying the form, which looks like a newspaper, where all the horses' previous race statistics are detailed.PA

Studying the odds: The grandstands are packed with optimistic gamblers analysing the form - a detailed 'report-card' of a horse's performance in previous races.

News imagePA Four jockeys jump over a thick hurdle made of sticks. Kargese the horse, ridden by Danny Mullins, is front and centre on their way to winning the Singer Arkle Novices' Chase. PA

Flying finish: Hooves flying and hearts racing as Kargese (centre), ridden by Danny Mullins, clears a hurdle on their way to winning the Singer Arkle Novices' Chase.

News imagePA A group of five women posing for a picture at Cheltenham Festival. They are wearing feather fascinators, tweed jackets, silk blouses, handbags and burgundy hats. PA

Racecourse runway: The ladies have dressed to impress in classic race-day style, sporting tweed jackets, feathered fascinators and silk blouses.

News imagePA Three men wearing jackets and hats gather near an outdoor bar, holding pints of Guinness, smiling and chatting with each other. It is a bright sunny day but still looks cold.PA

Liquid luck: Punters huddle near the outdoor bars, sipping a pint of Guinness in the sunshine.

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