If you are a fan of horse racing, you probably look forward to the Cheltenham Festival. The festival is an annual event that is hosted at the Cheltenham Racecourse in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire. In 2019, the 159th year of the festival will take place March 12-15. The only British horse racing event with more prize money is the Grand National, so you know Cheltenham Festival brings the excitement. There are a number of ways to enjoy the action with ITV and Racing TV covering the event. If you are in a UK and want to watch ITV Hub coverage, we can tell you how to unblock the Cheltemham Festivval anywhere with a VPN.
If you want the quickest and easiest way to watch the Cheltenham Festival, follow these steps.
- Sign up for ExpressVPN (includes a 30-day money back guarantee).
- Once you have opened the client, locate a server in the United Kingdom.
- Open a browser and connect to the ITV. Keep in mind you will need to sign in or register on their website first before you can watch anything. You will want to register with the VPN on as well. Make sure to say yes if you are asked if you have a TV license.
- Watch and enjoy the tournament.
How to Watch Cheltenham Festival with ExpressVPN
ExpressVPN is the best choice for unblocking popular streaming services and live sporting events. The ExpressVPN team has combined their VPN service with a Smart DNS feature called MediaStreamer. The combination will protect your privacy and unblock access to a wide range of content all over the world. You can run the ExpressVPN app on Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS, Android, Amazon Fire TV, and router. The MediaStreamer service extends support to streaming media devices (Roku, Apple TV, Chromecast, Kodi boxes, etc.), Smart TVs, gaming consoles (PS4, Xbox One, Switch), and more.
The team at ExpressVPN is currently offering our visitors a discount on their all-inclusive VPN service. You can enjoy unlimited access to both their VPN network and MediaStreamer service for 49% off with 3 months free. In addition, they are offering a 30-day money back guarantee to all new members so you won’t feel rushed while testing the service. You’ll have a month to watch live events, unblock streaming services, and fully experience the advantages of ExpressVPN. You can expect to be quite impressed with the service.
How to Watch Cheltenham Festival with NordVPN
NordVPN is a good choice for unblocking live sporting events and streaming services. The VPN will help you unblock Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, and many more channels. You still need a subscription for paid services like CBS All Access but NordVPN will help you unblock the geo-restrictions. They are one of the few VPNs that can still access Netflix US from outside the United States. This makes NordVPN a great choice for those who want to stream content from other regions of the world.
As you can see, the NordVPN app is easy to use. You can select a server location from the map or from a list of countries. Unfortunately, NordVPN doesn’t let you choose a specific city in locations like the United States. However, it will pick a server based on your current location. We found this to result in slower speeds than ExpressVPN. At times we had to try a few different servers to find one that offered the performance we desired. Otherwise, NordVPN offers everything you need to unblock your favorite websites.
How to Watch Cheltenham Festival with CyberGhost
CyberGhost is the latest addition to our list of the best VPNs to unblock live events and streaming services. The CyberGhost team has placed an emphasis on unblocking media and it shows in their VPN software. The CyberGhost app has an “Unblock Streaming” section that lists a number of popular streaming services and channels that you can unblock with their VPN. The list is constantly being updated with new channels to view popular sporting events.
CyberGhost will do a great job of protecting your privacy and unblocking geo-restrictions. In 2017 the company joined the Crossrider Group. That brought an influx of resources that have helped expand their network and aide in developing new features. CyberGhost is definitely a good VPN to keep an eye on as they continue to grow and offer a lot of value with the service. Speed can be hit and miss at times, but you can always switch to another server for better performance. You can connect on up to 6 devices with a single account.
Here is a look at the race schedule for each day of the Cheltenham Festival. All times shown in EST.
Tuesday, March 12:
- 8:30 AM – Supreme Novices’ Hurdle
- 9:10 AM- Racing Post Arkle Challenge Trophy Steeple Chase
- 9:50 AM – Ultima Handicap Chase
- 10:30 AM – Unibet Champion Hurdle Challenge Trophy
- 11:10 AM – Mares’ Hurdle (for the David Nicholson Trophy)
- 11:50 PM – National Hunt Challenge Cup Chase
- 12:30 PM – Close Brothers Novices’ Handicap Chase
Wednesday, March 13:
- 8:30 AM – Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle
- 9:10 AM- RSA Steeple Chase
- 9:50 AM – Coral Cup Handicap Hurdle
- 10:30 AM – Betway Queen Mother Champion Steeple Chase
- 11:10 AM – Glenfarclas Cross Country Handicap Chase
- 11:50 PM – Fred Winter Juvenile Handicap Hurdle
- 12:30 PM – Weatherbys Champion Bumper
Thursday, March 14:
- 8:30 AM – JLT Novices’ Steeple Chase
- 9:10 AM- Pertemps Final
- 9:50 AM – Ryanair Chase
- 10:30 AM – Stayers’ Hurdle
- 11:10 AM – Brown Advisory & Merriebelle Stable Plate Handicap Chase
- 11:50 PM – Trull House Stud Mares’ Novices Hurdle
- 12:30 PM – Fulke Walwyn Kim Muir Challenge Cup Handicap Steeple Chase
Friday, March 15:
- 8:30 AM – JCB Triumph Hurdle
- 9:10 AM- Randox Health County Handicap Hurdle
- 9:50 AM – Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle
- 10:30 AM – Cheltenham Gold Cup
- 11:10 AM – Foxhunter Steeple Chase
- 11:50 PM – Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap Hurdle
- 12:30 PM – Johnny Henderson Grand Annual Steeple Chase
To watch the festival coverage, you will need to be connected to a VPN first, or you will be geo-blocked if you are outside the UK.
About Geo-blocks
Geo-blocks are often annoying. Because of world licensing and broadcasting rights, the media companies block anyone outside of their targeted area. In other words, if you are traveling, want to watch the tournament outside the system, or just want to watch something new from an area, the blocking software will stop you. Since it can detect IP addresses, it can tell if you are outside of the targeted area. By connecting to a VPN, the blocking software will think you are located someplace else. Of course, you can watch more than just the Cheltenham Festival by using one.
Not All VPNs Will Unblock the Cheltenham Festival
The truth is, the community is littered with ineffective VPN products. Though they may help you in other ways, you are removing one of the biggest benefits of a VPN if it does not unblock geo-restrictions. Even some of the more well-known providers do not work well to get you past those types of blocks. There is no point in trying to access ITV Hub to watch Cheltenham Festival horse racing if you are having issues with the VPN. That is why we suggest the options we mentioned above.
You now have some great tools to use so you can unblock ITV. Though there are other providers available, we think you’ll be happy with our choices. If you are a fan of ITV programming, you don’t have to miss out on great shows because of where you are. If your goal is to unblock and watch the Cheltenham Festival, this post will help you.
