Cheltenham Festival Odds

The Cheltenham Festival is the biggest and best horse racing festival in the world as far as most racing punters are concerned. These are the four days of the year that those who love jumps racing really anticipate and the countdown to Cheltenham essentially starts as soon as the curtain is drawn on the preceding year’s extravaganza.

That’s certainly the case when it comes to ante post racing odds, with odds available for the four Cheltenham features 12 months in advance and sometimes even earlier. It’s not just the four big ones that attract the attention and offer early ante post odds either.

Our odds comparison shows you all the best odds for all the best races at Cheltenham, with early odds available on a host of races. If you think you know who will land any of Cheltenham’s biggest races just check out our odds comparison for the best prices. Ante post betting has its risks but it can also offer huge value and that value is even bigger if you use our odds comparison to get the best odds available on whichever horse you fancy for glory.

Cheltenham 2023 Dates and Biggest Races

The 2023 Cheltenham Festival starts on Tuesday 10th March and concludes with Gold Cup Day on Friday 19th March. The 19th will most certainly be lucky for some but what are the biggest races to bet on at the greatest festival in National Hunt racing?
Each day has a feature race that headlines the race schedule and these are:

• Day 1 – Champion Hurdle
• Day 2 – Champion Chase
• Day 3 – Stayers’ Hurdle
• Day 4 – Gold Cup

However, in total there are a whopping 28 races over the four days, with four each day, and amazingly half of the total are at the highest Grade 1 level. That’s a staggering level of world class racing and the other Grade 1s are shown below.

• Supreme Novices’ Hurdle
• Arkle Challenge Trophy
• Mares' Hurdle
• Novices' Hurdle
• Festival Novices Chase
• Champion Bumper
• Marsh Novices' Chase
• Festival Trophy
• Triumph Hurdle
• Spa Novices’ Hurdle

In terms of the variety of racing, the Cheltenham Festival also has you covered. No matter what type of horse racing betting you like, the action from Prestbury Park doesn’t disappoint. Contests range in distance from two miles to four miles, with action over hurdles, fences, cross country and even a National Hunt flat race. There are amateur jockeys, conditional jockeys and a mixed of big and small field events too.

Betting on the Cheltenham Festival

As we have touched on, it is never really too early to start planning your Cheltenham betting. Whilst lots of the best racing betting sites have offers in the build up to the festival in March, some start their promotions and prize draws long before.

If you like ante post betting then “Non-Runner No Bet”, sometimes called NRNB, is a great offer to look out for. This allows you to place an ante post bet without the risk of losing your stake if your pick doesn’t make it to post. Eventually most of the best racing bookmakers will have this promo, at least for the biggest races, but the very best of the best start offering NRNB a month or even more before the racing commences.

When it comes to picking your bets for Cheltenham there are no shortage of trials and prep races to look out for ahead of the festival itself. Of course, form in autumn and mid-winter doesn’t always translate to a good run in mid-March, so looking out for horses that have performed better as things just start to warm up and dry out can also be a good betting tactic.

As ever, course form is important and this is especially the case at Cheltenham. The famous Cheltenham roar, which is now almost a four-day long expression of excitement and racing fervour, as opposed to simply something that marks the start of the opening race, can be off-putting to some horses. The scale and volume of the crowds are not something these horses will experience every week and so knowing that your pick can handle the occasion is certainly a big tick.

There are plenty of tips to be found for these huge races, with even mainstream media outlets covering the likes of the Gold Cup in great depth. However, tipping is no easy game – if it was the bookies certainly wouldn’t last too long.

But one way to absolutely guarantee you get the best available value on any given horse, in any race – at Cheltenham and beyond – is to use our racing odds comparison. This makes getting the best betting odds on whichever horse you fancy quick, easy and hassle-free. Bigger odds means bigger value and bigger value is the only sure-fire way to improve your overall long term results when it comes to horse racing betting.

2019 Cheltenham Review

The 2019 Festival was a real cracker, perhaps made even more brilliant by the slight fears in the build-up that the whole thing may be called off due to a minor outbreak of equine flu in the weeks leading up to it. Thankfully nothing came of that and, as ever, we had four stunning days of racing.

There were many highlights but the best of the lot for many was Bryony Frost’s brilliant ride in the Ryanair Chase. The Ryanair is almost an unofficial fifth feature race and Frost’s win, with her beloved Frodon making all the running, was the first Grade One win at the Festival over jumps by a female rider. Her post-race comments charmed the nation even further.

There were numerous other highlights, with Altior landing a fourth Festival win and Willie Mullins taking his tally to 65 Festival winners, just keeping ahead of Nicky Henderson (64) as both men once again enjoyed four great days in the Cotswolds. Mullins also landed his first Gold Cup winner as Al Boum Photo took the victory.

However, even better than that was another horse landing a fourth Festival win, Tiger Roll. In the light of his subsequent Grand National defence his romp in the Glenfarclas Cross Country Chase looks even more historic but it truly was a scintillating performance. Tiger Roll made it look so, so easy, destroying the field by 22 lengths. More of the same in 2023 please!

Many of the leading contenders for the Cheltenham Festival have already done their final preparations but there was still plenty for punters to dissect from this weekend’s racing action ahead of the first day of Cheltenham on 12 March.

Henderson Has a Quandary with Angels Breath

Nicky Henderson has a huge amount of Cheltenham Festival experience but even the legendary trainer has some very tough decisions to make in the coming weeks. The plan for Angels Breath was not supposed to be among those decisions as it was all systems go for the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle just a few days ago but his performance in the Dovecote Novices’ Hurdle on Saturday may have changed things.

The five-year-old went off as the odds-on favourite for the Dovecote at Kempton but just couldn’t find the necessary pace to get past Southfield Stone. That upset his backers but also gave connections reason to pause and consider whether he should go for the 2m Supreme or will be better suited to the Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle over 2m5f.

The bookies have taken heed of Angels Breath’s performance and have eased him out to a general 8/1 for the Supreme, whilst he is available at best betting odds of 12/1 for the Ballymore. The general thought is that Angels Breath will still compete on Cheltenham’s first day but will he be able to beat the likes of Al Dancer or Fakir D’oudairies?

Walt May Take Winning Form Into Day One

Connections of Walt were amongst the biggest winners of the weekend. Their eight-year-old was the 14/1 winner of the 888Sport Handicap Chase, bagging a first prize just shy of £57,000. That’s not bad for a day’s work but trainer, Neil Mulholland, and his owners are dreaming of even bigger success at the Cheltenham Festival.

Walt’s highly impressive final jump and charge towards the winning post at Kempton caught the eye of many and saw him cut to odds of 14/1 for the Ultima Handicap on the first day of Cheltenham. He most certainly took the step up in class in his stride on Saturday and although he’ll be penalised by the handicapper for the nature of his Kempton win, Walt still has scope to outperform his new mark. That said, he doesn’t have a great record at Cheltenham.

Will the Rooney’s U-Turn Produce Cheltenham Winners?

The safety and welfare of horses is always a major concern for the organisers of the Cheltenham Festival and all those involved in the sport of racing. Several measures are in place to limit injuries and fatalities but accidents do continue to happen. Risk can and should be reduced but it is always part of life and part of horse racing.

Paul and Clare Rooney are owners who have experienced the sharp end of these problems at Cheltenham. Their horse, Starchitect had to be put down after breaking a leg during the Caviar Gold Cup in 2017 and they subsequently took the decision not to allow any of the horses they own to run at Cheltenham.

Following extensive communication with Cheltenham and weighing up the pros and cons of the matter, the Rooneys have decided to allow their horses to run at the Festival. That decision has been welcomed by the trainers they employ, especially Philip Hobbs and Fergal O’Brien. They train I’m A Game Changer and Barney Dwan respectively, both of whom have now been entered into multiple races at Cheltenham.

Another Rooney-owned horse to carefully consider for this year’s Cheltenham Festival is The Last Samuri who is a general 16/1 for the St James’s Place Foxhunter Chase on the final day of the 2019 Cheltenham Festival.

The equine flu outbreak that threatened the Cheltenham Festival thankfully looks to have been contained. The pause in racing and subsequent protocols enforced have had a major impact on the preparations for some of the leading Cheltenham contenders but there was still plenty for punters to glean from this weekend’s racing.

Nicholls Bags Eight Winners but It’s Not All Positive News

It really was a ‘Super Saturday’ for Paul Nicholls and his entire Ditcheat team. The 10 time National Hunt champion trainer scored an amazing eight winners with arguably the most impressive performance of the lot coming from Cyrname.

Following on from a handicap win at Ascot in January he made the step up to Grade 1 level look easy by romping home in the Ascot Chase. Unfortunately, Cyrname doesn’t hold an entry at Cheltenham as he just doesn’t perform on left handed courses.

There are no such concerns about Clan Des Obeaux though who added the Denman Chase to his success in the King George VI Chase. That win saw Clan Des Obeaux move into second favouritism behind Presenting Percy in the betting for the Cheltenham Gold Cup at 9/2 with Ladbrokes.

At the same time the support for Presenting Percy began to weaken as he was pulled from the Red Mills Chase at Gowran Park due to ground concerns. He holds an entry this weekend but if he doesn’t make it to Fairyhouse it’s possible he’ll head to Cheltenham without a single performance over fences this season.

The negative for Nicholls was the performance of Politologue in the Ascot Chase. His odds duly went out for the Ryanair Chase as did those of Waiting Patiently for Ruth Jefferson who could only finish second to Cyrname.

Another performance to note in the Ascot Chase came from Fox Norton. His run suggests he can improve for Cheltenham where he is 10/1 for the Ryanair Chase with bet365.

The Roll Continues for Tiger

Tiger Roll was given a hero’s welcome on his return to Navan on Sunday. The Grand National winner had already made his seasonal reappearance at Cheltenham’s cross country course in November and was said to be 75% fit for the Grade 2 Boyne Hurdle.

Concerns about his fitness and suitability for the 2m5f hurdle saw Tiger Roll go off at 25/1 but he rewarded those who kept the faith by proving his versatility with a big win. That sets up his assault on Cheltenham where he is the 5/4 favourite with Coral for the Glenfarclas Chase. It also throws up the prospect of a successful defence of the Grand National.

Twiston-Davies Confident His Charge Can Dance to Victory in the Opener

As the race that kicks off the Cheltenham Festival the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle is always an incredibly popular contest. Therefore, the ante post betting is a hive of activity and positions were shaken up on Saturday thanks to Al Dancer’s win in the Betfair Hurdle.

Nigel Twiston-Davies and Sam Twiston-Davies allowed Al Dancer to race with the sort of front-running style that he prefers and it worked a treat. There was no sign of him slowing down in the closing stages as he put the competition firmly behind him.

The best price you’ll get on Al Dancer in the Supreme is the 4/1 that Ladbrokes are quoting. That will only be a good price if he is able to cope with the noise and the crowds at Cheltenham though. Time will soon provide the answer to that one but 4/1 looks solid right now.

The Cheltenham Festival is quite simply the biggest and best horse racing festival in the National Hunt calendar. Every March the four day event attracts the best trainers, jockeys and – of course – horses to compete over various distances in some of the most highly regarded races in the sport. With so many top races (more Grade 1s than you could shake a stick at!) the opportunities for betting are plentiful and – luckily for you – we have all the best live betting odds right here so you can be sure of getting the best value on your ante post bets & The best promotions - Non-Runner No Bet (NRNB).

In 2019 the Cheltenham Festival is running from Tuesday 12th March to Friday 15th March, with each day having its own style and first class racing action. Day One is Champion Day, kicking things off with the not-to-be-missed Supreme Novices’ Hurdle, the start of which is always greeted by the famed Cheltenham Roar as the massive crowd releases their excitement as one. The feature race of the day is the Champion Hurdle which has been won by Annie Power Last Year. Many wouldn’t bet against him making it, but he faces stiff competition.

Day Two is Ladies Day which brings forth a very enticing batch of four Grade 1 races including the Festival Novices Chase and the Queen Mother Champion Chase. Sprinter Sacre won the latter in some style at last year’s festival, as it was his last run this year there’s no clear favorite, but Douvan tops the bookies odds.

On to Day Three and punters will hope they have the luck of the Irish on St Patrick’s Thursday as the Grade 1 races comes thick and fast in the form of the JLT Novices’ Chase, the Ryanair Chase and – the feature race of the day – the Stayers Hurdle which rplaces the World Hurdle.

The final day of the Cheltenham Festival 2019 is all about one race, the Cheltenham Gold Cup. The climax of the Festival, the Gold Cup is a race that makes or breaks dreams for some of the greatest race horses, jockeys and trainers year after year. It has been won by true legends of the sport – including Golden Miller (who won it five times in the 1930s), Arkle, L’Escargot, Desert Orchid, Best Mate and Kauto Star. Don Cossack triumphed last year and this year there’s no clear favorite according to the ante post betting odds at the time of writing, the race would be tight as Cue Card, Native River and Djakadam are very close according to recent odds

Whichever horses take your fancy, be sure to check out the best live betting comparison right here to make sure you get the best possible odds for your horse racing betting. Good luck!