Event hub · Updated October 2026
Boxing Day & Christmas Racing Tips & Tipsters 2026
Boxing Day and Christmas racing 2026: King George VI Chase, Welsh Grand National and Leopardstown day by day, plus the best-rated racing tipsters.
Reviewed by the TipsterCheck editorial teamUpdated October 2026Sponsored listings are shown first and labelled
Saturday 26 – Tuesday 29 December 2026 · Kempton Park, Chepstow & Leopardstown
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When is the King George VI Chase 2026?
The 2026 King George VI Chase is on Saturday 26 December 2026, Boxing Day, at Kempton Park. It's the feature of Kempton's two-day Christmas Festival, which continues on Sunday 27 December.
Christmas is the busiest few days of the jumps season. Kempton's King George VI Chase headlines Boxing Day, the Welsh Grand National now has its own Bank Holiday Monday slot at Chepstow, and Leopardstown runs four days of Grade 1 racing in Ireland. With so many races and so many tips flying around, it's an easy time to overbet. This hub covers the key races and how to judge Christmas tips.
Christmas racing 2026: day-by-day race guide
The key races on each day. Race names, sponsors and exact distances can change, so check the final racecard before you bet.
Boxing Day · King George Day
| Race | Class | Distance | What to look for |
|---|---|---|---|
| King George VI Chase (Kempton) | Grade 1 | 3m | The feature race of Christmas, on Kempton's flat, sharp track — speed matters as much as stamina. |
| Christmas Hurdle (Kempton) | Grade 1 | 2m | Top two-mile hurdle, often a Champion Hurdle pointer. |
| Kauto Star Novices' Chase (Kempton) | Grade 1 | 3m | Staying novice chase. |
| Leopardstown Day 1 | Grade 1 | Various | Irish Christmas festival opens with Grade 1 novice chasing. |
Day 2 · Kempton & Leopardstown
| Race | Class | Distance | What to look for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Desert Orchid Chase (Kempton) | Grade 2 | 2m | Two-mile chase on day two of Kempton's Christmas Festival. |
| Leopardstown Day 2 | Grade 1 | Various | Top-class Irish jumps racing, including Grade 1 novice races. |
Day 3 · Welsh Grand National Day
| Race | Class | Distance | What to look for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Welsh Grand National (Chepstow) | Handicap | about 3m 6f | Gruelling staying handicap chase, usually on heavy ground. Proven stamina in testing conditions is essential. |
| Leopardstown Day 3 | Grade 1 | Various | Includes one of the big Irish Grade 1 staying races of the season. |
Day 4 · Leopardstown finale
| Race | Class | Distance | What to look for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Leopardstown Day 4 | Grade 1 | Various | The final day of the Irish Christmas festival, with championship-level two-mile races. |
Best horse racing tipsters for Christmas racing
We don't rate tipsters on a single event — the sample is too small. These are the highest-rated horse racing tipsters on TipsterCheck overall, so you can check their reviews and records before Christmas racing begins.
Top horse racing tipsters ahead of Christmas racing
| # | Tipster | Trust Score | User rating | Price | Profile |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Tipman TipsSponsored | 71 | 5.0 | Premium · £24.99/Month | View → |
| 2 |  TipstrrSponsored | Not yet rated | 4.0 | Premium | View → |
| 3 |  Betfair SP EdgeSponsored | Not yet rated | New | Premium · £19 first month | View → |
| 4 |  Betting Gods | Not yet rated | 1.5 | Premium | View → |
| 5 |  OLBG | Not yet rated | 2.5 | Free | View → |
How to judge Christmas racing tips before you pay
Ground can change everything
Winter ground can turn heavy overnight, especially at Chepstow. A good tipster adjusts for the going and explains it, rather than posting selections days in advance and never revisiting them.
Don't overbet the festive glut
Four days of big racing across Britain and Ireland means dozens of tips. Pick one or two meetings to focus on, keep to your usual stake sizes and set a total Christmas budget.
Ask for a full, time-stamped record — not festival highlights
Every tipster posts their big festival winners. What matters is every bet they advised at the meeting in previous years, with the time it was sent and the price available then. If they can only show you winners, assume the losers were hidden.
Check the prices were actually available
A tip at 20/1 that was 8/1 within a minute of being sent isn't a 20/1 winner for most followers. Ask how quickly prices move after their tips and judge their record at the odds you could realistically get, ideally against Betfair SP as a sense check.
Treat a big meeting as a tiny sample
Even a busy festival is only a couple of dozen races. A tipster can have a brilliant or awful week by luck alone, so never judge them — or change your staking — on one meeting. Look at their whole season and several years of the same meeting.
Set a festival bankroll and level stakes before day one
Decide a total budget for the meeting, split it into level stakes (for example 1–2% of your bank per point) and stick to it. Chasing losses on the final day is how most people give back a good week. 18+, and only bet what you can afford to lose.
Christmas racing — frequently asked questions
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18+. Gambling can be addictive — when the fun stops, stop. BeGambleAware.org