BHA to overhaul Cheltenham track layout to cut soaring false-start rate

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Nearly 40% of 2026 races at showpiece meeting affected

Track layout and bugging devices for stewards on menu

The British Horseracing Authority said on Thursday that it aims to introduce a series of measures ahead of next year’s Cheltenham festival to tackle a significant rise in the number of false starts at National Hunt’s showpiece meeting in recent seasons.

The percentage of festival races that had a false start has climbed steadily over the last five years, from 18% in 2022 to nearly 40% at the 2026 meeting four months ago. The rate of false starts in jump racing as a whole is around 4% over the same period.

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