The Festive Four: New four-day Christmas racing programme unveiled

A new festive programme has been announced giving racing fans four consecutive days of live ITV racing from Boxing Day to 29 December with a major feature race every day.

Racing fans are in for a festive treat this Christmas with the launch of The Festive Four, an exciting new four-day programme bringing together some of the biggest fixtures in the jump racing calendar to deliver four consecutive days of top-class racing over the festive period live on ITV for the first time.  

By spreading the major Christmas fixtures across four days, the new programme will give each of the festive season’s showpiece fixtures its own moment in the spotlight, creating an unmissable run of racing action from Boxing Day through to 29 December.  

The Festive Four brings together Premier jump meetings at Kempton Park, Chepstow and Newbury, with a major feature race headlining each of the four days. 

The action gets underway with the Ladbrokes Christmas Festival at Kempton Park, which retains its traditional 26 and 27 December dates. Boxing Day will once again be headlined by the Ladbrokes King George VI Chase, before the Ladbrokes Kauto Star Chase takes centre stage on 27 December. 

Attention then switches to Wales on 28 December for one of the great staying chases of the season, the Coral Welsh Grand National at Chepstow, before Newbury brings The Festive Four to a thrilling conclusion on 29 December, with the Coral Challow Hurdle the headline act. 

The Jukebox Man won a thrilling Ladbrokes King George VI Chase at Kempton last year. (Pic: Amanda Burton - focusonracing.com)

Adding another competitive dimension across the four days, The Festive Four will crown its own leading jockey and leading trainer, with trophies on offer for the top performers across the festival, providing an additional storyline for racing fans to follow across the four days. 

Racegoers will also be able to take advantage of a special limited offer ticket called The Festive Four Pass, enabling them to attend all four days of Festive Four racing for just £64. The Festive Four Pass goes on sale on 5 November and will be available until 15 December at www.thefestivefour.com and each of the partner racecourse websites.  

Alongside the preferentially priced four-day Festive Four Pass, Kempton, Chepstow, and Newbury Members will be able to enjoy free admission to all four race days; eligible members will be contacted with details of how to make the most of this opportunity in the coming days. 

The Festive Four is a collaboration between Entain, The Jockey Club, Arena Racing Company, Newbury Racecourse, Racecourse Media Group (RMG), the British Horseracing Authority (BHA), ITV Racing and Great British Racing (GBR), working together to showcase four days of top-class festive racing. 

Coral Challow Hurdle day will bring The Festive Four to a conclusion on December 29.

Simon Clare of Entain, owner of Festive Four sponsors Ladbrokes and Coral, said: “Racing over Christmas is already one of the most important periods of the jump racing season, with some of our greatest heritage races taking place at a time when racing and sports fans love attending the races or settling down to enjoy the action on ITV. 

“The Festive Four makes this special period even better. By spreading these great fixtures across four consecutive days, we're giving fans more of what they love, with a major racing occasion to look forward to every day. It's a fantastic four-day package of top-class jump racing and a great opportunity to showcase our sport to a wider audience over Christmas.” 

Simon Durrant, General Manager at Kempton Park, added: “The Ladbrokes Christmas Festival, on Saturday 26 and Sunday 27 December, is one of the highlights of the jump racing calendar, and we’re delighted that the fixture will play an important part in this exciting new initiative."

Leading Jump Racing Professionals give their thoughts on the Festive Four 

Dan Skelton, Champion Jump Trainer: “It feels like we’ve needed to get our house in order with the festive racing programme in the UK, and creating a festival like this is a really positive step. Fans and professionals alike can now plan their festive racing, and I can’t wait. Hopefully, the fans will enjoy it as much as we will. 

“It’s a very sensible move for the whole industry, so thank you to the sponsors and everyone involved in making this happen.” 

Sean Bowen, winner of the 2026 Coral Welsh Grand National: “The Christmas fixtures are some of the most important and exciting of the whole year, and winning the Coral Welsh National last season was one of the highlights of my career so far.  It’s great that the Chepstow card is now part of the Festive Four and will take centre stage on 28 December, ensuring it remains the biggest sporting event in Wales over the Christmas holidays.” 

Ben Jones, winner of the 2025 Ladbrokes King George VI Chase: "Winning the King George was one of the biggest moments of my career, so this has always been a special time of year for me. Now, with the Festive Four, there’s even more to look forward to and hopefully we can be right in the thick of the action across all four days, including the Coral Welsh National.” 

Joe Tizzard, leading jump trainer: "As a family and a team we've enjoyed some of our biggest winners over the Christmas period, including victories in both the Ladbrokes King George VI Chase and the Coral Welsh Grand National, so I very much welcome the changes to the schedule that means we will no longer have to choose between being at Kempton or Chepstow on the 27th, while the fixed date for Newbury's Coral Challow Hurdle meeting means racing fans really do have a Festive Four days to look forward to." 

Join Racing TV for FREE!

Click here to start your free one-month trial!

Watch over 100 live race meetings for FREE! Start your free one-month trial of Racing TV.

Racing TV encourages responsible gambling - to find out more click here to head to our dedicated website page.