This year, as it has for so long, the bulk of the Cheltenham Festival will be aired live on Channel 4 Racing.

Each day of the Festival, there will also be a special edition of the Channel 4 racing morning show The Morning Line, at half past 8, as well as a highlights show in the evening to recap on the days highs and lows.

The following is our complete guide to UK Cheltenham Festival 2009 TV – another free gift to you, our fellow racing fans! Click here to see the full race schedule for the 2009 Cheltenham Festival.

Tuesday 10th March – Day 1 Cheltenham Festival 2009

• 8:30am Channel 4 – Even if you’ve taken the four days off work, its up early (or watch in bed if you’re feeling lazy on a much needed day off!) for The Morning Line with Derrick Thompson, John Francome and pals.
• 12:30pm Channel 4 – afternoon Channel 4 Racing coverage begins – featuring every race until quarter past four, when someone thinks we want to watch the millionth episode of Deal or No Deal instead of viewing the Mares Hurdle Race!
• 4:14pm Racing UK – Those of us with Sky or another service which provides the ability to get it and who have signed up for the service can switch over quickly to Racing UK before Noel Edmonds comes on and catch the last race from Festival Day one.
• 0:05am Channel 4 – Catch the highlights from the first day of Cheltenham Festival 2009 on Channel 4 Racing.

Wednesday 11th March – Day 2 Cheltenham Festival 2009

• 8:30am Channel 4 – its The Morning Line time again.
• 12:30pm Channel 4 – afternoon Channel 4 Racing coverage begins – again the coverage is rudely interupted at quarter past four by Deal or no Deal.
• 4:14pm Racing UK – We have to switch across to Racing UK to catch the closing event.
• 0:05am Channel 4 – Catch the highlights from the second day of Cheltenham Festival 2009 on Channel 4 Racing.

Thursday 12th March – Day 3 Cheltenham Festival 2009

• 8:30am Channel 4 – its The Morning Line time again.
• 12:30pm Channel 4 – afternoon Channel 4 Racing coverage begins – again the coverage is rudely interupted at quarter past four by Deal or no Deal.
• 4:14pm Racing UK – We have to switch across to Racing UK to catch the closing event.
• 11:55pm Channel 4 – Catch the highlights from the third day of Cheltenham Festival 2009 on Channel 4 Racing a whole ten minutes sooner than the past couple of days. Still matchsticks in eyes o’clock for many of us – set your TiVo to stun.

Friday 13th March – Day 4 Cheltenham Festival 2009 (Gold Cup Day)

• 8:30am Channel 4 – its The Morning Line time again.
• 12:30pm Channel 4 – afternoon Channel 4 Racing coverage begins, only to be thwarted yet again by those box opening buffoons at four fifteen.
• 4:14pm Racing UK – We have to switch across to Racing UK to catch the closing event.
• 0:05am Channel 4 – Catch the highlights from the final Gold Cup day of Cheltenham Festival 2009 on Channel 4 Racing.

The Setanta Sports package includes racing UK and can be received through a number of systems – click here to visit the Setanta website for more info (I’m no TV technician!).