Day 2 of the Cheltenham Festival 2027 is Ladies Day, Wednesday 17 March. There are seven races, the first at 1:20pm and the last at 5:20pm, with the Queen Mother Champion Chase at 4:00pm as the feature. This is our Wednesday guide: the card, what decides each race and where the each-way value tends to be.
Where our selections are: the guide is live and our Day 2 selections are added here in Festival week, once the final runners are declared and the going is known. The card below is the Jockey Club's published Wednesday schedule, checked 23 October 2026. Races, times and sponsors can change before the meeting, so we check it again when the entries are published.
The Day 2 card: Ladies Day, Wednesday 17 March 2027
| Time | Race | Type and grade |
|---|---|---|
| 1:20pm | Turners Novices' Hurdle | Novices' hurdle, about 2 miles 5 furlongs (Grade 1) |
| 2:00pm | Brown Advisory Novices' Chase | Novices' chase, about 3 miles 1 furlong (Grade 1) |
| 2:40pm | BetMGM Cup Handicap Hurdle | Handicap hurdle, about 2 miles 5 furlongs (Premier Handicap) |
| 3:20pm | Cross Country Handicap Chase | Handicap chase on the cross-country course (Handicap) |
| 4:00pm | Queen Mother Champion Chase | Chase, about 2 miles, 12 fences (Grade 1) |
| 4:40pm | Grand Annual Challenge Cup | Handicap chase, about 2 miles (Premier Handicap) |
| 5:20pm | Champion Bumper | National Hunt flat race (no obstacles), about 2 miles (Grade 1) |
The feature on Wednesday is the Queen Mother Champion Chase at 4:00pm. The Festival runs 16 to 19 March 2027, seven races a day.
How we will look at each race
| Race | What decides it, and what we look for |
|---|---|
| Turners Novices' Hurdle | A novice hurdle over further than two miles, on an uphill finish. We look for horses that finished strongly over this trip or further, because the hill exposes any doubt about stamina. |
| Brown Advisory Novices' Chase | A staying novice chase. Jumping and stamina matter most, and a horse that has only raced over two miles has more to prove. |
| BetMGM Cup Handicap Hurdle | A big-field handicap hurdle. Like most Festival handicaps it can go to a horse a few pounds off the top of the weights, so we read the whole handicap, not just the top end. |
| Cross Country Handicap Chase | Run over the separate cross-country course, over banks, ditches and other natural-style obstacles rather than ordinary fences. Experience of this type of fence matters more than normal chase form, so we weigh previous runs on the course heavily. |
| Queen Mother Champion Chase | The two-mile chasing championship. Speed and accurate jumping decide it. The market often has a clear leader, so the question is the price: is it big enough for the risk? |
| Grand Annual Challenge Cup | A big-field two-mile handicap chase. Quick, accurate jumping decides it, and a horse that loses ground at one fence can rarely recover in a race this fast. |
| Champion Bumper | A flat race for future jumpers where most runners have run once or twice or not at all. There is very little form to go on, so we are cautious here and rarely look for a bet. |
Where the each-way value is on Day 2
The handicaps on Day 2 are the BetMGM Cup, the Cross Country and the Grand Annual. Big fields are where each-way betting makes sense: a handicap with 16 or more runners pays four places at a quarter of the odds under standard terms, and bookmakers often add extra places for the Festival.
New to each-way betting? Each-way betting explained has the place terms and worked examples. If you want to know whether a smaller place fraction is worth extra places, see Grand National each-way terms, where the same maths is worked through.
Ladies Day and the Cross Country
The Cross Country is the odd one out on the Festival card. It is run on a different course at Cheltenham, over natural-style obstacles such as banks and ditches, and the form of a good normal chaser does not always carry over.
That makes course experience a bigger clue than in any other race that week. If a horse has already run on the cross-country course, look at how it jumped and how it finished, not only where it finished.
Our Day 2 selections
Not published yet. We add our Wednesday selections in Festival week, each with its reasoning, and every result goes into our public record, winners and losers. We do not make up tips in advance: a tip is only worth following when you can see how it was chosen. Read how we pick our tips.
In the meantime, today's NAP, next best and each-way pick are on the racing tips page and the home page.
Before you bet
- Day 2 has two championship-level races at very different distances (the novices over staying trips, the Champion Chase at two miles): do not assume the same type of horse suits both.
- The Champion Bumper is the hardest race of the week to read. If you bet, keep the stake small.
- Look for Best Odds Guaranteed so you are paid the starting price if it is bigger than the price you took.
- Only bet what you can afford to lose. Tips are opinions, not guarantees.
More Cheltenham Festival 2027 guides
18+ only. Tips are our opinion, not a promise: racing is unpredictable and losing runs happen. Stake only what you can afford to lose. Free, confidential help: BeGambleAware or GamCare on 0808 8020 133.
FAQs
What time is the Queen Mother Champion Chase in 2027?
The Queen Mother Champion Chase is scheduled for 4:00pm on Wednesday 17 March 2027, the fifth of seven races. Times are from the Jockey Club schedule (checked 23 October 2026) and can change.
When is Ladies Day at Cheltenham 2027?
Ladies Day, Day 2 of the Festival, is Wednesday 17 March 2027.
What is the Cross Country at the Cheltenham Festival?
A long handicap chase run on a separate cross-country course at Cheltenham, over banks, ditches and other natural-style obstacles instead of the usual fences. It is on Day 2 at 3:20pm.
Where are your Cheltenham Wednesday tips?
Our Day 2 selections go on this page in Festival week, once the final runners are declared and the going is known, each with its reasoning. Until then our daily NAP, next best and each-way pick are on the racing tips page.