The next Boodles Juvenile Handicap Hurdle—officially known as the Fred Winter Juvenile Handicap Hurdle—is scheduled for Tuesday, March 10, 2026.
The Boodles Juvenile Handicap Hurdle is a Grade 3 hurdle race run on the first day of the Cheltenham Festival. It is perhaps better known as the Fred Winter, originally named after the legendary jockey and trainer.
This race is for four-year-olds and tends to attract a large field of improving young hurdlers, many of whom take on a big field for the first time under handicap conditions.
Run over the same course and distance as the Champion Hurdle and the Supreme Hurdle, and has seen some big price winners recently, with an 80/1 outsider and two 33/1 chances winning this race in the last 10 years.
You can bet on the Boodles Juvenile Handicap Hurdle well before Cheltenham through futures markets, better known as ante-post betting in the UK and Ireland.
These early bets often offer bigger prices than those available on race day. But buyer beware, the Boodles Hurdle odds may increase if your selection performs poorly in the build-up to the Fred Winter.
Some racebooks include Non-Runner No Bet protection closer to the festival, which refunds your stake if your horse doesn’t run. Be sure to check the terms with your bookmaker before placing a wager.
A win bet is a straight wager on your chosen horse to finish first in the Boodles Juvenile Hurdle.
If the horse wins, you get a return. Any other result and the bet is settled as a loser.
A place bet pays out if your selection finishes in one of the top few spots, often only covering 1st, 2nd and 3rd.
However, due to the field size for the Fred Winter, horse racing betting sites will pay out on four places for the race as standard, often increasing the place terms to cover 5th and even 6th place.
Each-way betting splits your stake in two: one part on the horse to win and the other on it to place.
If the horse wins, both parts of the bet pay out. If it only places, you still get a return, usually at a fraction of the win odds (often 1/5 or 1/4).
Each-way bets are a popular strategy in this competitive handicap, given the number of runners and the tendency for shock winners of the Fred Winter.
Horse racing odds are mainly presented in three formats: fractional, decimal, and American. Sites will let you toggle between these odds and select your favourite.
Most common in the UK and Ireland, fractional odds are displayed as fractions, such as 10/1 or 6/4. The first number is your potential profit; the second is your stake. Odds of 10/1 mean you win 10 units for every 1 unit wagered, plus your original stake returned.
The Boodles Juvenile Handicap Hurdle is regarded as one of the trickiest betting races of the Cheltenham Festival due to the presence of improving and unexposed horses, which can make it difficult to sort the genuine contenders from the back markers.
But it is a good opportunity to find some big-priced winners, and bettors shouldn't be afraid to back horses at odds of 10/1 or bigger. Recently, the race has produced two winners at 25/1, three at 33/1, one at 40/1, and one at 80/1.
Traits to look out for include past winners having had just two or three runs over hurdles before Cheltenham, showing gradual improvement without revealing their full ability to the handicapper. Pay close attention to any horses that fit that description and are French-bred, as juveniles from France have dominated this race since its inception.
Finally, keep an eye on Joseph O'Brien and Gordon Elliott-trained horses, with the pair having trained many recent winners of the Boodles Handicap Hurdle.
With so many lightly raced horses and betting moves happening close to the day, the Boodles Juvenile Handicap Hurdle market is fast-moving.
The best way to keep track of those price changes is at Gambling.com, where we monitor and update Boodles Juvenile Handicap Hurdle odds from top betting sites in real time, helping you identify value in both win and each-way markets.
Whether you're backing a big-price outsider or siding with a well-backed stable runner, comparing the latest Fred Winter odds can help you get the most out of your bet on one of Cheltenham’s most unpredictable races.