The Cheltenham Festival is horse racing's pinnacle for jumps racing, considered National Hunt racing's championship, and opening on a Tuesday each March with the famous 'Cheltenham roar'.
Cheltenham Races are a four-day bonanza of jumps racing, widely regarded as the seasonal championships of the National Hunt racing calendar, with crowds exceeding 60,000 each day, and betting turnover hitting £400m.
The best Cheltenham betting sites have odds available for the Festival races almost all-year round, with the finest jumps horses from Britain, Ireland and France always preparing for battle up the Cheltenham's famous hill.
The four days of the Cheltenham Festival run from Tuesday to Friday, featuring 28 races, including 14 Grade 1s (the highest level of jumps racing), and four blue ribands: the Champion Hurdle, Champion Chase, Stayers' Hurdle, and Cheltenham Gold Cup.
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Tuesday, March 16 - Champion Day - Click for Race Details & Trends
Wednesday, March 17 - Ladies Day - Click for Race Details & Trends
Thursday, March 18 - St Patrick's Thursday - Click for Race Details & Trends
Friday, March 19 - Cheltenham Gold Cup Day - Click for Race Details & Trends
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, among many other 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:
There's a bigger guide to the full range of horse racing bets on our horse racing betting page.
Brand | Daily Racing Specials | Live Streaming Racing | Ante Post Racing | Tote/Other Markets | Visit Site |
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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.
Ante-post betting, sometimes known as futures betting, are markets available on races that are a long way in 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.
The 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 the Cheltenham races long before the entries are revealed, and just by being entered, a horse's odds could contract.
Brand | Sports with Antepost Betting | Cash Out | Special Bets | Antepost Multis? | Visit Site |
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Tuesday, March 16 - Champion Day
Wednesday, March 17 - Ladies Day
Thursday, March 18 - St Patrick's Thursday
Friday, March 19 - Cheltenham Gold Cup 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.
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.
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 Marsh Novices Chase usually serves up a top class race to get things underway on the penultimate day of the Cheltenham Festival.
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.
Time: | Click Race For Trends & Report |
Triumph Hurdle (Grade 1) (2m 1f) | |
Vincent O'Brien County Handicap Hurdle (Grade 3) (2m 1f) | |
Albert Bartlett Novices' Hurdle (Grade 1) (3m) | |
CHELTENHAM GOLD CUP (Grade 1) (3m 2 1/2f) | |
Cheltenham Foxhunter Chase (3m 2 1/2f) | |
Mares Chase (Grade 2) (2m 4f) | |
Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys' Handicap Hurdle (2m 4 1/2f) |
Looking for somewhere to watch the Cheltenham Festival? The vast majority of the best horse racing betting sites offer live streaming for every race in the UK & Ireland, including all 28 races at the Cheltenham Festival. Check out the best of these live streaming sites below.
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There are four features races at the Cheltenham Festival, often described as Championship Races. These are the four most prestigious jumps events in horse racing:
Year | Winner | Odds | Age | Jockey | Trainer |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2020 | Al Boum Photo | 10/3 | 8 | Paul Townend | Willie Mullins |
2019 | Al Boum Photo | 12/1 | 7 | Paul Townend | Willie Mullins |
2018 | Native River | 5/1 | 8 | Richard Johnson | Colin Tizzard |
2017 | Sizing John | 7/1 | 7 | Robbie Power | Jessica Harrington |
2016 | Don Cossack | 9/4 | 9 | Bryan Cooper | Gordon Elliott |
2015 | Coneygree | 7/1 | 8 | Nico de Boinville | Mark Bradstock |
2014 | Lord Windermere | 20/1 | 8 | Davy Russell | Jim Culloty |
2013 | Bobs Worth | 11/4f | 8 | Barry Geraghty | Nicky Henderson |
2012 | Synchronised | 8/1 | 9 | AP McCoy | Jonjo O'Neill |
2011 | Long Run | 7/2f | 6 | Mr Sam Waley-Cohen | Nicky Henderson |
2010 | Imperial Commander | 7/1 | 9 | Paddy Brennan | Nigel Twiston-Davies |
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 giving 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.
Ticket prices for admission to the Cheltenham Festival start at £37, with Cheltenham Gold Cup day starting at £57. There are three enclosures - Club, Tattersalls, and Best Mate - and a host of extra hospitality options. For admission only ticket prices, see below:
You can buy tickets to any Cheltenham Festival day and see prices for restaurants and other facilities at thejockeyclub.co.uk.
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.
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