2026 Festival schedule

Glorious Goodwood runs across five afternoons — Tuesday to Saturday. Each day has seven races with a feature Group 1 or major handicap.

Tuesday — Goodwood Cup Day

• Goodwood Cup (Group 1, 2 miles) — the signature stayer's race of the festival. Stradivarius won it four consecutive times (2017-2020), a festival record.

Wednesday — Sussex Stakes Day

• Sussex Stakes (Group 1, 1 mile) — the Festival's headline race and widely considered the definitive mile championship of the European season. Frankel's 2012 Sussex (won by 6 lengths) is a modern benchmark.

Thursday — Nassau Stakes Day (Ladies' Day)

• Nassau Stakes (Group 1, 1m 2f) — fillies'/mares' middle-distance championship. Midday (2012), Winsili and others are recent legends.
• Lennox Stakes (Group 2, 7f) — a strong mile/7f race that often doubles as a Sussex trial.

Friday — Richmond Stakes Day

• Richmond Stakes (Group 2, 6f) — 2YO colts' sprint championship; a strong Middle Park trial.
• Oak Tree Stakes (Group 3, 7f) — 3YO fillies' handicap-level feature.

Saturday — Stewards' Cup Day

• Stewards' Cup (Premier Handicap, 6f) — the richest sprint handicap of the British calendar. 28-runner big-field handicap with heavy ante-post interest. Typical winner profile: progressive sprinter off a 98-104 handicap mark.

Detail	Value
Festival start	Tuesday 28 July 2026
First race off time	TBA
Going	TBA
Typical daily field size	per Group 1

Ante-post markets

Stewards' Cup ante-post is one of the biggest betting markets of the British flat summer. Books open in late June; major movement happens after the July Cup (early July). Group 1s attract 8-12 runners typically with short-priced favourites. Each-way terms on the Stewards' Cup usually give 5 places.

History and signature races

Goodwood Racecourse was established in 1802 by the 3rd Duke of Richmond on the Duke's ancestral estate at Goodwood House. The "Glorious" tag — a legacy of Victorian-era racegoing society — has been attached to the August meeting since the 1870s when it became one of the centrepieces of the British summer social calendar.

The Qatar sponsorship dates to 2014 (Qatar Tourism Authority + Qatar Racing). Before then the meeting was known simply as "Goodwood Festival" or "Glorious Goodwood."

The signature races

Sussex Stakes (Wednesday, G1 1 mile) — first run in 1841. The most important mile championship in Europe. Roll of honour includes Frankel (2011, 2012 — the only two-time winner of the modern era), Giant's Causeway (2000), Rock Of Gibraltar (2002), Canford Cliffs (2011), Moonlight Cloud (2013), Kingman (2014), Solow (2015), Minding (2016), and Palace Pier (2020, 2021).

Goodwood Cup (Tuesday, G1 2 miles) — first run in 1812. The oldest race at the festival. Stradivarius won it four consecutive times (2017, 2018, 2019, 2020) — a festival record for any modern Group 1. Yeats won it three times (2006-2008).

Nassau Stakes (Thursday, G1 1m 2f) — first run in 1840. Fillies'/mares' 1m 2f championship. Winners include Midday (2010-2012, three-time winner), Enable (2019), Minding (2016).

Stewards' Cup (Saturday, Premier Handicap 6f) — first run in 1840. The British summer's richest sprint handicap. Borderlescott (2006, 2007, 2008 — three-time winner) is the modern standout.

The Goodwood specialist

Goodwood's course is unique — a right-handed amphitheatre with a downhill drop into the straight, a sharp uphill finish, and a pronounced figure-of-eight bend for the longer races. Horses either handle it or don't. "Goodwood form" is a genuine profile — horses who win at Goodwood often come back to win again because of the specific track ability required.

The Duke of Richmond

The festival's dress code — Panama hats and linen suits — is a tradition dating to the Edwardian era and actively promoted by the Duke of Richmond to this day. It's the loosest of the major festivals' dress codes (Royal Ascot is stricter, Derby is similar, Aintree looser), but it's still taken seriously on Sussex Stakes Day and Ladies' Day.

Recent champions

This section updates after each year's meeting — see /racing-news/ for the most recent race result articles.

TV coverage and how to watch

The 2026 Qatar Goodwood Festival is broadcast on ITV1 (selected races, free-to-air UK) and Racing TV (full five-day card).

UK terrestrial — ITV1 / ITVX

ITV Racing's Glorious Goodwood coverage typically runs from 1:30pm on each of the festival's five afternoons, carrying the day's Group 1 or major handicap plus two or three supporting races. Not every race airs on ITV — the Sussex Stakes, Nassau Stakes, Goodwood Cup, Stewards' Cup and Richmond Stakes are the featured broadcasts.

ITVX carries the shown races live and on demand after the event, free to UK viewers.

Racing TV

Racing TV carries the full five-day festival (~35 races total) with extensive pre- and post-race analysis. Racing TV's Goodwood Pass bundles all five days — the best option if you want every race live.

Sky Sports Racing

Sky Sports Racing does not hold rights to Glorious Goodwood — Goodwood is on Racing TV and selected ITV. Sky Sports Racing will cover complementary UK afternoon fixtures during the festival week.

International

• Ireland: Racing TV (via UPC / Sky Ireland) carries the full festival.
• US: TVG / FanDuel Racing for the Group 1s; US-turf punters follow the Sussex Stakes closely.
• Australia: Sky Thoroughbred Central carries selected races.
• Japan: Green Channel — Japanese owners target the festival; Deep Impact progeny have featured heavily in the Sussex Stakes.

Replays

ITVX (free) + Racing TV (subscriber) keep the races on demand. The Racing Post and Goodwood's official YouTube channel post the Group 1 race videos within hours of each race.

Off-time reminders

Goodwood's first race each day is around 1:55pm. Festival runs seven races per afternoon. The Stewards' Cup (28-runner big-field handicap) on Saturday typically takes 2-3 extra minutes to load; Group 1s run to tight schedule with ITV.

Raceday at Goodwood

Getting there

Goodwood Racecourse is at Chichester, West Sussex, PO18 0PS — on the South Downs, 3 miles north of Chichester. The nearest station is Chichester (Southern Railway from London Victoria, ~90 minutes), then a 15-minute taxi or festival shuttle-bus to the course.

Drivers: A286 from Chichester or A285 from Petworth. On-course parking is plentiful but get there early — the festival attracts 100,000+ over five days. Free on-course parking plus premium options near the stands.

The enclosures

Four tickets for the Qatar Goodwood Festival:

• Richmond Enclosure — the premier enclosure, best views, hospitality, access to parade ring. Dress code applies.
• Gordon Enclosure — main grandstand with excellent rails access.
• Lennox Enclosure — mid-course bars and big-screen viewing.
• Public Enclosure — budget option on the far side with picnic space.

Glorious Goodwood tickets are generally available through goodwood.com up until race week, though premium enclosures sell out by mid-July for the Sussex Stakes and Ladies' Day.

On the day

• Gates open around 11:00am.
• First race is usually 1:55pm.
• Group 1 feature is typically the fourth race, around 3:35pm.
• Parade ring is busy 30 minutes before each feature — the Sussex Stakes field is usually 6-10 runners.
• The downhill drop: Goodwood's straight starts with a downhill drop before rising to the finish. Experienced Goodwood jockeys (notably Ryan Moore) treat it differently from other courses — worth watching how jockeys ride it.

Dress code — the Panama hat tradition

Richmond Enclosure: traditional Glorious Goodwood dress code applies — men in Panama hats and linen suits (or smart summer suits); women in summer dresses with hats or fascinators. Ladies' Day (Thursday) is the festival's fashion highlight — elaborate hats are standard.

Gordon: no strict code but smart day-dress expected.

Lennox / Public: no dress code — the South Downs in late July is often warm, so practical summer wear is common.

Food and drink

Goodwood has excellent hospitality. The Charlton marquee, March Restaurant, Parade Ring Restaurant are premium options. Standard food outlets include traditional British fare, street-food traders, and picnic-packing for the Public Enclosure. Pimm's is the unofficial festival drink.

Betting

Tote facilities and on-course bookmakers across all enclosures. The Stewards' Cup Saturday is one of the busiest sprint-handicap betting days of the British year. ATMs on-site but queues — bring cash for the rails. Our bookmaker comparison guide covers online alternatives for betting from the stand.