The jumps are back... here's everything you need to know about the return of National Hunt racing for the 2024/25 season.
The 2025 Cheltenham Festival is slowly creeping into view as excitement builds for the start of the new season for National Hunt racing.
National Hunt racing is a form of horse racing in the UK and Ireland where horses jump over obstacles such as fences, hurdles or ditches.
When does the National Hunt Season start?
The Jump Jockeys Championship starts in July and runs to Finals Day at Sandown Park towards the end of April the following year.
However, the start of the winter National Hunt programme in the UK is traditionally seen as the Chepstow Jump Season opener, which kicks off on Friday (11-12 October) featuring the Persian War Novices' Hurdle.
To confuse things further, the Charlie Hall meeting at Wetherby - featuring the Charlie Hall Chase - is often recognised in racing circles as the time the sport switches full attention to National Hunt.
This comes after Champions Day at Ascot, featuring the Champion Stakes among four Grade 1's, which serves as the finale to the British Flat racing season.
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How to Bet on National Hunt Races through oddschecker
There are two very easy ways you can bet on National Hunt races through oddschecker - the oddschecker app and website. For further explanation please see below.
For website use, all you need to do is load up the page, click Horse Racing > Racing Home and then you will find the current day and following day’s fixtures in Britain.
Alternatively, the home page is filtered with all the latest betting odds. For available National Hunt races betting odds at a later date including the Grand National at Aintree, you can also access the Ante-Post section.
For app use, which is highly recommended for placing bets on National Hunt races, this can be downloaded for free via the App Store.
To find out all of the betting odds for available National Hunt races on the current and following day’s fixtures plus Ante-Post, click Horse Racing at the top of the home page and you will find pretty much everything you need.
What is the difference between a Hurdle and a Chase?
A chase is run over fences - the larger obstacles - and can be run over various distances including marathon trips.
Races such as the Classic Chase, Eider Chase, the Grand National, Welsh National and Scottish Grand National are just a sample of the longer distance events.
A hurdles race, which is over the smaller obstacles, can be used for maidens, novices and senior horses. Races such as the Champion Hurdle, Stayers' Hurdle, Supreme Novices' Hurdle and the Tolworth Hurdle are high-profile examples of a hurdle race.
The third and final type of National Hunt race is a bumper, which is a race run without jumps but at a National Hunt meet – for example, the Champion Bumper at Cheltenham, which remains despite big changes to the Festival schedule.
To contest the bumper, horses must be aged seven years or under and must not have raced in a National Hunt meet before (apart from in other bumper races).
Click here for more on the difference between a Chase and a Hurdle.
National Hunt Season Key Dates 2024/25
- Chepstow – Jump Season Opener (October 11th to 12th)
- Cheltenham – The Showcase Meeting (October 25th to 26th)
- Wetherby – Charlie Hall Chase Day (November 2nd)
- Cheltenham – The November Meeting (November 15th to 17th)
- Haydock - Betfair Chase Day (November 23rd)
- Newcastle - Fighting Fifth Hurdle Day (November 30th)
- Sandown - Tingle Creek Festival (December 6th to 7th)
- Kempton - Christmas Festival (December 26th to 27th)
- Chepstow - Welsh Grand National Day (December 27th)
- Cheltenham - New Year’s Day Meeting (January 1st)
- Sandown - Veterans' Chase Day (January 4th)
- Cheltenham - Festival Trials Day (January 25th)
- Cheltenham - The Festival (March 11th to 14th)
- Aintree - Grand National Festival (April 3rd to 5th)
- Sandown - Jump Finale Day (April 26th)
When is the Cheltenham Festival 2025?
The 2025 Cheltenham Festival will get underway on Tuesday 11th March 2025 and run for four days through to Friday 14th March 2025.
