King's Top Tips
Cheltenham's December Meeting is a two-day jumps fixture, Friday and Saturday, in mid-December, with a valuable handicap chase, the December Gold Cup, as the Saturday feature. Its novice and juvenile races often bring out horses who go on to run at the Cheltenham Festival in March. Selections publish on the day of racing — see today's racing tips or the Cheltenham course page. 18+ BeGambleAware.
The December Meeting is a two-day fixture at Cheltenham, run on a Friday and Saturday in mid-December, about a month after the November Meeting. In recent years the course has marketed it as The Christmas Meeting. The exact dates are set in each year's fixture list.
Race times and final fields are confirmed by the declarations in the days before the meeting, and the order of races can change from year to year, so the official racecard is the one to check on the day.
Cheltenham is a left-handed, undulating jumps track with a stiff uphill run-in, so stamina and accurate jumping count for more than raw speed. Course form is valued highly, as some horses simply handle the track better than others.
Mid-winter ground at Cheltenham can be soft after rain, and the going can change across the two days. These are general notes about the course and time of year, not a forecast: check the official going on the morning of racing.
Racing TV shows the meeting live, and ITV Racing usually covers the Saturday's feature races; check the TV listings on the day. Our ITV Racing guide explains what ITV covers.
Any selections we make for the meeting publish on the morning of racing, with the horse, the price at publishing, the jockey and trainer and our written reasoning. See the Cheltenham racing tips page for the course guide and that day's picks, and NAP of the Day for our strongest pick on each racing day.
More: Cheltenham racing tips · Cheltenham November Meeting guide · Cheltenham Festival guide.
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