Cheltenham Festival – Hot Topics
Undeniably the top meeting of the annual National Hunt calendar, where else can you possibly find racing events of this calibre and variety with a headliner on each of the four days?
The Cheltenham Festival represents the pinnacle of the National Hunt racing calendar. With top trainers hoping to see the results of months of careful prep work come to fruition.
You along with many other racing fans are likely bursting with Cheltenham-related questions. Will Constitution Hill score again, or is State Man a match for him? Can Honeysuckle come back from her recent loss, or is she ready to go to stud?
Due to a crystal ball malfunction, unfortunately we can’t answer those questions definitively. What we can give you is a round up of the most important Cheltenham Festival betting promotions and some novel ways to make use of them.
Types of Cheltenham Festival races
One of the most-asked questions from those new to Jumps racing concerns the three different types of NH races, especially as some races have no jumping involved!
So, for the benefit of anyone who is still in the dark, here's a quick synopsis for you.
Hurdles races
Hurdles races are run over distances from 2m up to 3m 4f, with eight flights of hurdles per two miles raced. Hurdles are constructed to be jumped more easily and at speed, so they are smaller and designed to fall if they are not cleared by a horse, which reduces injuries.
Roughly half of the Cheltenham Festival races are run over Hurdles and the headliners are The Unibet Champion Hurdle on 14 March and The Paddy Power Stayers' Hurdle on 16 March.
Steeplechases
Chases are run over a variety of distances ranging from 1m 7f to over 4 miles. Steeplechase fences are big and solid, with a minimum height of 4' 6" and include a mix of plain fences and open ditches. There is no margin for error, hitting a Chase fence hard most often results in a fall.
There are 14 Steeplechases included across the four days of the Festival racecards, but the highlights are The Queen Mother Champion Chase on 16 March and naturally, The Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup on 17 March.
NH Flat races
Colloquially known as ‘Bumpers’, NH Flat races are run under NH rules and the horses entered must not have been run under standard Flat rules previously. They were traditionally used as training races for inexperienced horses and amateur jockeys. On occasion, a mix of the two led to frequent clashes or ‘bumps’ and were frankly better without dangerous obstacles in the mix.
However, it's all a bit different these days and the Weatherbys Champion Bumper is set to be a great race. Definitely one to bear in mind when you are looking to make good use of all your Cheltenham betting offers.
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Our featured Cheltenham Festival race
The Glenfarclas Cross Country Chase
16.10 Tuesday 15 March
- Grade: Class 2 Steeplechase
- Distance: 3m 6f
- Fences: 32
- Course: Cross Country
The Glenfarclas Chase is the only race included in the Cheltenham Festival schedule that is privileged to use the sacred Cross Country Course. Many punters have not even heard of this third Cheltenham track, which is only used three times each year.
It seems that in some circles the Glenfarclas Chase is considered a ‘novelty’ event – but try telling that to a jockey about to tackle more than three miles of gruelling obstacles. The tight figure of eight course has 32 jumps in total, some of which would not look out of place at a three-day event; they are all big and all very solid, with no room for error.
Past entries have included winners of the Czechoslovakian Pardubice and if you don’t know what that is, Google it – it’s enough to make your hair stand on end! We have often wondered why this race doesn’t enjoy much more publicity and is rarely added to the many Cheltenham betting offers available. Perhaps it is simply too unique and specialised? Nevertheless we are big fans.
Gordon Elliott holds the reins of the top two in the 2023 betting. Delta Work, defending his victory in last year’s renewal, is Favourite, currently priced at Evens or less. His second runner, Galvin is trading at a more moderate 5/2.
Beyond that double-figure odds abound and don’t think for a minute that one of the seeming outsiders is not capable of getting its nose in front.
Anyone can win this unusually formatted race and it’s definitely one you need to watch. So, if you do think it’s worth a punt, it may also help you to know that statistically, the race is almost always won by Irish-trained horses!
Featured Odds – how to make the most of your Cheltenham Festival betting offers
Assuming you’ve already found the best Cheltenham betting deals, how will you use them and more importantly, how do you make them work for you over four whole days of Cheltenham races betting?
We think the best way to start is to check out the Cheltenham latest betting odds for the race that interests you. It's definitely worth using a site like Oddschecker for this, as you'll see a side-by-side comparison of the current odds from multiple bookmakers, which will help you to quickly spot any value bets with longer odds.
Another way, which takes a little longer, but can expose some of the best Cheltenham betting deals, is to search individual bookie sites for any specials. They're often listed in a separate section, with a title like Cheltenham Specials, or Cheltenham Betting Offers. In this section you will find odds listed for anything out of the norm, which covers a lot of bases.
One tip when it comes to special bets is to keep an eye on the Cheltenham Festival latest news, as the odds available are often connected to the outcome of a newsworthy event; the official going on the first day of the Festival for example.
Featured Bets – have you tried out a Trixie lately?
Even seasoned punters can be excused for not knowing every type of bet available in the horse racing world and it certainly doesn’t help when they are often given jargon names!
One example that springs to mind is a ‘Frankie’, which incidentally is a seven race forecast. It got that nickname after Frankie Dettori rode the winner of every race on the card during Ascot's British Festival meeting in 1996.
Anyway, accumulators and other derivative bets are very much on trend for NH racing and with plenty of Cheltenham betting offers currently around, we thought you might be keen to try a few out. So here we present the mysteries of betting jargon unravelled:
Each Way and Extra Places
Although this is not a particularly technical subject, it is worth mentioning that almost every bookie features extra places for selected races, which is pretty much a staple for Cheltenham betting offers. If you bet each way, which is always a good ploy for National Hunt, you may get five, or sometimes even six chances of getting a return from your wager.
Doubles, Trebles and Accumulators
All of these terms relate to placing a single bet that covers multiple events. The higher the number of events, the better the odds become. To win the bet, you must correctly predict the outcome of all of the events, or you lose the wager. A Double or Treble relates to two or three events respectively, an accumulator has four or more selections.
Each-Way Accumulators
This is where it starts to get interesting, a two-part bet that is designed to give you the maximum chances of a return. For example, for a four-fold, you start by selecting four races and the horse you fancy for each, making sure to tick the EW box on your betting slip.
The difference now is that you have backed each horse on an each way basis, so provided each one either wins or places, you will still get a return. This type of bet is perfect for races where the Favourites have very short odds and means you can take full advantage of Cheltenham Festival betting offers where many races have extra places.
Others
We don’t want to bore you or blind you with too much science, suffice to say that the Trixies, Yankees, Frankies and Heinz accumulators are extended variations on the same theme, each featuring multiple selections and outcomes.
If you want to find out more about how different types of bets work in more detail, or get tips to help you make your money last for the whole Festival, then be sure to read our horse racing strategy guide.
Featured Bookies – which one has the best Cheltenham betting offers?
There is no individual bookie we can name as offering you the ultimate mix of Cheltenham Festival betting offers. What we can tell you is that all of the UK bookmakers we recommend at Betting.co.uk are sure to give you a great overall Cheltenham betting experience.
Best Special Bet Selection
Always all over Cheltenham betting offers, Bet365 has not failed to come up with the goods with its list of Festival specials, which include predicting the going, odds on runners without the race favourite and forecasts on two or more races. Bet365 is also offering a great sign up bonus, plus NRNB and BOG on all Cheltenham bets. There's sure to be even more to come as the Festival draws closer.
Open Account Offer Bet £10 & Get £30 in Free Bets for new customers at bet365. Min deposit requirement. Free Bets are paid as Bet Credits and are available for use upon settlement of bets to value of qualifying deposit. Min odds, bet and payment method exclusions apply. Returns exclude Bet Credits stake. Time limits and T&Cs apply. Registration required.
Best Cheltenham Info
888sport has caught our attention with its extensive breakdown of this year’s Cheltenham Festival races, runners and riders. 888sport also offers a whole host of forecast bets, some of which are quite unique to this operator, as well as a very reasonable new client sign up bonus that gives you cash to try out some of this bookie's best features.
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Cheltenham Festival 2023 – the fun starts soon!
With only short time to go until the Cheltenham Festival begins, make sure you find time to read all of our guides, which is the best way not to miss out on any Cheltenham Festival betting offers this year.
Now is definitely the time to sit down and make some firm decisions on which bookies to sign up with, which races you are going to concentrate on and which horses you are going to back. Not forgetting to buy in the obligatory alcohol of your choice, purely for medicinal purposes of course!
From all of us here at betting.co.uk, we hope that you have a fantastic 2023 Cheltenham Festival.
Cheltenham Festival Betting Offers FAQs
Along with other promotions, this is a feature many bookies use for selected races at Cheltenham to make them more attractive to potential punters. You can read all about this year’s offers and how to make the most of extra places by reading our special Cheltenham 2023 guides here at Betting.co.uk.
🤑 Where are best odds for Gold Cup?
One of the great things about the Cheltenham Festival is that it represents a full, four day schedule tightly-packed with some of the best National Hunt racing in the world. Whilst the Gold Cup is the ‘main event’ some of the best betting opportunities and odds are for other Festival races. Find out more, check out our unique series of Cheltenham news and guides here at Betting.co.uk.
📆 Can I go to Cheltenham Festival 2024?
The dates for the Cheltenham Festival 2024 are yet to be confirmed, but tickets are sure to sell out quickly once they are. For now, why not concentrate on this year’s Festival and make the most of it using our extensive Cheltenham guides to enhance your experience.
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