Discover how the Champion Hurdle purse has changed over the years, and what the 2026 winner could bank.
The Champion Hurdle is one of the biggest events at the Cheltenham Festival each year. First held in 1927, its inaugural winner, Brown Jack, earned just £365 (roughly £8,000 in 2025, adjusted for inflation)! Nowadays, though, winning horses can earn hundreds of thousands of pounds for a victory in the race.
We’ve put together a list of past prize pots to show you just how the Champion Hurdle has changed over the years, as well as showing how much horses could win in the next edition of the race. Here’s all you need to know about the Champion Hurdle prize pot at Cheltenham.
What is the Champion Hurdle prize pot for Cheltenham 2026?
The available prize money for the 2026 Champion Hurdle is expected to remain at £450,000, spread across the top-placing horses. This has been the prize pot for the last several years, but different winners have received various amounts.
Full details of the prize money for the 2026 Champion Hurdle are yet to be revealed, but we can look at the purse from the 2025 edition of the race to get an idea of how the winnings are likely to be divided:
Place | Prize |
1st | £255,006 |
2nd | £97,191 |
3rd | £49,536 |
4th | £25,641 |
5th | £13,761 |
What was the prize money for the Champion Hurdle in 2025?
The total prize pot for the 2025 Champion Hurdle was £450,000, which has been the standard for the last several years. The eventual winner, Golden Ace, received £255,006, with second place earning £97,191 and third place earning £49,536.
How has the Cheltenham Champion Hurdle prize money changed over time?
At the turn of the millennium, the prize money for the Champion Hurdle was £250,000 – a massive increase since the inaugural race. In the years since then, though, the purse has continued to grow, with 2020 marking the highest individual winnings by a horse (Epatante) in Champion Hurdle history. This table shows how the prize money has changed with each edition of the race:
Year | Winning horse | First-place prize money | Overall prize pot |
2025 | Golden Ace | £255,006 | £450,000 |
2024 | State Man | £262,303 | £450,000 |
2023 | Constitution Hill | £253,215 | £450,000 |
2022 | Honeysuckle | £253,215 | £450,000 |
2021 | Honeysuckle | £189,911 | £337,500 |
2020 | Epatante | £264,609 | £450,000 |
2019 | Espoir d’Allen | £253,215 | £450,000 |
2018 | Buveur d’Air | £266,383 | £450,000 |
2017 | Buveur d’Air | £227,800 | £450,000 |
2016 | Annie Power | £248,302 | £428,983 |
2015 | Faugheen | £227,800 | £393,480 |
2014 | Jezki | £238,051 | £400,000 |
2013 | Hurricane Fly | £227,800 | £370,000 |
2012 | Rock On Ruby | £210,715 | £370,000 |
2011 | Hurricane Fly | £210,937 | £370,000 |
2010 | Binocular | £210,937 | £370,000 |
2009 | Punjabi | £210,937 | £370,000 |
2008 | Katchit | £205,272 | £350,000 |
2007 | Sublimity | £205,272 | £350,000 |
2006 | Brave Inca | £202,683 | £350,000 |
2005 | Hardy Eustace | £174,000 | £300,000 |
2004 | Hardy Eustace | £174,000 | £300,000 |
2003 | Rooster Booster | £174,000 | £300,000 |
2002 | Hors La Loi III | £156,600 | £270,000 |
2001 | Cheltenham Festival didn’t take place in 2001 | ||
2000 | Isabraq | £145,000 | £250,000 |
In 2001, the Cheltenham Festival was cancelled due to an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in England, making it the only year in the 21st century where the race wasn’t contested. The Champion Hurdle prize money also took a noticeable dip in its 2021 edition, due to the financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Besides that, the purse has remained high in recent years.
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