Going
Going report
Ground conditions are published by the Clerk of the Course in race week — usually from the Friday before, then updated daily.
2027 Festival — 16 March 2027
The going is published by the Clerk of the Course closer to the 2027 Festival. In 4 of the last 5 runnings, soft has been the official description on the opening day — see our going explainer for the source and the full scale.
The BHA going scale
- Firm
- Fastest, driest ground.
- Good to Firm
- Fast, slightly give in it.
- Good
- The default, well-drained ground.
- Good to Soft
- More give; stamina starts to matter.
- Soft
- Tiring ground; the Festival's most common opening-day going in recent years.
- Heavy
- Very testing; stamina and jumping technique decide races.
Descriptions are often combined, e.g. “Soft, Heavy in places”. A supplementary GoingStick reading may also be published alongside the Clerk of the Course’s description.
Old Course v New Course
Tuesday and Wednesday run on the Old Course; Thursday and Friday (including Gold Cup Day) move to the New Course. The two tracks can dry out or cut up at different rates during Festival week, so the going reading on one course does not always predict the other.
2026 Festival ran on ground described as soft on the opening day. See the full 2026 results.