Cheltenham betting tips: everything you need to know about the festival
For the very best racehorses, jockeys, trainers and owners, all roads lead to the Cheltenham Festival. The four-day meeting is perfectly poised near the end of the jumps racing season each March, pitting the finest horse racing talent from the UK, Ireland and overseas against one another across a variety of distances and disciplines.
Unsurprisingly, the meeting is incredibly popular with punters – there are 28 races to work with, and a wealth of historic data and insight to inform bets. Some will instead turn to the experts for their Cheltenham betting tips, opting to let those who know their stuff provide them with detailed analysis of the runners and riders.
Here, we’ll offer some Cheltenham Festival tips of our own, including the horses, jockeys and trainers to watch out for and an overview of the many different betting markets you can use to inform your horse racing wagers.
Cheltenham race tips: how the past informs the present
You have to go all the way back to 1860 for the first official edition of the Cheltenham Festival. There have been many edge-of-the-seat races and jaw-dropping performances in the 150+ years that have passed since.
As far as Cheltenham tips are concerned, one of the most important developments in the meeting’s history came in 2005, when the festival was extended from three to four days for the first time. Since then, a wealth of information has been learned about the characteristics of the winning horses in each race. How old are they typically? What has been their racing history? Who is their jockey/trainer/owner? What prep races did they run (if any)?
Betting on horse racing – and particularly repeat meetings such as Cheltenham – is about putting all of these jigsaw pieces in place to solve the puzzle: the best Cheltenham Festival betting tips come from those who have this complete picture in place. This is not to say that unforeseen events don’t occur, such as shock winners, because this is a sport as unpredictable as any other.
What Cheltenham betting tips are available?
Generally, punters want betting tips for Cheltenham that cover as many races as possible. This way, they can bet on individual horses or package them up into doubles, trebles and accumulators. We preview every single race in our Cheltenham Festival betting tips so that you can back those that take your fancy.
However, there are other Cheltenham betting markets to consider. You can wager on the Prestbury Cup, which pits the UK against Ireland and is awarded to the ‘team’ that has the most winners over the course of the meeting. You can also bet on who you think the top jockey and/or trainer will be. We’ve got you covered with our comprehensive Cheltenham race tips.
Cheltenham Festival tips: four days of action
The most prestigious Grade 1 races have been split up across the meetings in four days. There have long been talks of adding a fifth day to the Cheltenham Festival, but for now, the meeting remains a four-day extravaganza.
Cheltenham betting tips: day one
You’ll hear the infamous ‘Cheltenham roar’ on day one of the festival as the thousands in the crowd let rip ahead of the action to come.
Punters seek out Cheltenham tips straight off the bat, with a quartet of major races – the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle, the Arkle Challenge, the Champion Hurdle and the Mares’ Hurdle – all contested on the opening day.
Cheltenham betting tips: day two
You can find Cheltenham tips for day two of the festival right here at LeoVegas, with some tricky races requiring deep analysis.
The Champion Chase takes the headline spot, but then there’s the huge field of the Coral Cup, the unpredictability of novice chasers in the Brown Advisory Steeple Chase, and the mammoth three-mile, six-furlong trip of the Cross Country Chase.
Cheltenham betting tips: day three
The action on day three switches from the Old Course to the New, where the emphasis is generally on stamina over speed due to the taxing closing stretch up the famous hill.
Our Cheltenham Festival betting tips for day three take this into account, in addition to a stack of data points that inform the key races on the Thursday of the meeting: the Ryanair Chase and the Stayers’ Hurdle.
Cheltenham betting tips: day four
The Cheltenham Festival ends on the fourth and final day, with the most important race of them all – the Gold Cup – contested.
We offer Cheltenham tips for the Gold Cup and the other key races on the Friday of the meeting, bringing a close to what will be a busy week of racing.
Cheltenham Festival tips: win, each-way and ante-post
The great thing about betting on the Cheltenham Festival is that you don’t have to wait for March to roll around to place your bets.
At LeoVegas, our Cheltenham ante-post markets are available pretty much all year round. There are some different rules to know about ante-post betting, such as what happens if your horse is declared as a non-runner, but on the whole, this is an interesting way of wagering on the festival.
There are two different ways to bet on the main race market: win only and each way. As the name suggests, any win-only bets you place can only be settled as a winner if your selection takes the line in first place.
With each-way bets, you can secure a return if your chosen horse finishes in the places, which can be second, third, fourth or even fifth, depending on the race and the number of runners. If you are not familiar with placing bets, going each way could be for you.
Our Cheltenham tips can be win only or each way, with analysis provided as to which bet type is the smarter option for each selection.
Cheltenham Festival betting tips FAQs
What courses are used at the Cheltenham Festival?
Cheltenham Racecourse is home to two slightly different racetracks. The Old Course hosts on the opening two days of the meeting, before the action switches to the New Course for days three and four. The Cross-Country Steeplechase Course is also used on day two.
When is the Cheltenham Festival
The Cheltenham Festival typically takes place in the middle of March each year. Usually, St. Patrick’s Day has coincided with the meeting – often a day of celebration for Irish jockeys, trainers, owners and racegoers alike.
How do I bet on the Cheltenham Festival?
You can find all the latest Cheltenham Festival betting odds right here at LeoVegas. You can bet ante-post in the lead-up to the meeting, or each day when the fields for each race are declared.
What is the most famous race at Cheltenham?
There’s a stack of Grade 1 races at the Cheltenham Festival, which crown the best in a range of disciplines – Champion Hurdle, Champion Chase, Supreme Novices’ Hurdle, etc. However, the most famous race is the Cheltenham Gold Cup.
When does the Cheltenham Festival take place?
The Cheltenham Festival takes place every March at Prestbury Park (Cheltenham Racecourse).