British fans hoping to watch Cheltenham festival have been issued a massive warning as they could be hit with a £1,000 fine.

On Tuesday afternoon, one of the most anticipated horse racing spectacles on the calendar will get underway as the Cheltenham festival begins.

Across four days, dozens of horses and jockeys will compete in a total of 28 races, with fans able to catch the best of the action for free on ITV1 and ITVX every day.

However, ahead of the first race, British fans have been warned about the £1,000 fine that they could face if they break one rule when watching the races.

For last year's races, an average of 953,000 watched live on television, with Cheltenham viewers making up a quarter of Britain's entire TV audience on the final day as a peak of 1.59 million simultaneous viewers tuned in to the races.

This number is expected to rise even further once the Supreme Novices' Hurdle kicks off the 2025 Cheltenham festival, as thousands of eager fans and punters will tune in to cheer on race favourite Kopek des bordes, trained by legendary Irish jockey Willie Mullins, or one of the other horses competing in the opening race.

Later in the day the eagerly-anticipated Champions Hurdle will begin at 4pm, with fan-favourite Constitution Hill backed as the heavy favourite to regain his title on Tuesday afternoon.

But those who are intending to watch the any of the races are being warned they face a fine of £1,000 if they do not have a TV Licence in place, which is a necessary legal requirement for those who end up watching live TV of any kind.

This also counts for live on-demand content such as on YouTube, Netflix, BBC iPlayer, live events, and ITVX.

Cheltenham festival is set to get underway on Tuesday. (Image: Getty)

Daniel McAfee, Head of Legal Operations at Lawhive, said: "Under UK law, any live television broadcast requires a valid TV licence, regardless of the streaming platform."

A TV licensing spokesperson previously said that the service 'has a duty to enforce the law when there is evidence that someone has avoided paying for a TV Licence'.

Where to buy last-minute tickets for Cheltenham Festival

Tickets are still available for Cheltenham Festival. Best Mate Enclosure, Tattersalls, and Club Enclosure tickets are up for grabs on popular resale sites such as Viagogo and StubHub.

For hospitality and VIP packages, head to the official website now.