Five changes made at Cheltenham ahead of the 2026-27 season
By Harry Allwood
Last Updated: Mon 19 Oct 2026
Racing returns at Cheltenham on Friday for day one of The William Hill Showcase Meeting, live on Racing TV, and our man Harry Allwood caught up with Jon Pullin, Clerk of the Course, and Guy Lavender, Chief Executive of Cheltenham Racecourse, on Monday to find out more about the changes that have been made at the course ahead of the 2026-2027 Jumps season.
Drainage improvements
On Festival Trials Day this year, Cheltenham launched an investigation after a hole was found on the track ahead of the final race, which was eventually run after a delay. Repair work was carried out in February to ensure the Cheltenham Festival could go ahead, but The Jockey Club announced in April that Cheltenham’s season would end early, with the final three racedays cancelled, to allow necessary drainage work to take place.
The planned upgrade of the 600 metre long main drain began later that month, and the opportunity was also taken to replace other sections of the drainage infrastructure over the summer, with more than 1,000 metres of drainage replaced in total. All work was completed in August, and Pullin says the work carried out has been a huge success.
Pullin explained: "We had the issue on Trials Day, a problem with one of the drains. We carried out a repair during February and obviously held a successful Festival after that, but one of the learnings from the repair in February, and the advice from our agronomist, was that we should, at some point in the future, look to replace the drain in question. And that's a significant drain, it's 600 metres long, runs from the inside of the course at the bottom of the old hill and all the way up the home straight.
“It was a significant project that we needed to undertake, and one that we thought we should do sooner rather than later. The decision was made that we would move or cancel the April and May fixtures to create a window that gave us the time to, firstly, carry out such a significant project, but also ensure that we'd got a good window for recovery to make sure that the track was in the best possible shape for the start of this season.
“The first few weeks were very much about exploring the drainage system; the team spent most of April digging down into the drainage system and using the cameras to review and understand what was going on.
“And we actually made the decision to replace other areas as well. It wasn't particularly that we'd seen any issues, but we recognised that the reason we were carrying out the big project was a shallow drain of a certain age that we felt we should replace. And where we saw that in other areas, we've replaced those as well.
“So, what started out as a project to replace about 600 metres has ended up as a project where we've replaced over a thousand meters of drainage. A significant amount of work, but it's gone well and we're really pleased with how the drainage work has gone, but also how the recovery has gone as well.”
New starting procedures
New starting procedures, designed to combat false starts in jump races, came into force on October 5, with the BHA announcing a number of changes following an extensive review involving jockeys and trainers.
40 per cent of races at this year's Cheltenham Festival resulted in a false start, an issue that has increased significantly, with only 18 per cent of races at the 2022 Cheltenham Festival affected by them.
However, Pullin is hopeful the changes will help improve starts at Cheltenham throughout the season.
“Unfortunately, a lot of the focus from the last Festival was around the starts, and the BHA carried out their consultation, which we were obviously involved in during the summer," said Pullin.
“It’s an industry-wide project, but obviously the focus had been on here, and particularly the Festival itself. Whilst there's no one thing that's going to solve this, I think a combination of the changes that have been made should hopefully make a difference. And the role that we can play in that is with rail alignment.
“We'd done a few things last summer to try and help that clearly didn't work, but we've done things this time that will hopefully put us in a better position, particularly for next year's Festival. Our two problem starts are the two mile, and the two and a half mile start in the chute in the centre. And up at the two-mile start, we've sort of pushed the rail out in places, we've taken some rail down, and we've widened the canter down at the top of the straight with the aim of being able to push the runners out as wide as possible on the approach, so that when they do turn towards the start, they'll hopefully be straighter than they have historically been.
“It's not straightforward, but with a combination of these things, along with the walking pace approaching the starts, and the start zones, we'll hopefully see the improvement that we all want to see.”
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Millions invested to improve facilities
It's not just the track that has received extensive work, as significant investment has been made over the past few months to improve the racegoer experience, and Lavender is proud of the efforts his team have made, with upgrades to every bar in the grandstand among a whole host of improvements for racegoers to enjoy.
“The whole team have been working incredibly hard over the summer months to get everything right both on and off the track and we can’t wait for the season to get under way on Friday," said Lavender when asked about the changes made at Cheltenham Racecourse over the summer.
“The focus has, once again, been on investment – investing in the significant and necessary upgrade of the drainage system and also continuing to invest in the customer experience.
“Last season, our racegoers were extremely complimentary about the improvements we made to a number of bars and restaurants and the increased food and covered seating options across the site.
"We’ve listened to and analysed the feedback we received throughout the 2025-26 season and invested millions of pounds in upgrading more of these areas, and now every bar in the grandstand has been refurbished, which will help improve the overall experience in so many ways, from the look and feel to queues and being able to move around the racecourse."
Improved membership packages
Lavender also explained how membership packages have been put under the microscope, and a number of different options are now available following feedback from Cheltenham Racecourse members. These changes have already resulted in over 1,000 new members joining ahead of the 2026-27 Jumps season.
He said: “We have also spent a considerable amount of time looking at our membership structure and putting together packages that really benefit what is a tremendously loyal, supportive and passionate customer group.
“Creating a basic membership package, which we’re calling The Favourite, was really important as I wanted to make sure we can offer the best possible value for those who come racing often. At £379, or £245 for 18-28s or over 65s, we’ve seen more than 1,000 new members sign up ahead of the new season, which is a fantastic endorsement for this package.
“We have also created two other premium memberships which are limited on capacity to ensure we can guarantee a level of experience which racegoers looking for designated areas from which to base themselves for a raceday expect. Again, we’ve been really encouraged by the reaction to these packages and both have sold out ahead of the new season.
“We’ll continue to listen to our members and all of our customers and where we need to make changes during the season we certainly will. Improving the raceday experience should be an evolving process and we’ll continue to invest in the years to come, but I’m really pleased with the progress we’ve made over the summer.”
Extra entertainment and activities
Although the racing is the main attraction, Lavender and his team are keen to continue organising additional events throughout the season. "There are loads of events and activities planned for the season ahead that sit around the racing, so there are loads of reasons to visit Cheltenham this season" explained Lavender, but it is one raceday in particular that the team are keen to shout about.
The course will celebrate the life and legacy of the late Dame Jilly Cooper on Countryside Day, which takes place day one of The November Meeting (Friday 13), with a special tribute to one of the sport’s most recognisable and much-loved supporters.
A memorial bench will also be unveiled on the Crescent walkway, overlooking the parade ring, which will provide a fitting place for racegoers to remember Jilly.
"It will be a great occasion to celebrate the life of one of the Cotswold's favourite people, and we're really looking forward to that," said Lavender.
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