Christmas racing guide: day-by-day overview and ITV Racing schedule

What is the Racing Post Christmas Spectacular?

Racing fans will enjoy a feast of top-class action from a variety of tracks in Britain and Ireland over the Christmas period including 13 Grade 1s and major handicaps such as the Welsh Grand National.

The King George VI Chase kicks things off on Boxing Day, the same day as when Leopardstown and Limerick's respective four-day Christmas meetings get under way. The King George is one of the highlights of the jumps season as the best three-milers from Britain and Ireland clash in a prestigious top-level contest that has been won by iconic stars of the sport such as Kauto Star and Desert Orchid.

The Racing Post will be your ultimate companion every step of the way with unmissable news, features, reports, analysis and top tipping from the likes of Tom Segal, Paul Kealy, David Jennings and Johnny Dineen.

Stay tuned to our YouTube channel too for further expert insight from Jennings and Dineen in a special mid-festivities edition of Upping The Ante on Thursday, December 28. Our tipsters will bring you their best Christmas bets in a bumper In The Know on December 23, and The Morning Post team will look ahead to all of the action on Challow Hurdle day on Saturday, December 30.

The Racing Post Christmas Spectacular is the name we've created to give a coherent identity to the seven days of brilliant racing action from December 26 to New Year's Day.

Get £40 in free bets with Betfair

Day-by-day schedule

Monday, January 1

Nigel Twiston-Davies has been responsible for four of the last nine winners of the £100,000 Paddy Power New Year's Day Handicap Chase (2.05) that headlines Cheltenham's New Year's Day meeting. The Grade 2 Relkeel Hurdle (3.15) also features on what will be a cracking seven-race card in front of a bumper crowd.

Nigel Twiston-Davies: superb recent record in Cheltenham's feature New Year's Day handicap chaseCredit: Edward Whitaker

The ITV cameras will also be at Musselburgh, with a £40,000 handicap chase the feature contest on the Scottish venue's six-race card.

The Grade 3 New Year's Day Chase (2.15) at Tramore has been won by Gold Cup winners Al Boum Photo and Minella Indo for the last five seasons.

How to watch

ITV Racing will broadcast action from Cheltenham and Musselburgh on ITV1 with coverage beginning at 12.30pm.

ITV Racing schedule

Cheltenham
12.55: Close Brothers Novices' Limited Handicap Chase, 2m½f
1.30: Paddy Power Handicap Chase, 3m1½f
2.05: Paddy Power New Year's Day Handicap Chase (Premier Handicap), 2m4½f
2.40: Paddy Power Handicap Hurdle, 3m
3.15: Dornan Engineering Relkeel Hurdle (Grade 2), 2m4½f

Musselburgh
1.10: tote.co.uk Hogmaneigh Handicap Hurdle, 2m4f
2.20: tote.co.uk Auld Reekie Handicap Chase, 2m4½f

Major races

Tramore
2.15: Savills New Year's Day Chase (Grade 3), 2m6f

The Racing Post's Christmas racing treats

Here are some of the special features you can look forward to in the Racing Post over Christmas . . .

December 22: Our much-loved annual Christmas Quiz compiled by historian and statistician John Randall.
December 24: Our tipsters offer their best bets for Christmas in our '12 Plays of Christmas'  feature, while deputy Ireland editor David Jennings sits down for a corking interview with three kings of the saddle in Barry Geraghty, Ruby Walsh and Davy Russell. Plus get all the cards and form for Boxing Day.
December 26: It's King George day and Pricewise leads an unbeatable package of previews, analysis and tipping for the best of the action at Kempton, Aintree, Leopardstown and Wetherby.
December 27: The Coral Welsh Grand National is the highlight at Chepstow and coverage is accompanied by our unrivalled reports on the King George and all the Boxing Day action.
December 28: The third clash between Gold Cup hero Galopin Des Champs and Fastorslow takes centre stage in Leopardstown's Savills Chase.
December 29: The fourth and final day of the Leopardstown Christmas festival is the highlight on the track, while John Randall looks back at the record-breakers of 2023.
December 30: The best of Britain's novice hurdlers attempt to boost their festival aspirations in the Grade 1 Challow Novices' Hurdle.
December 31: It's our annual look at the special bets for 2024 across the sporting world, while Peter Thomas looks back at the year just gone in his own inimitable style.
January 1: Prepare for the start of the Premier racing era with expert analysis and insight for Cheltenham's traditional New Year's Day fixture.

Claim £40 in free bets with Betfair this Christmas

Betfair are offering £40 in free bets for the top horseracing action this Christmas.

You can follow these simple steps outlined below to grab £40 in free bets to place on the big races. It's fast, secure and straightforward.

1. Head over to Betfair through this link and click the 'Join' button on their homepage
2. Create your username and password
3. Make a deposit of £10 or more using a card and place a bet on horse racing at odds of minimum Evs (2.0)
4. You will be rewarded with £40 of free bet tokens added to your balance

Betfair betting sign-up offer: terms and conditions

It's worth taking a few minutes to read through the terms and conditions associated with the new player promotion before signing up. Doing so will help you get a better grasp of the details of the Christmas racing betting offer and what's expected of you as a new player.

• New customer offer
• Place a minimum £10 bet on horse racing at odds of minimum Evs (2.0) and get £40 in free bets
• Rewards valid for 30 days and can be used on horse racing multiples only
• Only deposits via cards will qualify
• T&Cs apply
• Please gamble responsibly

Read these next:

'If it wasn't the King George I probably would have pulled him up' - Gavin Sheehan in shock as Hewick hits 550-1 before unlikely triumph 

'He put everything together out there' - Galopin Des Champs back to his best with 23-length win over Gerri Colombe 

Do you want £400+ of free bets? Racing Post have got the best offers, all in one place. Visit racingpost.com/freebets to find out more.

Commercial notice: This article contains affiliate links. Offers are handpicked and come from operators that our experts have first-hand experience of. Opening an account via one of these links will earn revenue for the Racing Post, which will be used to continue producing our award-winning coverage of horseracing.