Cheltenham November Meeting Races, Format & History

A Complete History of the November Meeting

Formerly known as the Cheltenham Open, the now-branded November Meeting has long been what many consider the true start of the jump racing season. There are certainly earlier jump races that take place but the three-day meeting is the first big fixture on the National Hunt calendar.

For all the jump racing fans out there this is something that can never come soon enough. We certainly can’t help but feel a little excited as the meeting draws near but how exactly did it become such an important part of Cheltenham’s fixture list? Technically speaking the meeting didn’t begin until 2000 but some of the races that form it have histories that stretch further back.

1960 – Mackeson Gold Cup Established

Stout producers Mackeson sponsor the first ever running of this November handicap, run over a distance of two miles, four and a half furlongs. Their partnership with the race lasted for 35 consecutive years before being replaced by Murphy’s Brewery in 1996. Now known as the Paddy Power Gold Cup, it has long been the feature race of the entire November Meeting.

1994 – Sharp Novices’ Hurdle Moved

Originally held in December, organisers opted to bring the Sharp Novices’ Hurdle, or rather the Supreme Trial Novices’ Hurdle, forward a month. It was a feature of the November Meeting at Cheltenham until 2023 when it moved to Cheltenham’s late October meeting. In the race’s time it has seen its fair share of superb winners including Cue Card, Dodging Bullets and Altior.

1994 – Hyde Novices’ Hurdle Founded

Fresh on the scene in 1994 was the Hyde Novices’ Hurdle, known more recently as the Ballymore and TrustATrader Novices’ Hurdle. It began as a lower class affair but in 2008 attained Grade 2 status.

1994 – November Novices’ Chase Also Part of Reshuffle

Organisers at Cheltenham were kept busy in 1994 with this race featuring another of their changes. Previously known as the Coventry Novices’ Chase, the minimum distance event underwent a makeover including an upgrade to Grade 2 status. Best Mate won the contest six years after its reclassification, for what was his first major chase title.

2004 – Greatwood Hurdle Re-Classified

For a period the Greatwood Hurdle, another main highlight of the long weekend, carried Listed status but in 2004 it enjoyed an upgrade to Grade 3, now a Premier Handicap. The minimum distance event has kept this grade since, allowing it to attract a high calibre of hurdlers to Cheltenham.

Also enjoying a promotion was the Prestbury Juvenile Novices’ Hurdle, now reclassified as a Grade 2 contest.

2005 – Pipe Hits Smoking Hot Form

No trainer has dominated the November Gold Cup quite like Martin Pipe did between 1996 and 2005. In this fairly short space of time the 15-time Champion Trainer saddled the winner on seven occasions, putting his overall tally up to eight. This is enough to hand him a giant lead at the top of the leaderboard for this race and is a record unlikely to be broken for quite some time.

2007 – A Future Star is Born

The November Meeting is no stranger to well-recognised names but few winning horses have gone on to enjoy more success than Sizing Europe. His victory in the 2007 Greatwood Hurdle was the first major title he claimed, acting as the platform for what turned out to be a trophy-laden career.

2008 – Joe Lively Storms to Victory

For a long time the Paddy Power Handicap Chase, known in the past under several different titles, has been one of the big betting events of the November Meeting. Hopeful punters witnessed quite the scene in 2008 as Joe Lively, trained by Colin Tizzard and ridden by his son Joe, claimed a devastating 14 length win. Never before had a horse won this traditionally competitive handicap by such an impressive margin.

2009 – New Race Added

When founded, the November Meeting didn’t require the creation of races in order to complete the fixture. It did however add something new to its schedule during this renewal as it rolled out the Cheltenham Chase, also known as the Shloer Chase. Initially a conditions race, it moved to a Listed affair before being handed Grade 2 status two years later in 2015. Quite fittingly the upgrade in class saw a classy runner, Sprinter Sacre, win during the same year.

2012 – Coneygree on the Map

After destroying the field in a Class 4 contest at Uttoxeter, Mark Bradstock sent Coneygree to compete in Hyde Novices’ Hurdle. Winners of the race have rarely enjoyed a huge amount of success later on but Coneygree is most certainly an exception to the rule. The 8/1 shot absolutely cruised to a November Meeting win before returning to Cheltenham a month later for another Grade 2 win.

2013 – Greatwood Returns

Between 2003 and 2011 the retired racehorse charity Greatwood had sponsored the minimum distance hurdle race that ran in the November Meeting. The name switched to the Racing Post Hurdle in 2012 but the change didn’t last long as when Stan James bookmakers began sponsoring in 2013, they put Greatwood back into the title.

2017 – Meeting Handed a Name Change

Following conversations with The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews, Cheltenham Racecourse decided to change the name of this meeting. According to both parties, having two events called The Open was in no way beneficial when it came to promoting either event. To avoid any future confusion between the historic golf tournament and the long weekend racing fixture, Cheltenham opted to choose the more distinctive ‘November Meeting’ for their event’s new title.