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The four day festival at Cheltenham is one of the most anticipated of the racing year, and over 60,000 flock to the racetrack each day to watch the action, with millions more tuned in to coverage at home.
Its popularity means that there is plenty of information about just about every race on offer to punters, allowing them to make informed choices on who to back in each of the 28 races, including the famous Gold Cup.
We will be providing daily Cheltenham betting tips, so make sure to check back to the site regularly for advice for where to put your money on any given race.
There are seven races every day at Cheltenham, offering plenty of scope for success on the betting front, while there will be Cheltenham tips on site for every single race.
Fortunately, the schedule is pretty straightforward. The first race on each day begins at 12.30, while the seventh race sets off at 5.30. The feature race of the day (the most prestigious) usually takes place at 3.30pm, and is the fourth race of the day.
Grade one races feature the best of the best in horse racing, while grades 2 and 3 are for slower or younger horses.
Cheltenham festival opens with a bang and the prestigious Champion Hurdle, one of the better races at the festival and there will be plenty of Cheltenham tips on offer for the race.
The race has been won in the past by some of the greatest jumps horses of all time, including Night Nurse, Persian War, Sea Pigeon and Istabraq.
This year, the impressive Constitution Hill (4/11) is the clear favourite to win the race, having blown away the competition on the same day last year. He will go head-to-head with the also unbeaten State Man (3/1) in what many suspect could be an epic clash, while there is value to be found across the field with the likes of Love Envoi and Honeysuckle well priced.
Another race to keep an eye on is the Novice Chase, which kicks off the festival. The much anticipated Facile Vega leads a strong field in which there will be plenty of opportunities to find excellent Cheltenham odds due to the unpredictability of novice racing.
Day Two is headed by the Queen Mother Champion Steeple Chase, won last year by Energumene for jockey Paul Townend and Trainer Willie Mullins.
He is set to return to defend his crown, but will face stiff competition from the likes of Edwardstone (winner at Cheltenham last year) and Gentleman De Mee.
Elsewhere, there is the Cheltenham Novice hurdles race and The Brown Advisory Novices’ Steeple Chase, both of which are fiercely contested and can often throw up upsets, making them a favourite of punters.
The Coral Cup (14.50) was the race with the biggest upset in 2022, when 50/1 Commander of Fleet led them over the line.
The most popular day of the festival with Irish punters, St Patrick’s day features three grade one races, headlined by the Steeple Chase, which has been won by the likes of Allaho, Frodon and Imperial Commander.
With so many top level races, there is plenty of opportunity to turn a profit before the final day of the festival, and the Gold Cup.
The grand finale of the festival, the Cheltenham Gold Cup is one of the most valuable trophies in any Jockey’s cabinet, and sees the highly-rated Galopin des Champs face a showdown with reigning champion A Plus Tard in a field that could include as many as 23 runners.
It is by no means the only race worth watching on the day either. There are a further two grade one races, including the highly-anticipated Novices hurdles race, as well as the triumph hurdle for punters to sink their teeth into. There are sure to be plenty of Cheltenham betting offers floating around for each of these, so it is well worth checking back to be sure you are getting the best deals.
One popular Cheltenham bet among punters is the festival’s top trainer, with Nicky Henderson, Wille Mullins and Gordon Elliot often among the main contesters of the award.
Last year, Mullins swept the floor with the competition, winning an impressive 10 races, including five on the final day of the festival.
Mullins is bidding to make history as the first trainer to win five consecutive awards, and holds the record for the most wins at the festival with 88, 16 ahead of Henderson.
Across the last 10 years, the award has gone to:
It will come as little surprise, therefore, to see Mullins just 2/13 to scoop the award again, with the Cheltenham odds firmly in his favour. With an enviable stable at his disposal, others will be hard-pressed to snatch his crown.
Cheltenham tip – Willie Mullins scooped a massive 10 races last year and his stable has only got stronger in the 12 months since.
A closer award is often fought out between jockey’s themselves, with no CV complete without a win at Cheltenham on it.
Favourite for this year is Paul Townend, who rides for Willie Mullins and will have the first pick on the majority of his horses entered.
He will be chased hard, however, with all of Rachel Blackmore, Davy Russell, Nico de Boinville and Danny Mullins (cousin of Willie) set to have good chances to scoop several race wins across the four day spectacle.
Townend unsurprisingly is the favourite by the Cheltenham odds, with bookies offering as short as 2/7 for him to retain the crown that he raced to last year.
Across the last five years, however, Russell, Blackmore, de Boinville and Townend have all scooped the award.
Winners since 2012
Cheltenham tip – Like the bookies, we expect Paul Townend to romp home to victory in this category, with the jockey set to ride plenty of favourites across the festival.
The Champion hurdle is the feature race on the first day of the festival, and is a grade one race run by horses aged four years or older.
Fiercely contested, it is run just over 2 miles and has 8 jumps for horses and jockeys to navigate. The last two years have seen Honeysuckle scoop first place, and is looking to make it a hat-trick as she takes on favourite Constitution Hill and the unbeaten State Man.
Last five winners
A two mile course with 13 fences to jump, the Queen mother Champion Chase is a race open to horses aged 5+.
The race headlines day 2 of the festival, and there is a winning purse of up to £300,000 on offer to the winner, which last year was scooped by Eunergemene.
He returns this year, looking to become just the thirteenth dual winner of the race.
Last five winners
The main race on day three of the event, the Stayers’ hurdle is longer than most on the card, clocking in at 3 miles and including 12 fences.
Open to four years olds upwards, Flooring Porter has ridden home first in the last two, and will be bidding to win a third consecutive race this year, a feat that would make him the second most successful horse in the history of the Stayers Hurdle.
But there is plenty of competition, and he will have to fight off a field headed by Paisley Park, who won in 2019, while the likes of Champ and Thyme Hill add further pedigree to the spectacle.
Winners across the last five years
The biggest jump race in the UK, the Gold Cup is the highlight of the festival and carries a purse of nearly £500,000 for the winner.
A long race, with 22 fences across a 3 mile 2 furlong course, it is a test of stamina as much as speed for the horses, and a test of patience for the jockeys, with the winner rarely leading for much of the race and instead coming towards the front late on.
This year, there are up to 23 potential runners, led by Galopin des Champs who looks to topple last year’s winner, and is currently tipped to do so.
Last five winners
Ante-post betting can be a great way to get value, as you essentially get to bet on the horse before the betting markets open. Therefore, if you think it is going to be popular and well-backed (therefore driving it’s price down), it can be a wise move to take the ante-post option.
Ante-post bets can be made with just about all bookies, including bet365 and Paddy Power.
What can I bet on at Cheltenham?
Horse racing is a firm favourite of punters because of just how much you can bet on, and betting on the Cheltenham Festival is no different, with plenty of Cheltenham tips available on site and beyond.
We’ve rounded up the most popular types of bet that you can place with Cheltenham betting offers and free bets below.
This is betting on a horse to win the race.
This is betting on a horse to win the race or to finish in the places (specified per race). It is comprised of two bets.
More cover than betting on a horse to win, this allows you to bet on whether a horse will finish in the places. Usually used on longer odds horses.
Multiples, or accumulators, allow you to bet on several horses to win, place, or a mixture of the two. Combining odds is riskier, but can bring much bigger rewards than placing singles. They often do not qualify for Cheltenham free bets, however, so be sure to check any Cheltenham betting offers you are keen to take advantage of.
This bet comprises of four bets across three races, and features three doubles and a single bet. Two or more of these have to come in for it to be considered a win and leave you in profit.
A lucky 15 is a staple of horse-racing, and Cheltenham Festival is no different. Often not able to be used in conjunction with Cheltenham Festival free bets, it comprises of 15 bets that include:
Usually, two of your four selected horses have to win for it to turn a profit.
In some races, punters will be able to be on other markets, such as how many lengths a horse may win by, which can be good value when backing a heavy favourite.
