Cheltenham Festival 2024: Best Betting Offers & Racehorse Predictions

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Cheltenham Festival – 2024 Horse Race Event

The 2024 Cheltenham Festival will feature 28 horse races spread across four days of fast-paced action, with the Gold Cup being held on Friday the 13^th of March. Seven races will be run each day and championship honours will be bestowed on the winning horses. The event will start on Tuesday the 10^th of March with the running of the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle. Twenty-seven more races will follow over the following 96 hours. Of the 28 races, the Cheltenham Gold Cup is the premier event at the festival. The Grade 1 National Hunt race is run over a distance of three miles and two and a half furlongs. Horses must jump 22 fences as they gallop for the finish line. Having said this, many bookmakers offer promotions for this 4-day event. Below you will find a comparison of the best betting offers made available by some of the top horse betting sites.

The Cheltenham Festival is a collection of horse races that take place over several days, and some of the action is right out of the top drawer. Jockeys and fans alike flock to the famous Cheltenham course to watch many Grad-1 races, such as The Gold Cup, Stayer’s Hurdle, Queen Mother Champion Race, and Champion Hurdle.

As a fun fact – the collective prize money awarded at the Cheltenham Festival is not far behind the Grand National. This is just one of many reasons why this event has grown to become so popular these days. When people actually go and attend the festival, one of the main activities is to lay down several bets on horses that are taking part in the larger races.

For those who are sat at home, and who cannot make the festival, the good news is that there are still plenty of odds and offers from online bookmakers. Since it is such a huge event, the variety of offers available is quite extensive. We’ve handpicked some of the best that are out there; so do take advantage of them.

You can find details for offers from some of the UK’s top online bookmaker’s throughout the rest of this short read.

Best Betting Offers

Bet365 – Cheltenham Promotion

Best Odds Guaranteed:

When you place your bet with bet365, take the price on your selection – and if the SP is bigger they will pay you out at the bigger odds! Ante-Post, Tote/Pari-Mutuel (bets and dividends), ‘Not to Win’, Enhanced Win, Cover Bets and In-Play bets are excluded.

This offer includes Board Prices, bet365 Early Prices, singles and multiples as well as Showcast bets on all racing where a fixed price is offered. Offer applies to bets placed on Win and Each Way Fixed Odds markets and Enhanced Place Terms markets only. All other markets, including adjusted place terms (Each Way Extra), Ante-Post bets (unless otherwise stated) and Tote/Pari-Mutuel (bets and dividends), are excluded from this offer. All racing in Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea, Singapore and Hong Kong is excluded.

For example, if you take an Early Price of 3/1 and your selection wins at 4/1, you get paid at 4/1!

T&Cs apply. Only available to new and eligible customers

Bet365 Live Streaming

With the live streaming option offered by Bet365, bettors are able to watch live horse racing on the go. Live Horse Racing is available to watch on iPhone, iPad & Android.

To add to the In-Play excitement, bet365 stream over 140,000 events live to your PC every year – so you can bet as the action unfolds. Highlights include Masters Series Tennis tournaments and matches from some of the top domestic Soccer leagues in the world. To use the Live Streaming service you will need to be logged in and have a funded account or to have placed a bet in the last 24 hours. Any fixture/event on our website which has the Play or Video icon next to it is scheduled to be shown via Live Streaming.

To use the Live Streaming service you will need to be logged in and have a funded account or to have placed a bet in the last 24 hours.

Access is granted once the player places a bet of at least £0.50 win or £0.25 each-way (or currency equivalent) on their selection(s) – this applies to single and multiple bet types. Once a qualifying bet has been placed and the stream is available (2 minutes before the off), the player can click the Watch icon from either the bet slip, the racecard or from ‘Watch Your Live Races’.

Paddy Power

When it comes to betting on horse races, especially major events such as the Cheltenham Festival, few do it better than Paddy Power. Over the years, this bookmaker has emerged as a bit of a specialist in horse racing betting, and it all starts with the £20 risk-free bet that new customers can use for horse racing. And yes – this offer can be claimed and then used for any of the major races taking place during the Cheltenham Festival. The description of this offer tells you all you need to know really, as Paddy Power will give you a refund if your £20 bet goes on to lose. However, while this is the standard welcome offer available at Paddy Power, this awesome bookmaker has recently released a promotion specifically for the Cheltenham Festival.

As shown within the promotions in the sportsbook, new and existing players can also lock-in a £5 free bet on three different days for the Festival. This includes a £5 free bet for the Supreme Novices race on March 16th, a £5 bet for the Ballymore Novices on March 17th, and then the final £5 free bet can be used on any race you like on the 18th. By making use of both the welcome offer and the Cheltenham specific bonuses, you could be in for an absolute storm of offers to use on this incredible horse racing event. Just remember that you must open an account and opt-in for these promotions in order to take advantage of them!

Max one free bet per customer. New customers must deposit minimum £5 by debit/credit card or Apple Pay to create a Paddy Power account (deposit is fully withdrawable upon account creation). T&Cs apply.

William Hill

To kick things off, William Hill is another bookmaker that simply excels in the world of horse racing betting. Not only does this site provide a best odds guarantee for a wide number of races, including the Cheltenham Festival, but the site also allows members to watch horse races live thanks to the streaming services. Things only get better when you start looking into the bonuses too, as the standard welcome offer entitles new players to £30 in free bets following just a £10 initial wager. If this is something you want to use ahead of the Cheltenham Festival, you’ll have to sign up and make a £10 wager on any market with odds higher than 1.50. Once this bet has settled, you will receive £30 in free bets that can then be wagered on races that are taking place throughout the festival.

And to add to this welcome bonus, William Hill is a site that is just loaded with promotions that are specific to horse racing. Although there are no specified free bets ahead of the Cheltenham Festival, you can make use of bonuses including three boosted bets per day, up to £10 cash back if your horse finishes in second, and for some markets – William Hill actually doubles the original odds. While we cannot say for certain yet whether William Hill will choose Cheltenham Festival races to double the odds, given the history of this bookmaker, we have a feeling that such prices could be presented in the run-up to the event.

Money back credited as cash up to £10 per race. First bet qualifies, Race Winner market only. Min odds 3/1, 4+ runners. Other terms and restrictions apply.

Coral

Like each of the other bookmakers we’ve mentioned here, Coral has a solid introductory offer for brand new sportsbook customers. In fact, the requirement of getting your free bets is even less here than other leading sites, as you only need to wager £5 to get your hands on £20 in free sports bets. As you can see, this is a super low qualifying bet requirement, and it means that the offer is available to claim for the vast majority of punters in the UK. And again, just like other betting sites, Coral has loads to offer when it comes to betting on large horse racing events like the Cheltenham Festival. The bonuses go well beyond just the best odds guarantee as well!

In fact, at the time of writing, those that have an open account with Coral can enjoy bonuses such as money-back on all non-runners during the Festival, a £10 free bet if your chosen horse fails to finish, boosted markets, and even a unique promotion where players can win a share of a prize pool for making specific Cheltenham Festival bets. Coral is also well known for coming up with flash promotions from time to time too. Basically, this means that while this bookmaker already has a ton of online promotions ahead of the Festival, we firmly expect more to emerge over the coming days. If you don’t want to check-in at the site all the time to see whether promotions have been added, we would encourage you to opt-in for notifications through the various communication channels.

18+. UK&IRE. Online & Phone. First real money single win/EW bet of €/£1+ per race from 8am to start time on the day of selected races. Max 1x£10 free bet per race if horse fails to finish, valid for 7 days. Stake not returned. Restrictions and racing rules apply. T&Cs apply.

Betfred

Last but not least, we couldn’t wrap up this section on the best Cheltenham Festival offers without including Betfred. After all, this site is known as the Bonus King, which pretty much tells you all you need to know already. However, when getting into the specifics, brand new Betfred customers can grab £30 in free bets right off the bat. These can be claimed following just a £10 qualifying wager, and although this is the basic welcome bonus, things get truly out of control when you look into the ongoing sports promotions – especially for the Cheltenham Festival. In fact, Betfred members can already make use of more than 5 different bonuses that apply specifically to the Festival.

These bonuses include £10 free bets if your horse finishes second, money-back on non-runners, extra place markets, bet boosts, up to 25% profit boosts on certain winning bets, and so much more. It would seem that Betfred is just getting warmed up ahead of this awesome horse racing event, as even throughout the last few days, they have been adding more and more promotions for members to claim. Then again – what else could we expect from the Bonus King? And remember, Betfred is already offering markets for every single race for the Cheltenham Festival, meaning you claim these bonuses right now and get your wagers down.

Cheltenham Festival Race Previews with Tips

The Cheltenham Festival, as the name indicates, is an event that is held over several days – with almost 30 different races scheduled to take place. Given that this number of races is condensed into just four days, punters are essentially guaranteed a wealth of betting action, alongside plenty of bonuses as shown above! However, there are a few races scheduled within these four days that are significantly larger than the rest, which is why we’ve given our two cents on potential value bets, as well as likely winners for some of the main races. All of this is provided for you right here.

Cheltenham Gold Cup

Arguably, this is the largest race that will take place during the Festival, and it’s one that punters all around the UK will be eagerly watching. Not only is this race the one with the largest price purse of the event, but given that it consists of 22 fences and 3+ miles of track, it’s not one for the faint of heart. This one really is made for the hardcore horses (and jockeys), and while there are quite a few rumours about what horses might win this year, we cannot see any other outcome besides Al Boum Photo. This horse is an absolute brute, and it really is head and shoulders above any other horse in the field – which is why Al Boum Photo is the red hot favourite at most bookies.

And given that this horse has managed to smoke the field in both 2019 and 2020, it would seem that the hat trick is not only on the cards – it is likely!

Queen Mother Champion Chase

On Wednesday 17th at 3:05 pm sharp, the Champion Chase will get underway. Compared to the Gold Cup mentioned above, we feel that this race will be a bit more competitive, despite the fact that there are less horses competing. In 2020, as you may already know, we saw Politologue cross the finish in first, but this horse is all the way down at 10.00 odds or even more at most bookies for this race. This is largely thanks to form, but looking at other horses in the field, we truly believe that we have found a diamond bet to make. Having won the race in 2018 and 2019, Altior is a horse that just cannot be written off, and at odds floating around the 8.00 mark, this is an awesome value bet.

While yes, it’s true that there is one horse that is heavily favoured compared to the rest (Chacun Pour Soi), the odds are well below 2.00 at the majority of bookmakers in the UK. Given the potential for other horses to upset the field, we don’t feel this is a great wager to make.

Supreme Novices’ Hurdle

This race is the very first one that will be run, and it’s the perfect way to kick the Festival off with a bang – hence the Cheltenham Roar nickname! While yes, there won’t be fans this year to watch the race and create this incredible atmosphere, there will still be the same level of tension and anticipation in the air. Given that there is never a proven track record or proven dominance for the Supreme Novice’s Hurdle race, it does make it somewhat more difficult to predict. But with that said, there is one trainer that has regularly enjoyed great success in this one – WP Mullins. Given that his horse, Appreciate It, is tipped to win and given that the odds are almost 3.00 at most bookies, we are shooting for this one!

Stayers’ Hurdle

With 12 fences to jump over the course of more than 3 miles, the Stayers’ Hurdle is yet another race that you just cannot take your eyes off. In the 2020 race, we witnessed one of the upsets of the entire Festival, as Lisnagar Oscar managed to steal the win at an incredible 50.00 odds! With that said, Paisley Park was listed as the favourite, and this horse is yet again listed as the favourite this year. We feel that given the recent form, and much-improved experience of this horse and jockey, this is the best bet to make for the win at around 4.00 odds.

Then again if you fancy going for a slightly riskier wager, last year’s winner is listed at around 17.00 to replicate history, although of course, nothing is guaranteed.

Coral Cup

With so many horses racing in the Coral Cup, we feel it is one of those races that isfar more likely to see an upset. While we cannot guarantee anything, of course, we’ve been studying the form book, analyzing the odds, and we feel we’ve unearthed a fantastic wager for you to make. At approximately 13.00 at most online bookmakers, we feel that Botox Has actually has a great shot at challenging to cross the finish line in the first position. The horse looks strong, it has a fantastic trainer in the form of Gary Moore, and we really do feel like Botox Has could tear the field apart in the Coral Cup.

Arkle Challenge Trophy

The last race that we have a red hot tip for is the Arkle Challenge Trophy, and this tip stems from the fact that over the last 10 years, there is one trainer that has always stepped things up for this race. That trainer is none other than WP Mullins, and given that this guy has trained the horse, Energumene, we believe that the stage is already set for an impressive victory. This horse isn’t actually the favourite, believe it or not, at odds floating above the 3.20 region. However, we believe that this is what makes Energumene such a great value bet, as the horse definitely has the potential to steal a victory over the favourite – Shishkin.

Of course, only time will tell for all of these bets!

The four-day Cheltenham Festival may have 28 horse races, but some are more highly anticipated than others. Each day, there are one or two races that are must-watch. Although true horse racing enthusiasts will enjoy all the races, knowing the big ones to wager on is key when betting on the Cheltenham Festival’s events.

Cheltenham Festival – Facts

• In 2024, expected prize money at the Cheltenham Festival is over £6 million.
• The prize fund for the Gold Cup race alone is £625,000.
• The 2020 Gold Cup winner was Al Boum Photo.
• The average attendance over four days is 65,000. This year the event takes place behind closed doors.
• Golden Miller won the most consecutive Gold Cup races with five. The horse achieved the feat between 1932 and 1936.
• Jockey Ruby Walsh holds the record for most wins in a year at Cheltenham with seven.
• Norton’s Coin achieved the record for the longest-odds winner in 1990. He started the Gold Cup at odds of 100/1.

 

Cheltenham Festival 2024: What you should know

The Cheltenham Festival is the most important week in jump racing. It isn’t just the most important festival in the United Kingdom, rather it is an important event in the world when it comes to horse jump racing. From Tuesday the 10^th of March to Friday the 13^th of March, all eyes in the racing world will be on Cheltenham.

Each year, the Cheltenham Festival brings together the best horses competing in the National Hunt. In recent decades, the Cheltenham Festival has grown tremendously in popularity. Today, it is more than just a week-long horse racing event. It is now one of the major sports events that millions of British and non-British sports fans and enthusiasts anticipate. The festival has transcended sports and cultures. The Cheltenham Festival is where National Hunt racehorses prove themselves as champions.

The Cheltenham Festival is the definitive horse racing event of the year. The festival’s live audience and television viewers make it one of the most watched horse racing events in the world. It is annually headlined by the Cheltenham Gold Cup which is the most prestigious of all National Hunt races. If a horse, trainer, and jockey can win the Gold Cup, their names are etched into history.

Cheltenham Festival – History

In 1815, the first-ever flat race meeting took place in Cheltenham. Early races were organized at Nottingham Hill and were later moved to Cleeve Hill in years that followed. At the time, the race meetings were conducted over two days with the Gold Cup being the largest of the events.

Due to some local issues with horse racing and gambling, the race meeting was moved from its original location to Prestbury Park in 1831. Afterward, steeplechase racing was established nearby and it also relocated to Prestbury Park. In 1902, just four years after steeplechase racing arrived at Prestbury Park, the first National Hunt Festival took place.

The National Hunt Festival rotated to different racecourses early on until Prestbury Park became the official home of the festival in 1911. Since becoming the official home of jump racing, the festival has not left Prestbury Park. It was also in 1911 that the race meeting was renamed the Cheltenham Festival.

By the 1920s, the original two-day festival was increased to three days. The decade also saw the introductions of the Cheltenham Gold Cup and the Champion Hurdle races.

The 1960s saw the Cheltenham Festival come into the modern age. The racecourse and festival itself received major investment for upgrades. In addition, the BBC realized horse racing’s potential and began to broadcast the Cheltenham Festival’s races.

It wasn’t until 2005 that Cheltenham became a four-day event. The added races have brought more horse racing enthusiasts to the English town and increased the excitement of the festivities. The four-day festival now attracts crowds of more than 200,000 and millions of pounds are wagered on the various types of races including Hurdle, Arkle, Chase to name a few.

Bet365 Terms and Conditions apply / New Customers Only / Commercial Content / 18+ Responsible Gambling.

This review is based on a personal experience of the Bet365 offers.

Validity Period for Bet365 promotions: 31/12/2024.

Disclaimer: This information was valid at the time of writing, for the latest updates please visit Bet365 platforms.

last update : November 2024