Bettors can place a wager on a horse race weeks or even months in advance via futures markets, which is also known as ante-post betting in the UK and Ireland.
Using futures markets, bettors can back a horse to win the County Hurdle well in advance of the race taking place at the Cheltenham Festival.
The benefit of placing an ante-post wager is that it allows you to secure a better price on a horse should the odds contract in the days or weeks leading up to a race.
Some bookmakers offer a non-runner no-bet on all races at Cheltenham. This means that if you place a futures bet on a horse and it doesn’t end up running, the betting site will issue a refund. However, check that your chosen betting site offers this service before placing a wager.
Simply a bet on a horse to win the County Hurdle. If the selection wins the race, successful bettors will be paid out.
Any other result and the bet is a loser.
A place bet is a wager on a horse to finish in one of the top positions, such as 1st, 2nd, 3rd or sometimes 4th — depending on the size of the field and the bookmaker’s terms.
An each-way bet is a two-part wager with a bettor’s stake split 50/50 between a win bet and a place bet.
Should your horse win the race, bookmakers will pay out on both the win and place part of the race. If it only places, you get a reduced payout based on a fraction of the odds (often 1/4 or 1/5).
Each-way bets are a good option for those County Hurdle selections with big odds.
Horse racing odds are presented in three main formats depending on your region and most online bookmakers allow you to choose between the formats in your account settings:
Mainly used in the UK and Ireland, fractional odds are displayed as a fraction, such as 3/1 (read out as three to one).
The number on the left of the line is your profit relative to the stake, which is the number on the right.
So, if a horse had County Hurdle odds of 3/1, bettors would make £30 profit for every £10 they wagered if the horse won.
The County Hurdle is a leading handicap hurdle race for horses aged 5 and above, run over 2 miles and 1 furlong at the Cheltenham Festival in March.
County Hurdle Facts
At Gambling.com, we provide the latest, up-to-the-minute odds for the County Hurdle from all the major betting sites.
The odds are updated in real time, giving bettors the best value on win and each-way bets for the race.
The lines from bookmakers regularly change, and we track and reflect each alteration via our custom odds comparison tool.
By regularly checking the County Hurdle odds on Gambling.com and reading our expert horse racing betting tips, bettors have a great chance of backing a winner at the best odds available.