The History of the Cheltenham Festival

The Cheltenham Festival is a sporting event like no other. 

Its history features names that resonate across the ages, such as equine celebrities Kauto Star, Best Mate, Denman, Golden Miller and Arkle, jockeys from Pat Taaffe to Ruby Walsh and Rachael Blackmore, and masterful trainers of the likes of Willie Mullins and Nicky Henderson.

The biggest occasion in the jump season calendar, the festival boasts some of the most high profile races in the sport, including the Champion Hurdle, the Queen Mother Champion Chase, The Stayers' Hurdle as well as the Cheltenham Gold Cup, and to win to the sound of the famous "Cheltenham Roar" is the dream of every chaser or hurdler, from amateur to novice to seasoned jumper.

Fully updated for 2027, this book traces the Cheltenham Festival’s evolution from its earliest days to the extraordinary spectacle it is today – where the aristocracy mingle with day trippers, and the Irish arrive in their thousands to make this small Gloucestershire town seem like an outpost of the Emerald Isle. 

A glorious celebration of the world’s greatest jump-racing event, it showcases more than a century of unforgettable moments, with the incomparable Cheltenham Gold Cup at its heart.