Cheltenham Festival 2020: Ten racing terms explained

Horse racing can be a confusing world for newcomers to the sport.

But when it's time for the Cheltenham Festival, thousands of people like a flutter- and that's not just the 250,000 people flocking to the course for the week.

From hurdle to chase, novice to handicapper, the language can baffle the occasional punter.

So here's a quick guide to the Cheltenham Festival and some of the terms that you may come across.

What is the Cheltenham Festival and when is it?

The highlight of the National Hunt calendar, the very best horses and jockeys take each on over four days- March 10-13.

There are 28 races and the showpiece event is the Cheltenham Gold Cup which gets underway at 3.30pm on Friday.

What different races are there?

Hurdles over the smaller obstacles and steeplechases over fences.

They are run over distances from two miles to nearly four miles in the National Hunt Chase.

Divided into various divisions, they cover various factors such as experience, age, sex and a horse's ability.

What are the feature contests?

Tuesday – Unibet Champion Hurdle

Wednesday – Betway Queen Mother Champion Chase

Thursday – Paddy Power Stayers’ Hurdle

Friday – Magners Cheltenham Gold Cup

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