Cheltenham Festival 2020 Betting Guide

Not only is the Cheltenham Festival one of the biggest – if not the biggest – event of the season for racing fans, it’s also a big time of year for the bookmakers. With so much interest in the sport of horse racing, those friendly bookies really excel themselves when it comes to excellent value Cheltenham betting offers and Cheltenham festival free bets.

2020 Cheltenham Festival Schedule

Page Contents

When it comes to horse racing, and particularly jumps racing, there is one event which stands head and shoulders above the rest. That event is the betting giant that is the magnificent Cheltenham Festival. Held over four days in March each year and featuring championship contests such as the Champion Hurdle, Champion Chase, Stayers Hurdle and of course the Cheltenham Gold Cup itself, there’s quite simply nothing else quite like it when it comes to excitement and drama.

The best of the best from both sides of the Irish Sea – in addition to legions of racing fans – descend on Prestbury Park to see dreams realised and hero’s made in what is effectively the Olympics of the sport. If you like racing and you like a flutter, a bet on Cheltenham is tough to beat. We have come up with this Cheltenham Festival Betting Guide as a quick introduction to this festival thriller.

As you might expect for what is undoubtedly the betting highlight of the horse racing year, the bookmakers aren’t slow in coming forward when it comes to special offers and incentives, and things are unlikely to be any different when it comes to Cheltenham betting in 2020.

.These offers tend to become more and more innovative year upon year and it’s always worth shopping around the Cheltenham betting sites to see what is available. Expect the likes of “money back if second”, “money back if beaten by the favourite”, massively enhanced odds, free bet boosts on every race and much much more; you are spoilt for choice when it comes to offers concerning Cheltenham races betting.

 While Cheltenham 2020 are yet to be announced as the Festival approaches, take a look at previous-year’s offers to get an idea of what to expect in March 2019. 

Top Sign Up Offers For Cheltenham Bettors

Days 1-4 Of the Cheltenham Festival

Looking ahead to that 2020 Festival, lets see exactly what we have in store.

Firstly, when is the Cheltenham festival? The action kicks off on Tuesday 10th March 2020 and runs through until Friday 13th March. Be sure to get those Cheltenham festival 2020 dates in your diary.

You may be wondering how many races there are at the Cheltenham Festival? The answer is 28 in all. Every day at Cheltenham is absolutely top notch, but each of the cards has its own standout Cheltenham Festival races.

Day 1 – Tuesday 10th March 2020

Day 1 takes place on Tuesday 10 March 2020 and we’ll hear the famous Cheltenham roar from the packed stands as the tape goes up for the first race. Plenty for punters to get excited about here, including the Mares Hurdle which has provided us with some memorable renewals over the years. It is also the hurdlers who take centre stage on the opening day as the field line up for the Champion Hurdle itself. As the title would suggest, this is the race which crowns the current king over the smaller obstacles. Who will prove to be queen of Prestbury Park this time?

Cheltenham Day 1 Race Schedule

Day 2: Wednesday 11th March 2020

Day 2 takes place on Wednesday 11 March 2020 and the Ballymore Novices Hurdle serves as a delicious appetiser for the feast that lies ahead. All eyes will be on the Champion Chase and predicting the winner of this contest will keep backers guessing right up until the finish line.

There are many highlights on Day 2, including the Queen Mother Champion Chase which has been the scene of some truly memorable moments over the years, including the incredible return of Sprinter Sacre in 2016; barely a dry eye in the house that day. Also on the card are the festivals only flat race of the Champion Bumper and the biggest, most fiercely competitive handicap of the week in the Coral Cup which is always one of the most popular Cheltenham horse racing betting events.

Cheltenham Day 2 Race Schedule

Day 3 – Thursday 12th March 2020

Day 3 takes place on Thursday 12 March 2020. It may be the penultimate day of racing and punters will begin to look ahead to the Gold Cup but there’s a few Grade 1 races that deserve our attention first. Paisley Park has been quoted in the antepost Cheltenham Festival betting for the Stayers Hurdle and traders fancy him to book another visit to the Gloucestershire winners enclosure.

Stamina is to the fore in the Day 3 feature of the Stayers Hurdle. Three miles is the trip for this often grueling affair; who will stay on the best up that unforgiving Cheltenham Hill? Such has been the quality of the Ryanair Chase in recent years that it has legitimate claims to being the best race on the Thursday card, with recent winners including the likes of the brilliant Vautour and Un De Sceaux, and one of the most popular jumpers in recent memory, Cue Card.

Cheltenham Day 3 Race Schedule

Day 4: Friday 13th March 2020

Day 4 takes place on Friday 13 March 2020. An unlucky day for the superstitious but it will be a bag of treats for those following the racing at Prestbury Park, especially the 2020 renewal of the Cheltenham Gold Cup. One of the biggest races on the UK schedule, it will be watched by packed crowds with millions more around the world glued to the live TV coverage.

The crème de la crème of the chasing division do battle over a trip of 3m2f which will expose any chinks in the armour of even the most talented performer. For connections of the top chasers, this is the race they all want to win.

Topping the bill on the undercard is the opening 2m1f Triumph Hurdle. The only contest of the week restricted solely to four year olds, it’s the perfect race to view the potential superstars of the future.

Cheltenham Day 4 Race Schedule

How to Bet on Cheltenham Festival?

The real thrill in the Cheltenham Festival comes in placing a bet on the outcome of the races, but how to go about it? Here are a few things to bear in mind when taking a look at the Cheltenham festival 2020 betting.

Choose Your Bookie

As mentioned sign up bonuses and Cheltenham betting offers throughout the festival will be in plentiful supply. Take a look around and pick out those which most appeal. Our site comes in handy in this regard – and remember you don’t have to stick to just the one bookmaker.

Learn About Cheltenham Betting Markets

Horse to Win or Each-way

The simplest bet to place on the Cheltenham Festival and it can be applied to any race on any of the four days of Prestbury Park action. This a single bet on your selection to finish 1st in the specified race. If it does you will bank a return. If it ends 2nd or below you lose your stake.

Each-way is a bet on your pick to finish in the major places. This is usually the first three, but each-way terms depend on the number of runners. An example of each-way could be ¼ the odds a place 1-2-3.

Forecast / Tricast

This bet is a little more complicated than the one above. Again, you are predicting which horse will win the race but a forecast challenges you to also pick the runner that will finish 2nd. The two on your bet slip must finish in the right order, 1st and 2nd.

With a tricast you must call the first three in the race, 1st, 2nd and 3rd in that order. Tricast bets aren’t available in all races, so check before attempting to make this type of wager. Forecast and Tricast bets are notorious for large pay-outs at the Cheltenham Festival.

Placepot & Pool

When betting at the Cheltenham Festival 2020 you can choose between a fixed-odds bet or the Tote Pool returns. The Tote also run several special bets, such as a Placepot and Jackpot. The Placepot is a wager which challenges backers to pick a horse to place in the first six races of the meeting. It doesn’t matter if your pick wins or ends in the major places, the bet continues to the next race. Get through all six and you’ll land a return. The amount due depends on how many winners have a claim on the pot, similar to a lottery. Try out a Cheltenham placepot this March.

Match Betting

This bet is very interesting as you are picking one horse to beat another. It could be in a two-runner field or a 22-runner field. When placing a match bet you are calling Horse A to beat Horse B and it doesn’t matter in which order they finish the race. It could be 1st and 2nd or second last and last. As long as your pick ends higher up the final order than its rival you will be paid out a profit. The match bets may be decided by the trading team or you can take two horses of your choosing.

Top Trainer/Top Jockey

Value for money bet that gives players an interest for the duration of the Cheltenham Festival, lasting from Tuesday to Friday. Here you are placing your stake on which trainer will have the most winners or which jockey will ride the most champions.

The odds are determined by traders and are calculated by how many horses a trainer or jockey has with a genuine chance of winning the race. This could be favourites or those near the head of the market. This will give you an interest in every race as you tally the winners of your trainer or jockey against that of their rivals.

Enjoy Cheltenham Live Streaming

If you are placing a bet on the Cheltenham Festival, then no doubt you would like to watch the action unfold. Thankfully when it comes to online betting for Cheltenham, many online bookmakers are perfectly happy to cater to this desire through their live streaming services.

William Hill, Bet365, Ladbrokes and BetVictor are just a few of the firms to provide this facility. These days though it would be quicker to list the firms who don’t offer live streaming for UK horse racing than those who do. The usual caveat is that you must have placed a bet on the event in question in order to access the live stream.

Cheltenham Festival Past Winners

Cheltenham 2019 Recap

Cheltenham Festival 2019 was a memorable week of action which brought followers the best horses, jockeys, trainer and owners, all doing battle over huge sums of money and a place in the history books. The festival threw up more than a few surprises with favourites finding it difficult to live up to expectations. As is often the case at Prestbury Park it was a meeting that favoured the brave, those taking on the shortest price runners with plucky outsiders.
Below is a list of winners and prices from some of the most famous Cheltenham races from 2019:

• Festival Handicap Chase – Beware The Bear @ 10/1
• Champion Hurdle – Espoir D’Allen @ 18/1
• Coral Cup – William Henry @ 28/1
• Mares Novices Hurdle – Eglantine Du Seuil @ 50/1
• Gold Cup – Al Boum Photo @ 12/1
• Albert Bartlett – Minella Indo @ 50/1
• Grand Annual – Croco Bay @ 66/1

2019 CHELTENHAM GOLD CUP WINNER – Al Boum Photo

Favourites didn’t fare too well at last year’s Cheltenham Festival, as can be seen from the above results in some of the week’s biggest races. We also witnessed a losing favourite in the standout race of the festival, Friday’s Cheltenham Gold Cup.  Winner of that Grade 1 contest was Al Boum Photo who upset the odds to delight backers at a chunky 12/1. Paul Townend sat in the saddle and the pair finished as deserved champions in one of Europe’s premier National Hunt horse races. Al Boum Photo beat off competition from runner up Anibale Fly and Barry Geraghty at 22/1 with Bristol De Mai back in third, rounding off the major places at 18/1.

The Cheltenham betting guide shows 2019 provided star trainer Willie Mullins with his first win in the Cheltenham Gold Cup but there’s expected to be many more in the years to come. That was also the first and only time jockey Paul Townend has featured in the Gold Cup winner’s enclosure.

2018 Cheltenham Gold Cup Winner – Native River

Scene of one of the most titanic head to head tussles you are ever likely to witness, the 2018 renewal of this contest was a true classic. 15 went to post, but this race concerned just the two from a long way out as Colin Tizzard’s Native River and Nicky Henderson’s, Might Bite did battle on the front end.

In the end it was Native River who claimed gold as Might Bite finally, finally relented on the run in.

Tony Martin’s Anibale Fly fared best of the Irish raiders, coming with a late rattle for third.

2017 Cheltenham Gold Cup Winner – Sizing John

Jessica Harrington enjoyed quite a year in 2017, but undoubtedly her crowning moment came here in the Gold Cup. Winning the race at the first attempt with converted two miler, Sizing John was a career defining moment for the Irish handler. Tough stayer Minella Rocco, finished best of all to fill second spot, with future winner of this race Native River in third.

2016 Cheltenham Gold Cup Winner – Don Cossack

Long touted as a superstar the 2016 Cheltenham Gold Cup was the race in which Gordon Elliott’s Don Cossack delivered on the biggest stage of all, coming home comfortably clear of fellow Irish raider, Djakadam.

With Don Poli filling third spot, this was a famous 1-2-3 for our friends from the Emerald Isle. Quite what would have happened had Cue Card not fallen in the closing stages, we will sadly never know.

Cheltenham Festival History Highlights

With origins harking back all the way to 1860, the Cheltenham Festival has now provided enough unforgettable moments to fill a book, but here are a few of our own personal favourites.

Kauto Star Regains His Crown (2009)

A handful of horses have won the Cheltenham Gold Cup on more than one occasion over the years – Golden Miller won it five times – but only one horse has ever regained the crown having lost it. Victorious in 2007 but mastered by stablemate Denman in 2008, the Paul Nicholls runner Kauto Star showed the fire stilled burned bright at nine years of age when bringing the house down with victory in 2009.

Sprinter Sacre Back From The Brink (2016)

In his pomp the Nicky Henderson runner, Sprinter Sacre was the most talented performer seen over fences since the legendary Arkle. Reaching the pinnacle of the two mile chase division with victory in the Queen Mother Champion Chase in 2013, it all started to go wrong thereafter. Pulled up at Kempton suffering from an irregular heartbeat, there were many calls for his retirement as he looked a shadow of his former self in subsequent starts.

Henderson kept the faith though and in 2016 there were signs of some of that old sparkle returning. Seeing him return to the scene of his finest hour to master the hot favourite Un De Sceaux at the 2016 Festival was one of the most truly spine-tingling moments witnessed in this great sport.

Dickinson Dominance (1983)

Returning to the Cheltenham Gold Cup, surely the greatest ever Cheltenham training performance came in that race in 1983.

To saddle the winner is a feat in itself, to send out the 1-2-3-4-5 is therefore truly remarkable. Remarkable but not impossible as that is exactly what trainer Michael Dickinson achieved. Bregawn being the horse to lead the quintet home.

Bottom Line

Hopefully this Cheltenham betting guide will have served to whet your appetite for what is in our opinion one of the greatest sporting spectacles in the world . A perfect introduction to those new to the sport of horse racing, and for existing fans, this is the most eagerly anticipated festival of the year. Good luck with your Cheltenham 2020 betting!

Questions & Answers