The British Horseracing Authority has confirmed a series of adjustments to the 2026 Christmas fixture schedule, aiming to secure four consecutive days of broadcast coverage from December 26 to December 29.
The policy-driven overhaul is designed to maximize the commercial impact and visibility of prominent winter jump events by eliminating previous broadcast overlaps.
Key Changes to the Schedule
Under the updated calendar, Kempton Park retains its traditional dates on December 26 and 27.
The Welsh Grand National at Chepstow moves to Monday, December 28, followed by the Challow Hurdle at Newbury on December 29.
Richard Wayman, BHA Director of Racing, said: “The Christmas period is always an important one for our sport, with increased exposure generated by some of the highest profile races in the calendar.
As we seek not only to retain but grow the sport’s fanbase, we are pleased to approve this cross-industry initiative that will see four consecutive days of high-class racing on free-to-air television.”
The scheduled broadcast window received logistical backing from media networks, which plan to streamline national coverage over the bank holiday period.
Richard Willoughby, ITV Racing Programme Editor, said: “A British Christmas racing festival has long been on our agenda, and we’re delighted to work with the BHA, the racecourses and their respective sponsorship partners to support this new initiative which will undoubtedly enhance the racing calendar over the festive period.”
Venue operators noted that coordinating the calendar across consecutive days allows each event to attract independent public interest.
David Leyden Dunbar, Director of Commercial Strategy & Partnerships for Arena Racing Company, said: “Building on the momentum of last year’s Festive period, I’m pleased that we were able to work with our partners at Coral and ITV, and in collaboration with our racecourse colleagues, to bring this exciting idea to fruition.
By aligning the calendar across these four days we hope that each meeting can fulfil its full potential and we can continue to appeal to racing fans everywhere by delivering a top class Festive Festival of Jumps Racing.”
Industry analysts point to recent growth in winter racing attendances as a driving factor for expanding dedicated family-oriented broadcast slots.
Shaun Hinds, CEO of Newbury Racecourse, said: “Post-Christmas Racing has always been a popular pastime for UK racing fans but in recent years it has gone through something of a renaissance with significant growth in attendances at all meetings during the festive period.
At Newbury, our popular Challow meeting has become a family favourite with activities and facilities arranged specifically for a family audience.
This new initiative to create a televised festive festival of racing across the four days will be brilliant for racegoers and ITV viewers alike and at Newbury we are delighted to be staging the finale of this exciting development in the racing calendar.”
Course administrators emphasized that the restructured dates build on previous competitive momentum and dramatic finishes that captured public attention.
Simon Durrant, General Manager of Kempton Park Racecourse, said: “The Christmas period is synonymous with competitive and compelling sport and British racing has a number of well established and popular meetings for racegoers and fans watching on TV to enjoy.
Last year the Ladbrokes King George VI Chase grabbed the sports headlines with its four-way photo finish and the changes outlined today help the sport build on such thrilling drama.
By working together with the racing industry on this we hope to boost the prominence of each of the major events taking place over this period and create an exciting focal point for each day.
We’re grateful to everyone involved for their collaboration and looking forward to working with ITV Racing and our sponsors, Ladbrokes, to promote this new concept.”
Corporate partners indicated that the revamped schedule serves a vital economic purpose amid shifting regulatory pressures within the domestic sporting market.
Simon Clare, Entain UK PR Director, said: “The festive racing period is of huge commercial importance to British racing and Britain’s bookmakers, and by working constructively with our racecourse partners, the BHA and ITV Racing, we have created a four-day Christmas Racing programme that gives each premier race meeting the spotlight it deserves and delivers a stronger and more compelling narrative for racing fans, racegoers and betting customers.
It will also deliver much-needed increased returns to all parties at a time when Racing revenues are under major pressure and bookmakers are facing into heavy tax rises and increased regulation.
We are very proud to be sponsoring the major races and meetings that make-up this new four-day programme, and extremely grateful for the willingness of our racecourse partners to embrace the fixture changes, and for the support of ITV racing without which this new programme could not have happened.”
The British Horseracing Authority confirmed that ticket and hospitality holders for the affected fixtures will be contacted directly regarding the updated scheduling details.
