No Cross Country Chase at Cheltenham in November

Cheltenham cancel November's Cross Country Chase

Horse Racing

Fri October 16, 2026 · 4h ago

Cheltenham have cancelled the Glenfarclas Cross Country Chase at The November Meeting because the ground is currently unraceable.

The track have been unable to water the Cross Country Course with all resources focused on ensuring safe ground for the Showcase Meeting next Friday and Saturday and officials say the weather forecast suggests that dry conditions are likely to continue, with insufficient rainfall expected to achieve safe conditions on the Cross Country course in time for November.

The Glenfarclas Cross Country Chase will now be rescheduled for Festival Trials Day on Saturday 30th January, creating an eight-race card.

Jon Pullin, Clerk of the Course at Cheltenham Racecourse, said: “It is always disappointing to lose any race or fixture, and the team have worked incredibly hard in very challenging conditions to get the Old Course ready for racing next week.

“Given the exceptionally dry summer, which has continued into the early autumn, our priority has had to be ensuring the Old Course is ready. The forecast suggests that there is limited rainfall expected in the coming weeks and warm temperatures are set to continue, meaning our attention will need to remain on the Old Course in the lead-up to The November Meeting.

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“We wanted to take the decision to cancel the Cross Country Chase as early as possible to allow participants time to adjust their plans.

“Unfortunately, we have already lost a number of fixtures across the country due to the challenging conditions. In discussions with the BHA and the NTF, we recognise that this may continue over the next couple of weeks. Therefore, there may be races that need rescheduling that could be accommodated at The November Meeting so we will confirm the replacement race by Friday 30th October.”

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