It is a handicap race for juvenile hurdlers, and it is scheduled to take place each year during the Cheltenham Festival in March.
The event is named in memory of Fred Winter (1926–2004), who was successful as both a jockey and a trainer in National Hunt racing.
Winter's record at the Cheltenham Festival included seventeen victories as a jockey, and twenty-eight as a trainer.
The Fred Winter Juvenile Hurdle was one of several new races introduced at the Festival when a fourth day was added to the meeting in 2005.
The race was re-classified as a Premier Handicap from the 2023 running when Grade 3 status was renamed by the British Horseracing Authority.