Three Days, No Fences, but Festival Highlight is Ready for the Off at Chepstow
ONE of the biggest weekends in Welsh horse racing gets under way at Chepstow Racecourse on Friday — although this year’s festival will look a little different.
The DragonBet Welsh Racing Festival runs from Friday, October 9 to Sunday, October 11, bringing three days of National Hunt racing to Monmouthshire.
But following one of the driest periods in recent memory, there will be no steeplechasing at all.
The British Horseracing Authority confirmed that Chepstow’s chase course could not be prepared to an appropriate standard in time for the meeting, despite considerable work by the racecourse team.
As a result, the entire festival has been converted into all-hurdle racing, with the scheduled chase races transferred to Worcester and Ffos Las.
It is an unusual twist for a meeting traditionally regarded as one of the occasions when the jump season begins to gather serious momentum.
The important thing, however, is that the festival’s principal hurdle races remain firmly in place.
And Friday provides an especially strong opening.
A remarkable 96 horses have been declared across an eight-race card, headed by the £80,000 Grade 2 DragonBet Persian War Novices’ Hurdle.
The race has an impressive history.
Previous winners include horses such as Silviniaco Conti, Thyme Hill and Reve de Sivola, while last year’s contest went to Sticktotheplan for trainer Olly Murphy.
Eleven runners are declared this time around.
Friday also features another race carrying considerable Welsh prestige — the DragonBet Welsh Champion Hurdle.
Usually staged on the Sunday of the festival, it moves to the opening day this year. Last season’s winner Celtic Dino gave owner Dai Walters successive victories in the race.
Then comes Saturday’s centrepiece.
The Wasdell Group Silver Trophy is a fiercely competitive handicap hurdle first run in 1989, with former winners including Bradbury Star and future Grand National winner Don’t Push It.
Last year’s race was won by Rambo T, trained by Olly Murphy and ridden by Welsh jockey Sean Bowen, and the horse is being aimed at another crack at the prize this weekend.
The race has also received an important status boost for 2026, having been upgraded by the British Horseracing Authority to become a Premier Handicap.
Sunday then brings the festival to a close with another seven-race hurdle card and a more family-orientated finale.
Children aged 17 and under can attend free when accompanied by an adult, while live music and hospitality are also part of the three-day programme.
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Extra day in the Welsh racing spotlight
In fact, the spotlight on Chepstow begins before the first race.
The Welsh Horse Racing Awards take place at the racecourse on Thursday evening, recognising leading jockeys, trainers, owners and other figures within the sport.
That means Chepstow effectively becomes the centre of Welsh racing for four consecutive days.
The timing is particularly appropriate because Chepstow Racecourse is celebrating its centenary in 2026.
Racing began at the course 100 years ago and the venue has subsequently become synonymous with some of Welsh racing’s biggest occasions, most notably the Welsh Grand National.
This weekend therefore combines past and present.
The weather may have forced organisers to rethink the programme and temporarily remove the fences, but the quality races remain, Welsh riders and racing connections will be prominent, and one of the country’s most historic racecourses is preparing for another significant weekend.
Perhaps the best description of the 2026 Welsh Racing Festival is therefore a fairly simple one:
Three days. Plenty of jumping. Just no fences.
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Did Ewe Know?
The Persian War Novices’ Hurdle takes its name from one of the greatest hurdlers of all time. Persian War won the Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham three years running, from 1968 to 1970, and the Chepstow race bearing his name has subsequently produced numerous horses who went on to compete at the very highest level.