THE British National Hunt season will officially burst into life this autumn with the launch of the first-ever Welsh Racing Festival – a three-day event at Chepstow Racecourse featuring the Welsh Champion Hurdle and more than £500,000 in prize money.

Formerly known as the Jump Season Opener, the Friday to Sunday, October 10-12 event has been reimagined and expanded as the Dragonbet Welsh Racing Festival, supported by the family-owned Welsh bookmaker.

But it proudly remains the official start of the UK jumps season, attracting top-class horses, trainers, and jockeys to the historic Welsh venue, which is in it’s 99th year.

And in a major boost for the event, the prestigious Dragonbet Welsh Champion Hurdle is returning to Chepstow for the first time since 2002, having been offered at sister racecourse, Ffos Las, since 2010.

Its homecoming adds a fresh layer of prestige to the festival – set to offer ‘a more intimate’ version of Cheltenham – and underscores Chepstow’s role at the heart of Welsh racing.

Chepstow Racecourse general manager Luke Admans said: “This festival builds on everything that made the Jump Season Opener such a highlight of the calendar.

"By transforming it into the Dragonbet Welsh Racing Festival, and bringing home the Welsh Champion Hurdle, we’re creating a sporting and cultural event that celebrates the very best of Wales...

"It will be a bit more intimate than Cheltenham," added Admans, who hopes to see more than 10,000 attend the event.

"We really want to go down that sort of affordable festival route and it's a great opportunity for the new racegoer or a seasoned racegoer to come and enjoy top-class, competitive racing."

Dragonbet, a family-run Welsh bookmaker deeply connected to the sport, has signed on as the festival’s headline sponsor in a move to support and grow racing in Wales.

“We’re incredibly proud to be the headline sponsors of the newly formed Welsh Racing Festival, especially with our family’s long-standing connection to Chepstow racecourse since the late 1960s," said boss James Lovell, whose father John traded at the course.

"This festival carries all the prestige and excitement that fans have come to expect from the traditional jump season opener, while offering an affordable, accessible way for racegoers to enjoy everything a festival has to offer.

"Partnering with the Welsh Racing Festival is a significant milestone for us as a company, and a fantastic opportunity to reflect on how far we’ve come. It also allows us to celebrate racing in Wales”

Highlights of the festival will include; the Grade 2 Persian War Hurdle, The Welsh Champion Hurdle, the launch of the Welsh Racing Hall of Fame, the inaugural Piercefield Cup Trainers Championship recognising the festival's top trainer, plus live music after racing and more.

In it’s former guise as the Jump Season Opener, Chepstow Racecourse has seen many of the sport’s biggest stars begin their campaigns at the track, including Altior who had his first race over hurdles there under trainer Nicky Henderson and jockey Nico de Boinville, kicking off his record-breaking 19-race unbeaten run in a 2m novice hurdle in 2015 and going on to win 10 Grade One races, including four Cheltenham Festival victories, plus the likes of Reve de Sivola, Silviniaco Conti and Thyme Hill.

Friday's feature races will be the Dragonbet Persian War Novices' Hurdle and the Dragonbet Veterans' Chase; Saturday's the Wasdell Group Silver Trophy and the Dragonbet Native River Handicap Chase; while Sunday's Premier Race Day includes the Dragonbet Welsh Champion Hurdle and the Tom Malone Bloodstock Novices' Chase (Robert Mottram).

With a focus on making the festival fantastic value for the racegoer, Chepstow are also offering a ‘Weekend Pass’ ticket for £39 which guarantees entry to all three days, making the cost of entry £13 per day.

This will be run alongside group booking discounts and other offers to be announced in the coming weeks.

Tickets are on sale at chepstow-racecourse.co.uk, with packages and hospitality also available.