THE Grade 1 Turners’ Novices Chase and the Cross Country Chase at the Cheltenham Festival will be handicaps in 2025.

Cheltenham has yet to officially confirm the news, but The Irish Field understands the changes have been signed off.

The Turners Novices’ Chase, run over two miles and four furlongs on the new course, was only introduced to the Festival in 2011, when Noble Prince won for trainer Paul Nolan.

Registered as the Golden Miller Novices’ Chase, the race has often suffered from small field sizes. Only four ran in 2022, when Galopin Des Champs fell at the final fence. This year, 11 went to post and it was won by the Dan Skelton-trained Grey Dawning.

Next year, this race will be an open novice handicap chase, and it is hoped this will lead to bigger fields for both the Arkle Chase and the Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase.

The Cross Country Chase will revert to being a handicap in 2025. It was introduced to the Festival in 2005 as a handicap, but was changed to a conditions race in 2016. A spokesperson for Cheltenham Racecourse said: “It has been in the public domain for some time that we are looking at a number of aspects of the Cheltenham Festival following this year’s fixture.

“Alterations to the race programme form one element of changes to the event from 2025 and we have been seeking the views of a variety of stakeholders, from racegoers to participants to sponsors.

“Our priority has been to listen to the wide range of views before making decisions we believe are in the best overall interests of the Festival and jump racing as a whole. We look forward to making an announcement about changes to the 2025 Cheltenham Festival in due course.”