The curtain has come down early on Cheltenham’s 2025-26 season after the home of jump racing confirmed it is cancelling its remaining two fixtures to carry out urgent drainage work on the home straight.
The announcement, made on Monday, came as a surprise to many in the sport and it’s fair to say the reaction from trainers hasn’t fully supported what’s happened..
Just a couple of weeks after the Cheltenham Festival has taken place, the season is over. The issue was covered over for the big meeting, but given the course has taken this drastic step, the problem is clearly bigger than originally thought.
Why is Cheltenham Cancelling Meetings?
The two day April Meeting, scheduled for Wednesday 15th and Thursday 16th April is the first to be cancelled.
This is along with the popular Race Night meeting an all-Hunter Chase card planned for Friday 1st May, which will now no longer take place at Cheltenham.
The issues have been brewing and while I’m surprised it’s come to this, in terms of actually spending time and money fixing the track, I’m not surprised by that at all, it’s needed.
The track’s Trials day fixture in January was affected by a hole appearing in the home straight, which was later deemed to be caused by a broken drain. That incident caused a lengthy delay and raised serious questions about the state of the course infrastructure.
Fast forward to the present day and the decision has been taken to address the problem properly rather than paper over the cracks.
Clerk of the course Jon Pullin explained the thinking by saying
“the course experienced a number of issues throughout the very wet winter, and working with drainage experts, they identified an area that would benefit from being upgraded”
It is this area they believe contributed to the hole appearing on Cheltenham Trials day and subsequently created challenges in other areas of the track.
The decision to carry out the work follows consultation between the racecourse’s grounds team, drainage contractors and agronomists.
They all agreed the course would benefit from work being carried out while there was still moisture in the ground to aid recovery and to minimise any potential impact on the start of next season.
Pullin also noted that given the scale of the project and the last two particularly dry summers, they decided to bring the work forward rather than wait until the usual end of season slot.
What Happens to the Races?
While The April Meeting will not be staged at an alternative venue, four key races have been rescheduled with prize money remaining unaltered.
Specifically, the Mares Novices Handicap Chase will take place at Market Rasen on 14th April, the Challenger Mares’ Chase Series Final and the Challenger Mares’ Hurdle Series Final will be rescheduled to Warwick on 23rd April, and the Fillies’ Juvenile Handicap Hurdle will run as part of the Jump Finale card at Sandown Park on 25th April.
The hunter chase evening meeting, Race Night, will now take place at Warwick on the same date of May 1st, with all seven races being transferred.
As of now, no other races have been moved.
For racegoers, all general admission ticket holders for the affected race days will be automatically refunded, while the racecourse team will be in touch directly with hospitality bookers, members, and annual boxholders.
Trainers Unhappy & Want More
Not everyone is buying the justification, and there’s a clear frustration that the decision was made without proper consultation and forewarning.
Trainer Jamie Snowden was direct in his response, he called it a total surprise and said every race should be rescheduled for exactly the same prize-money, adding that the Jockey Club should have been in consultation with participants before making the decision.
The National Trainers Federation echoed that view. NTF chief executive Paul Johnson said they were very disappointed to have learned of the decision and surprised at the lack of consultation with trainers ahead of the announcement, adding that the NTF Jump Committee would meet with the Jockey Club to discuss the matter further.
Cheltenham chief executive Guy Lavender defended the call, framing it as an investment in the future, he described Cheltenham as the Home of Jump Racing and said the focus would always be on providing the best facilities, on and off the track, which is why they are investing in this work.
It’s a tough one. Nobody doubts that the drainage issues are real and that addressing them now makes sense for the long-term health of the course.
But dropping this news on trainers, owners, and racegoers without warning, with horses already preparing and plans made is the kind of thing that continues to frustrate.
Racing does this to itself, and a bit of advance dialogue would have gone a long way in this situation.