Suggested revamped four-day Cheltenham Festival programme

[AzertyuiopFan]

I have come up with the following schedule for a revamped Cheltenham Festival programme.
When I set out on designing this, I wanted to follow these principles: 1) I’m taking it as given that it doesn’t make commercial sense to switch back to a three-day festival; and 2) I’m trying to avoid dropping current races, so if I can put up any kind of a compelling case in a race’s favour, it stays on the Festival programme.
The end result is a significantly altered programme (reduced from 28 races to 26 and from 14 Grade Ones to 10), but only three races were dropped (with one added). I don’t think it’s perfect – it can’t be when I would prefer a three-day festival) but I think my proposed schedule strongly tackles opportunities for trainers to allow their horses to ‘duck and dive’ from other top-class racehorses; increases average field sizes and competitiveness; and the while having minimal effect on the commercially successful four-day schedule.
Please note that novices would not be allowed to enter handicap races unless those races are geared specifically to novices.

Tuesday
1.30pm: Skybet Supreme Novices’ Hurdle – NO CHANGE
2.10pm: My Pension Expert Arkle – NO CHANGE
2.50pm: Ultima Handicap Chase – NO CHANGE
3.30pm: Unibet Champion Hurdle – NO CHANGE
4.10pm: National Hunt Chase – CHANGE FROM NOVICE TO AN OPEN HANDICAP, GUARANTEE THE WINNER A PLACE AT THE GRAND NATIONAL, MOVE TO EARLIER IN THE SCHEDULE IN LIGHT OF REVAMP
4.50pm: Close Brothers’ Mares’ Hurdle – CHANGE FROM GRADE ONE TO A 0-150 HANDICAP, MOVE TO LATER IN THE SCHEDULE IN LIGHT OF REVAMPED NATIONAL HUNT CHASE
Dropped: Fred Winter Juvenile Hurdle

Wednesday
1.30pm: Gallagher's Baring Bingham Novices’ Hurdle – CHANGE FROM GRADE ONE TO GRADE TWO, PENALTIES FOR HORSES WHO'VE WON/PLACED IN HURDLE RACES AT 2M/3M
2.10pm: Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase – NO CHANGE
2.50pm: Coral Cup Handicap Hurdle – NO CHANGE
3.30pm: Betway Queen Mother Champion Chase – NO CHANGE
4.10pm: Johnny Henderson Grand Annual Chase – NO CHANGE
4.50pm: Weatherby’s Champion Bumper – CHANGE TO A JUVENILE RACE
Dropped: Cross Country Chase

Thursday
1.30pm: Turners Novices’ Chase – CHANGE FROM GRADE ONE TO GRADE TWO, PENALTIES FOR HORSES WHO'VE WON/PLACED IN CHASES AT 2M/3M
2.10pm: Pertemps Handicap Hurdle – SCRAP QUALIFICATION SYSTEM, OTHERWISE KEEP IT AS IT IS
2.50pm: Ryanair Chase – CHANGE FROM GRADE ONE TO GRADE TWO, PENALTIES FOR HORSES WHO'VE WON/PLACED AT 2M/3M THAT SEASON OR PREVIOUS SEASON, MORE SEVERE PENALTIES FOR THOSE WHO'VE DONE EITHER OUTSIDE OF NOVICE COMPANY 
3.30pm: Paddy Power Stayers’ Hurdle – NO CHANGE
4.10pm: Festival Plate Handicap Chase – NO CHANGE
4.50pm: Ryanair Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle – CHANGE FROM GRADE TWO TO 0-150 HANDICAP
5.30pm: Fulke Walwyn Kim Muir Challenge Cup Handicap Chase – NO CHANGE

Friday
1.30pm: JCB Triumph Hurdle – FIELD LIMITED THE FIELD TO 24 RUNNERS IN LIGHT OF FRED WINTER BEING DROPPED
2.10pm: ‘Ryanair Hurdle’ (NEW) – OPEN 2M 4F RACE, GRADE TWO. PENALTIES FOR HORSES WHO'VE WON/PLACED AT 2M/3M THAT SEASON OR PREVIOUS SEASON, MORE SEVERE PENALTIES FOR THOSE WHO'VE DONE EITHER OUTSIDE OF NOVICE COMPANY
2.50pm: Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle – NO CHANGE
3.30pm: Boodles Gold Cup – NO CHANGE
4.10pm: St James’s Place Hunters’ Chase – NO CHANGE
4.50pm: Mrs Paddy Power Mares’ Chase – CHANGE FROM GRADE TWO TO 0-150 HANDICAP
5.30pm: County Handicap Hurdle – NO CHANGE, MOVED TO BECOME FESTIVAL’S CLOSING RACE
Dropped: Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap Hurdle

Edited March 20 by AzertyuiopFan

[AzertyuiopFan]

Extended version of my OP

Tuesday
1.30pm: Skybet Supreme Novices’ Hurdle – NO CHANGE
2.10pm: My Pension Expert Arkle – NO CHANGE
2.50pm: Ultima Handicap Chase – NO CHANGE
3.30pm: Unibet Champion Hurdle – NO CHANGE

4.10pm: National Hunt Novices’ Chase – CHANGE TO AN OPEN HANDICAP, GUARANTEE THE WINNER A PLACE AT THE GRAND NATIONAL
There was a time – admittedly, not today or yesterday – that this was the festival’s blue-riband event. It’s hard to see why, though, because if you were designing the perfect Cheltenham schedule today, there isn’t a chance in hell that you would say to yourself, ‘we need a marathon race exclusively for novices and amateur jockeys’.
But I do think there would be quite significant interest in a race that, effectively, would be a trial for the Grand National, and the link to the Grand National could be accentuated further by guaranteeing the winner a place in the National field.
It may have been daft that this was once considered the Festival’s blue-riband, but it would be a mistake to scrap a race with such a rich Festival history, and I think my proposed changes would breath new life into this contest.

4.50pm: Close Brothers’ Mares’ Hurdle – CHANGE FROM GRADE ONE TO A 0-150 HANDICAP, MOVE TO LATER IN THE SCHEDULE
This would prevent this race from being used as a soft option for top-class mares who should be competing in Grade Ones. It would also increase the field size, making the race a far more attractive betting heat. Surely this would also make the race a greater incentive to keep mares in training, with your Lossiemouths, Quevegas and Annie Powers no longer there to scare the competition away.

DROPPED: Fred Winter Juvenile Handicap Hurdle
I don’t like it, it doesn’t interest me, and we don’t need two juvenile hurdle races at the Festival. I also don’t like the effect it has had on the Triumph Hurdle; yes, the Triumph looks more like a genuine Grade One nowadays, but I adored the tough, unpredictable nature of the former Triumph Hurdle. I’d drop the Fred Winter in a heartbeat.