Best 2023 Cheltenham Free Bets, Offers and Betting Sites

What is the Cheltenham Festival?

The Cheltenham Festival is what every punter, owner, breeder, trainer and jockey dreams about; it's where everyone wants to have a winner - and bet on a winner.

The four-day horse racing meeting over jumps includes the National Hunt season's four most prestigious races, a pile of competitive handicaps, and a host of tricky novice races that offer incredible betting value.

Though originating as far back as 1860 with the inauguration of the National Hunt Chase, the Cheltenham Festival as we know it did not begin until it made Cheltenham its permanent home in 1911.

Expanding from three days to four days in 2005, the Cheltenham Festival is now the richest jumps racing meeting in the world, with more than £4.5m in prize money up for grabs.

Like it or loathe it, the Cheltenham Festival's draw dictates the jumps season narrative, with ante-post betting markets available for the Champion Hurdle, Champion Chase, Stayers' Hurdle and Cheltenham Gold Cup, and many other races with the best betting sites.

How To Bet On Cheltenham Races

There are thousands of ways to bet on the Cheltenham Races, and hundreds of betting strategies, from the simplest (an attractive name) to the most complex (using pace analysis), but they all have one thing in common: value.

Cheltenham Festival betting is vitally important to bookmakers, some saying the results there make or break their entire year. It is one week where the punter is in charge, as Cheltenham betting sites offer as many moneyback specials, free bets, price guarantees, and boosted price offers as possible. Here's three popular bets to have on the Cheltenham Races:

• Win or Each-Way | It's the most common horse racing bet there is, putting your money on a horse to win the race. But if you're not sure, and the odds are big enough, place an each-way bet: that means you will get a return if the horse wins, and if it places. TOP TIP: Look out for Cheltenham betting sites that offer extra places beyond the standard 1, 2, 3.
• Placepot | Run by the Tote and now available at all good horse racing betting sites, the Placepot is the classic 'small-stakes-to-win-big' bet that gives you an interest in almost every race on the card. For more information, read our guide to playing the Placepot.
• Lucky 15 | The Lucky 15 is a bet consisting of 15 bets placed on four horses. Within the bet is 4 singles, 6 doubles, 4 trebles, and a four-fold accumulator. You only need one of the horses to win (or place, if you've had an Each-Way Lucky 15) to get a return.

There's a bigger guide to the full range of horse racing bets on our horse racing betting page.

Cheltenham Festival Ante-Post Betting

The Cheltenham Festival is the seasonal target for any horse good enough to go, so connections can be planning a horse's challenge there years in advance. It therefore lends itself perfectly to ante-post betting.

What is Ante-Post Betting?

Sometimes known as futures betting, ante-post betting is available on races that are a long way into the future. Races with ante-post betting odds might not even have any horses entered in them yet. A market for a race is considered ante-post until the final declarations are made for the race, and the final field that is set to line up is revealed.

Why Bet Ante-Post For Cheltenham?

One of the main benefits of betting on Cheltenham ante-post is the potential of bigger betting odds, particularly on horses who have many options at the Festival. There will be odds available on all of the Cheltenham races long before the entries are revealed, and just by being entered, a horse's odds could contract.

Cheltenham Festival 2023 Races

• Tuesday, March 14 - Champion Day
• Wednesday, March 15 - Ladies Day
• Thursday, March 16 - St Patrick's Thursday
• Friday, March 17 - Cheltenham Gold Cup Day

Day 1 - Tuesday, March 14 - Champion Day

The feature race of Day One of the Cheltenham Festival is the Champion Hurdle over two miles. Legendary owner JP McManus has a fantastic record in this race, having won it with the likes of Epatante, Espoir d'Allen, and Buveur d'Air recently.

The supporting card is a stellar one, with the curtain being raised by the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle. The ‘Cheltenham Roar’ is infamous amongst racing fans as this race regularly produces a future star, as does the Arkle Challenge Trophy.

Day 2 - Wednesday, March 15 - Ladies Day

The feature event on Day Two of the festival - also known as Ladies Day - is the Grade One Queen Mother Champion Chase, which looks set to be yet another thrilling renewal. The race has been won in the past by National Hunt legends such as Altior, Sprinter Sacre, Sizing Europe, and Master Minded.

The supporting card features two novice events with a fine record for producing stars of the future in the Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle and the Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase, while the Glenfarclas Cross Country Chase is a unique spectacle not to be missed.

Day 3 - Thursday, March 16 - St Patrick's Thursday

With three Grade One contests to savour, the racing continues to take centre-stage on Day Three, with the main event being the Stayers Hurdle. Previously won by the likes of Paisley Park, Big Bucks and Thistlecrack it is a fascinating race and is the highlight of Cheltenham's St.Patrick's Thursday.

Day Three also features the Ryanair Chase, while the JLT Novices Chase usually serves up a top-class race to get things underway on the penultimate day of the Cheltenham Festival.

Day 4 - Friday, March 17 - Cheltenham Gold Cup Day

The pinnacle of the Jumps season is on Day Four of the Festival as the highly anticipated Cheltenham Gold Cup takes place. The blue riband race has an impressive roll of honour and has been won by jumping greats such as Kauto Star, Denman, Best Mate and Al Boum Photo.

The supporting races like the Triumph Hurdle and Albert Bartlett Novices Hurdles always produce some future greats while the Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap Hurdle rounds off the Cheltenham Festival with a touch of class.    

Best Cheltenham Festival Live Streaming Betting Sites

Looking for somewhere to watch the Cheltenham Festival? Check out the best live streaming betting sites. 

Cheltenham Festival Feature Races

There are four feature races at the Cheltenham Festival, often described as Championship Races. These are the four most prestigious jumps events in horse racing:

• The Champion Hurdle (£450k) | Run on the Old Course at Cheltenham, the Champion Hurdle is worth £450,000, making it the world's richest hurdle race. To win requires speed, agility and tenacity, these traits personified by the five three-time winners: Hatton's Grace, Sir Ken, Persian War, See You Then, and most recently Honeysuckle.
• The Champion Chase (£400k) | Also run on the Old Course at Cheltenham, the Champion Chase is the greatest test of a speed chaser, offering viewers the most spectacular displays of jumping. Many horses have won it twice, but only Badsworth Boy in the 1980s scored a hat-trick.
• The Stayers' Hurdle (£325k) | The Stayers’ Hurdle is run on the New Course at Cheltenham, and is the Championship Race most likely to provide a tight finish; in the past 20 years the longest winning margin was 3 1/4 lengths, with nine victories achieved by just 1 length or less. This race's legend is Big Buck's, the Paul Nicholls-trained giant who won in 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2012.
• The Cheltenham Gold Cup (£625k) | The Gold Cup is the most prestigious of all jumps races and has featured some of the greatest racehorses to ever exist, with household names like Arkle, Best Mate, Denman, and Kauto Star featuring on its honour roll. Perhaps its most famous winner to punters though was Norton's Coin, who won in 1990 at odds of 100/1!

Types of Cheltenham Betting Offers

Last 10 Gold Cup Winners

Cheltenham Festival Preview Nights

A phenomenon created by the Cheltenham Races is Cheltenham Festival Preview Nights, events involving a gathering of horse racing experts to talk to a room about Cheltenham, including betting tips and information on runners.

There are so many betting conundrums at Cheltenham that punters welcome such events with glee, especially Cheltenham Preview Nights that are attended by popular trainers, jockeys and owners, as well as well-known racing pundits.

There is a Festival Preview Night in almost every town in Britain and Ireland, and one scheduled for virtually every day from the end of January to the Monday night before the Cheltenham Festival itself - the racecourse hosting one that evening in The Centaur.

Cheltenham Festival Ticket Prices

Ticket prices for admission to the Cheltenham Festival start at £40, with Cheltenham Gold Cup day starting at £60. There are three enclosures - Club, Tattersalls, and Best Mate - and a host of extra hospitality options. For admission only ticket prices, see below:

• Champion Day Festival Tickets - Club £75 | Tattersalls £40 | Best Mate £25
• Ladies Day Festival Tickets - Club £75 | Tattersalls £40 | Best Mate £25
• St Patrick's Thursday Festival Tickets - Club £75 | Tattersalls £40 | Best Mate £25
• Gold Cup Day Festival Tickets - Club £95 | Tattersalls £55 | Best Mate £40

Cheltenham Festival Location

The Cheltenham Festival is run at Cheltenham Racecourse in Cheltenham town in England. It's also known as Prestbury Park, because the nearest village to the track is called Prestbury.

Cheltenham is the main town and transport hub for the racecourse though, with most Festival racegoers staying, or travelling through there to get to the races.

Where to Bet on Cheltenham

The vast majority of betting sites will offer a wide range of markets on Cheltenham. The sites that you can sign up to will depend on your location as each province has its own set of laws surrounding sports betting. In some cases your only option may be to sign up with an offshore operator. Some provinces are beginning to change their laws. For example, Ontario Sports betting has now been legalised and there are a whole host of new operators available to sign up with. So, be sure to check what your options are in advance of signing up with any betting site.