Racing returns to Cheltenham Racecourse on Friday 23rd and Saturday 24th of October, marking the start of the new season following a major upgrade to the drainage system on the home straight.

The Jockey Club announced in April 2026 that Cheltenham’s season would end early, with the cancellation of the final three racedays, to allow the necessary drainage work to take place.

The planned upgrade of the 600 metre long main drain began in April. The opportunity was also taken to replace other sections of the drainage infrastructure, with more than 1,000 metres of drainage replaced in total. All work was completed in August.

Jon Pullin, Clerk of the Course at Cheltenham Racecourse, said: “We’re very happy with how the drainage upgrade and recovery has gone. We worked closely with specialists in turf management and drainage throughout the project to make the right decisions for the long-term management of the track.

“Starting the work in April was critical because it gave us the time to investigate the drainage system properly and take the opportunity to replace other areas that would benefit from an upgrade. For the first five weeks, our in-house team worked with our agronomists to understand exactly what was happening within the system.

“There are five main drains running down the track, with a network of other drains feeding into them before reaching the outlet at the bottom of the straight. We had to open up various stretches of the home straight as part of the investigation process and this gave us a much better understanding of what was happening beneath the surface.”

The main drain was replaced with a modern plastic drainage system, with drainage contractors D W Clark also developing bespoke equipment to help preserve the existing turf and support the subsequent recovery.

Pullin added: “We made it clear to D W Clark before the project started that, ideally, we wanted to be able to reuse the existing turf to support the recovery process later in the summer. The bespoke equipment they developed was invaluable in helping us achieve that.

“This has been a significant project and one that we wouldn’t normally undertake on this scale during the summer break. However, it has given us the opportunity to upgrade the drainage system ready for a new season.

“The drainage work is complete, recovery has gone well and we’ve also conducted another full Ground Penetrating Radar Survey of both the Old and New Course, with results showing no immediate areas of concern.”

An additional challenge for Pullin and his team this summer was the extended dry spell which saw temperatures frequently and consistently peaking at 30 degrees and above between June and August. With watering having commenced in August, preparations are well underway for The Showcase meeting at the end of October.

Pullin explained: “Despite the challenging summer, the track is looking in good shape, and we are very much looking forward to welcoming racing back to Cheltenham at the end of October.

“I appreciate the images of the track over the summer may have surprised some people but, as anyone with a garden will know, the last few months have been extremely hot and dry. However, it is normal practice for us to start watering in August, and we knew that once we started doing so the turf would come to life and the racecourse would look like its old self again.

“While there is more dry weather forecast over the next two weeks, we will continue watering to ensure we are able to provide safe ground for jump racing.”