The traditional opening weekend of the national hunt season at Chepstow has undergone a facelift this week, with changes made in an attempt to make it bigger and better than ever before.
This October, Chepstow Racecourse will officially launch the 2025/26 UK National Hunt season with the brand new Dragonbet Welsh Racing Festival, running from Friday 10th to Sunday 12th October.
Formerly the Jump Season Opener, this expanded three-day festival aims to replace the gradual, low key start of the jumps season with something bigger, bringing together top class horses, early on, and hopefully hitting the ground running.
Let’s also applaud the racecourse for putting together very fair pricing for the meeting. They’re offering a full three-day ticket for just £39, top quality racing for three days, at a cost of just £13 per day, excellent value for those looking to take in the whole weekend.
Nothing has been confirmed, yes, but don’t be surprised to see all three days as part of the ITV coverage, as they continue to support racing with a new TV deal on the horizon.
Welsh Racing Festival – Key Highlights
There’s some good racing across the entire weekend, with each day having at least one good race for fans to enjoy.
Kicking us off on the opening day, Friday 10th October, we have the Person War Novices’ Hurdle. This Grade Two contest has been a traditional season opener for some time, and often attracts a high level of runners, usually horses that compete in the early season top races or come off from a summer jumping campaign that’s gone well.
The big day is the second day, Saturday 11th October, and there are two big races here, both handicaps. The Silver Trophy is the first big handicap hurdle race of the season, and it will headline the entire meeting, which it has done for some years now. There’s also the Native River Handicap Chase, a race that has grown in popularity and offers a big prize early in the season for chasers to aim at.
Finally, the third day comes on Sunday 12th October, and this features a race that was run at Chepstow in the past but has more recently been at Ffos Las. The Welsh Champion Hurdle is the race, and it brings even more quality to this already strong meeting, making sure that the Sunday card will be strong, as a new, third day.
Strong Season Start in Bid to Improve Autumn Interest
The start of October is always a strange time for racing, and I think that’s precisely why this meeting has been created. The classics are over with on the flat, the countdown to the end of the season is on, and other than really big races, such as the Arc and Champions Day at Ascot, I don’t think anyone really cares at that point.
People are waiting for the jumps, but despite this, the Chepstow meeting kicking us off officially, I still think a lot of people see the return of racing to Cheltenham at the end of October as the start of the season.
Hopefully, this move to make the Welsh Racing Festival a bigger and better event, attracting some good runners, will get people thinking about National Hunt racing a few weeks earlier. At a time when many switch off from the sport, in my opinion, it’s got the chance to go really well, and properly capture the imagination and get people talking. It may take a few years to get to that stage, but I think it eventually will.
