It’s the opening day of the 2026 Cheltenham Festival – Champion Day.

Leader D’Allier out of Supreme Novices’

The seven-race card gets underway with the Grade 1 SkyBet Supreme Novices’ Hurdle. There are now 11 runners in the race with Willie Mullins’ Leader D’Allier withdrawn this morning having been found lame.

Nicky Henderson bids to win his sixth Supreme Novices’ Hurdle 40 years after River Ceirog gave him his first victory in the race. He is represented by Old Park Star, the mount of Nico de Boinville.

There is, as usual, a string Irish challenge in the race, with Mighty Park [Mark Walsh], Tale The Talk [J.J. Slevin] and El Cairos [Jack Kennedy] the market leaders among the seven Irish-trained runners.

Kopek Des Bordes bids for Arkle Chase

Last year’s SkyBet Supreme Novices’ Hurdle winner, Kopek Des Bordes, bids to land the Singer Arkle Challenge Trophy Novices’ Chase at 2.00pm.

The Charles McCarthy-owned French-bred faces a field of six, with Nicky Henderson’s Lulamba, and Kargese, the likely main challengers.

Unibet Champion Hurdle

The Unibet Champion Hurdle, the opening day feature race, has a field of 9 runners.

The Champion Hurdle was first run almost a century ago, but only seven mares have won it: African Star (1939), Dawn Run (1984), Flakey Dove (1994), Annie Power (2016), Epatante (2020), Honeysuckle (2021 & 2022) and Golden Ace (2025).

Three mares in field of nine

This afternoon, there are three mares in the starting line-up: Brighterdaysahead from the Gordon Elliott yard, last year’s winner, Golden Ace, and Lossiemouth from the Mullins yard.

Five of the past ten renewals of the race have been scooped by mares, including achieving a 1-2 in 2022.

No horse in this year’s Unibet Champion Hurdle line-up has had a blemish-free campaign, which is highly unusual.

Thirty-one of the past 35 winners of the race won on their most recent start. Only The New Lion and Brighterdaysahead qualify on that count this year.

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Former NBA star Jalen Rose suggested in a recent podcast there was a racial aspect behind certain professional sports leagues having a salary cap.

Rose appeared on a live edition of the “Joe and Jada Unfiltered” podcast last week and said the “only sports that have salary caps are Black led” as he talked about his problem with the system. He named leagues like MLB, NASCAR, golf and tennis that do not have salary caps. Though, he failed to mention that the NHL has a salary cap as roughly two dozen NHL players are Black.

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Jalen Rose speaks on stage during Joe and Jada live podcast recording in celebration of Prime Video McDonald’s All American Games documentary Meal Ticket at The Miracle Theater on Feb. 13, 2026 in Inglewood, California. (JC Olivera/Getty Images for Prime Video)

“The second thing is they have no after high school restrictions,” he continued. “So, that’s a residue of slavery because we’re going to get money off of you for multiple years for free. There’s no way around it. So, what happened in the game, it became so obvious because of social media and because of information, it’s like ‘We’re making a billion dollars, we gotta pay them something. That’s how it ended up happening.”

The member of the “Fab Five” Michigan Wolverines men’s basketball team added he was “happy” to see players get paid off of their name, image and likeness. But, “if you notice, you still got to pay the system,” he said.

NBA CANCELS TEAM’S PROMOTION CELEBRATING FAMED STRIP CLUB

Ray Jackson, Chris Webber, Juwan Howard, Jalen Rose and Jimmy King of the Michigan Wolverines basketball, collectively known as the “Fab Five.” (ALAN R. KAMUDA, Detroit Free Press)

Rose said another issue of his was eligibility for the pros. He noted that in the NFL, players usually have to be three years removed from high school to enter the NFL. He pointed to all-time greats in the NBA like Kobe Bryant and Kevin Garnett have been productive coming out high school. He didn’t mention the careers of Kwame Brown, Eddy Curry, DeSagna Diop and countless others who fizzled out without playing college basketball.

In baseball, high school players come out and get drafted but start their careers in the minor leagues.

Mike Epps and Jalen Rose are seen in attendance during game six of the eastern conference finals between the Indiana Pacers and the New York Knicks for the 2025 NBA Playoffs at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on May 31, 2025. (Trevor Ruszkowski/Imagn Images)

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MLB is expected to have a fight about whether to have a salary cap in the next round of collective bargaining talks. The league appears to be ready to push for one, while the players have been opposed.

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Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott and his former fiancée Sarah Jane Ramos reportedly sent a note to wedding guests notifying them of the cancelation of their nuptials.

TMZ Sports first reported the email that was sent out to guests a month before the wedding was set to take place. The two reportedly called it off over the weekend.

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Dallas Cowboys Dak Prescott and Sarah Jane Ramos attend an in-store event at David Yurman on May 16, 2024, in Dallas, Texas. ( Rick Kern/Getty Images for David Yurman)

“As many of you know, our wedding is currently scheduled to take place in Lake Como, Italy, on Friday April 10, 2026. It is with heavy hearts that we have made the very difficult decision to cancel our wedding,” the note read. “We deeply apologize for any inconvenience this may cause you and we welcome your prayers.”

The email didn’t list the reason behind the decision.

Prescott and Ramos’ relationship had been “rocky” in the weeks leading up to the breakup and things exploded between the two at their joint bachelor and bachelorette parties, TMZ Sports reported on Saturday.

Ramos shared pictures of her trip with her friends on Instagram on Friday.

Sarah Jane Ramos and Dak Prescott pose for a photo before Dak Prescott’s Faith Fight Finish Foundation 2024 Gala at Thompson Hotel Dallas on May 17, 2024, in Dallas, Texas. (Richard Rodriguez/Getty Images for Faith Fight Finish Foundation)

TRAVIS KELCE’S REPORTED CONTRACT DETAILS REVEALED WITH EXPECTED CHIEFS RETURN

“I truly believe you can get through anything in life as long as you have really great friends. I love these girls so much,” Ramos captioned the collage of snaps.

Prescott was not pictured in any of the 16 photos and videos posted to her social media account.

Ramos also posted photos of her bridal shower back on Feb. 23. There were no photos of Prescott in the carousel either.

“The most intimate and beautiful bridal shower of my dreams,” she added on Instagram. “So grateful for my aunts who hosted it and my girlfriends and family that came to celebrate. I love you all so much and can’t wait to marry the love of my life with all of you by my side.”

Prescott posted a series of photos on his Instagram of Ramos and his family on July 20, 2025. There’s only a September advertisement posted on his account since.

Dak Prescott and Sarah Jane Ramos attend the Farrah Fawcett Foundation 2025 Tex-Mex Fiesta at The Rustic on Oct. 30, 2025 in Dallas, Texas. (Omar Vega/Getty Images for Farrah Fawcett Foundation)

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The NFL star and Ramos announced they were engaged on Oct. 18, 2024. The couple have two children together.

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The Champions League round of 16 kicks off on Tuesday. Max Kanter (XDS-Astana) won the second stage of Paris-Nice in Montargis. Novak Djokovic qualified for the third round of the Indian Wells tournament. In the NBA, Victor Wembanyama was named Player of the Week.

Even though GTA 6 is coming out in 2026, GTA Online is still a great game to get into this year. Since it was released in 2013, Rockstar Games has grown the game into the massive multiplayer playground it is today. Everyone can find their niche gaming hobbies in GTA Online, from racing, deathmatches, role-playing, and even harmless, hilarious game modes.

However, if you are entering GTA Online for the first time in 2026, you must know certain details for a smooth entry into its world. Here are some of the details.

What you need to know before starting GTA Online in 2026

Age restriction in some regions

Firstly, it is worth noting that GTA Online is an 18+ video game, especially since it has nudity and violence. Recently, many countries have imposed strict rules for verifying age for accessing any kind of online content. This also includes GTA Online.

In August 2025, the UK was one of the first countries to make age verification mandatory for online content, under the Online Safety Act. In March 2026, Australia also mandated age verification for any entertainment product that contains adult content.

Hence, if you want to start GTA Online, chances are that you might need to verify your age through a third-party portal. The portal can differ from country to country.

Also Read: GTA Online will now require age verification for some countries

Past and future DLCs

Rockstar Games has added loads of DLC to GTA Online, almost twice every year since its release. Each of these DLCs has included new cars, weapons, businesses, missions, and even characters. These new features keep players hooked, especially those who have businesses or heists with decent payouts, like the Cayo Perico heist.

Most recently, A Safehouse in the Hills DLC dropped in December 2025, in which mansions were added to the game, along with Michael De Santa as a side character. Because of these two features alone, it is considered one of the best DLCs for the game.

Since GTA 6 will release on November 19, 2026, there is still time for a final DLC for GTA 5 Online in the summer. If you are planning to start the game in 2026, you could start grinding to get a mansion, which could play a key part in the last DLC coming sometime in the summer.

Which businesses to own

Once you start GTA Online, you can be overwhelmed by the number of businesses and properties you can purchase. There are a total of two in-game websites from which you purchase businesses. For a new player, here are some of the best properties/vehicles to purchase and start earning money quickly:

• Brickade 6×6 – Acid Lab
• MC Business – Meth Lab
• Kosatka – Cayo Perico Heist
• Salvage Yard – Salvage Yard Robberies

Of course, there are various other great properties that can be a bit expensive, but are lucrative for slightly late-game grind, like Bunker, Nightclub, Agency, etc.

Which vehicles to own

GTA Online has a wide variety of vehicles. You can use anything from a bicycle to massive fighter jets and submarines. If you are new to the game, you can check out these vehicles to purchase:

• Karin Kuruma (Armored) – Fast and armored sports car
• Nightshark – Heavy-duty SUV with a ton of armor
• Buzzard – Great cheap helicopter to fly around the map
• Kosatka – Submarine that allows you to start Cayo Perico Heist

Griefers and hackers in GTA Online

If you are entering GTA Online in 2026, you should know that the game is heavily plagued by griefers and hackers. Even though Rockstar Games has partnered with BattleEye anti-cheat software, some tech-savvy enthusiasts create hack tools that can bypass it. Furthermore, there are some players who simply create chaos for others in lobbies.

Hence, if you are new to the game, it is best to do all the major business missions in an invite-only lobby.

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