The busiest day in the racing calendar is set to take place next week, with eight Boxing Day meetings spread across the country. This not only marks the effective mid-point of the National Hunt season but also provides several reasons for British jumps racing to enter the new year with a generally positive outlook. Jumping returned to Windsor on Sunday after a long absence, and the track will join Ascot in hosting the “Winter Million” over three days next month. The best riders now have a new £500,000 prize to strive for – equivalent to 10 Grand National wins at once – in the David Power Jockeys’ Cup. Harry Skelton holds a healthy early lead, but the points-based scoring system ensures that the competition remains alive until Cheltenham’s festival in March.

ITV1's Champions: Full Gallop and the Racing Season

This busy racing season also provides a compelling narrative for at least one episode of ITV1’s fly-on-the-wall documentary Champions: Full Gallop. According to industry insiders, filming is already underway, and it is a done deal. There is even a British-trained favourite for next week’s King George VI Chase in Dan Skelton’s Grey Dawning. Initially, there were doubts about his participation at Kempton after a gruelling comeback in the Betfair Chase at Haydock, but he has surprised the trainer with his swift recovery. Constitution Hill, the unbeaten 2023 Champion Hurdle winner, is also on course for the Christmas Hurdle on the King George card.After enduring a tough spring at Cheltenham and Aintree, where Willie Mullins added a British National Hunt trainers’ championship to his 18th title in Ireland, these are positive signs for the domestic jumps industry. However, there is still room for improvement in the second half of the campaign. The focus will soon turn to Cheltenham’s festival meeting in March, and the track’s efforts to reverse the decline in attendance over the last two years.Many reasons have been put forward for the sudden drop in the festival’s popularity, including a sense of predictability with Irish-trained runners dominating and the increasing cost of the Cheltenham experience in terms of ticket prices, food, and drink at the track and accommodation near the course. In September, the track announced a series of changes to the racing programme, including the axing of one of its Grade One events and initiatives to enhance the overall “customer experience”.The full impact of these changes will only be clear after the last runner crosses the line on 14 March. In addition to freezing ticket prices at 2024 levels, the course has introduced a scheme offering a 20% discount on any other afternoon bar Gold Cup day for those buying a ticket for one of the four days of the festival. After the Christmas festivals, the likely make-up of the fields for the meeting’s showpiece events will become more apparent. Grey Dawning could emerge as a strong contender for the Gold Cup, and Constitution Hill might re-establish himself as the top hurdler.Even at this early stage, a ticket for Wednesday’s Champion Chase card seems like a great deal. The second day has seen the most significant attendance decline, with a 27% drop between 2022 and 2024. However, with the popular (and British-trained) Jonbon currently leading the market from Gaelic Warrior and Energumene, the feature event on this day could be the race of the meeting. This gives Cheltenham’s marketing team plenty to work with, and anyone buying a ticket for Tuesday or Thursday should be tempted to make it a two-day trip to the west country. The first half of the National Hunt season has given us cause for optimism, and now it’s time for Cheltenham to take the lead.