Cheltenham Cancels Final Three Racedays for Home Straight Drainage Upgrade

Jamie Snowden trained a Festival winner at Cheltenham this month. Days later, the track cancelled the remaining season entirely, with Snowden among the trainers publicly voicing what the Racing Post described as "very disappointed" reactions and surprise "at lack of consultation."

Cheltenham Racecourse announced on Monday that its final three racedays of the 2025-26 season have been cancelled to allow immediate work on the drainage systems beneath the home straight. The two-day April Meeting, scheduled for April 15 and 16, will not take place, nor will Race Night, an all-Hunter Chase card planned for May 1.

The cancellation traces back to a specific moment in January, when a hole appeared in the home straight during the Trials Day fixture. The Racing Post reported the hole was later deemed to have been caused by a broken drain. That damage prompted Cheltenham to relocate rail and hurdle positions on both the Old and New courses to maintain safe racing conditions through the rest of the season. Before the Cheltenham Festival, The Jockey Club commissioned a ground-penetrating radar survey of the track to assess subsurface conditions.

Jon Pullin, Cheltenham's Head of Racing and Clerk of the Course, said the prolonged wet winter made action unavoidable. "Our priority is always to provide the best possible racing surface for top-class jump racing. Throughout the very wet winter, we have experienced a number of issues on the track and working with drainage experts, we have identified an area that would benefit from being upgraded," he said.

Pullin confirmed the racecourse had tested every alternative before pulling the fixtures. "We did look at contingency plans that might allow us to prioritise this work while also staging our April and May fixtures but unfortunately it is not feasible to continue racing. However, we are grateful to the BHA for their support in helping us move Race Night to Warwick and to stage four races from The April Meeting elsewhere. Although it is disappointing not to stage our final three racedays of the season, we are confident this is the right decision to give the course the opportunity to be in optimal condition for the start of the 2026-27 season in October."

The decision came after consultation between Cheltenham's grounds team, drainage contractors and agronomists, who agreed that beginning the upgrade while ground moisture remains will aid turf recovery and protect the October 2026 season start.

All seven races from Race Night will transfer to Warwick Racecourse on May 1, keeping that Hunter Chase card intact. Four races from the April Meeting will be moved to as-yet-unnamed venues, with the British Horseracing Authority supporting Cheltenham in sourcing receiving tracks. For connections with April entries, those unconfirmed relocations leave spring planning unresolved as of Monday's announcement.

Members are reported to be receiving a 7% annual fee refund plus two complimentary tickets to future meetings, though The Jockey Club had not confirmed the mechanics or timeline of that package at the time of the announcement.

Work on a significant section of the home straight is set to begin immediately. Whether the four displaced April Meeting races find confirmed venues before April 15, and whether the drainage works complete on schedule, are the two open questions The Jockey Club will need to resolve quickly.