Where to watch 2026 Cheltenham Festival after ITV coverage ends with final race switching TV channels

With Cheltenham Festival just around the corner, people all around the country will soon be tuning in to one of the biggest events on the sporting calendar.

Around 250,000 people will flock to Gloucestershire to enjoy the best that jump racing has to offer over four days of thrilling action.

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Boasting seven races each day, Cheltenham is among the sport’s biggest meetings, with fans desperate to keep up with the drama.

While many will make the trip to the iconic venue, there are sure to be plenty more tuning into the action on TV.

UK viewers will be able to get their fix of the action, with a large chunk of the event being shown on free-to-air TV.

However, like many of sport’s biggest events, the final race of each day will be hidden behind a paywall.

So, for those looking to follow every twist and turn at Cheltenham, here is exactly where you can keep across all your racing action.

Cheltenham Festival 2026: How to watch the final races

The first six races of each day of the 2026 Cheltenham Festival will be broadcast live on ITV 1, and can also be streamed on ITVX.

But the broadcaster’s coverage has a limited window, with coverage running between 12:45pm and 5pm.

This means that the final race on each day of the Festival will not be available to watch on ITV.

Instead, fans can tune into the last bit of the action on dedicated horse racing channel Racing TV.

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A subscription is required to watch via this platform, which can be purchased through Sky and Virgin, and can also be streamed via Amazon Fire TV, Android TV and Apple TV devices. 

In addition to this, Racing TV, is available on Sky channel 424, Virgin Media channel 536, and Vodafone TV channel 421 in Ireland.

An annual subscription costs £298 and monthly it is £29.98. You can sign up here.

Several major bookmakers and apps will also show all the races to funded account holders on their respective betting pages.

talkSPORT will also be right across the festival, with commentators on hand on all four days to bring you the latest news.

Cheltenham Festival 2026: talkSPORT coverage

talkSPORT has live coverage of all the action from Cheltenham.

We will have commentators on the course each day, bringing you coverage of all the races throughout the festival.

More details on our coverage to come.

To tune in to talkSPORT or talkSPORT 2 through the website, click HERE for the live stream. 

You can also listen via the talkSPORT app, on DAB digital radio, through your smart speaker and on 1089 or 1053 AM.

talkSPORT.com will keep you up to date with all the latest build-up and reaction too.

Cheltenham Festival 2026: Final race schedule

The following races will NOT be shown on ITV – you can view the full timetable of all 28 events at Cheltenham HERE. 

Champion Day – Tuesday, March 10

• 5:20pm – The Princess Royal National Hunt Novices’ Handicap Chase

Ladies day – Wednesday, March 11

• 5.20pm: The Weatherbys Champion Bumper

St Patrick’s Thursday – Thursday, March 12

• 5.20pm: The Rosconn Group Fulke Walwyn Kim Muir Amateur Jockeys’ Handicap Chase 

Gold Cup Day – Friday, March 13

• 5.20pm: The Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap Hurdle