The Cheltenham Festival is one of biggest sporting events on the UK calendar. It stretches across four days in mid-March, and attracts legions of horse-racing fans to Prestbury Park in Gloucestershire. The Festival pitches together National Hunt’s biggest stars, with the biggest trainers from the UK and Ireland sending their charges to the track. The entire National Hunt season pivots around this four-day extravaganza.
The Cheltenham Festival is usually timed to coincide with St.Patricks Day, and it attracts a large number of Irish visitors. Trainers from the Emerald Isle have also enjoyed plenty of success in recent years with the likes of Jessica Harrington, Gordon Elliott and Willie Mullins all enjoying major triumphs at the track. Elliott ended 2018 as the top trainer, with eight winners across the four days.
There are a number of historic races taking place at the track during the four-day festival with the Champion Chase, Champion Hurdle, Supreme Novice’s Hurdle and the Cheltenham Gold Cup all attracting a frenzy of betting activity. Many of these races are also popular with ante-post bettors. The contests generally remain on the same day each year, with the organisers only tending to embark upon minor reshuffles every couple of years.
The festival attracts revellers from far and wide, and tickets often change hand for eye-watering prices. It is noted for it’s outstanding atmoshere, with the infamous “Cheltenham Roar” becoming more prevalent over the last couple of years. This is the wall of noise which rings around the venue when the Supreme Novices Hurdle kicks things off on the opening day.
The Cheltenham Festival also commands a healthy TV audience with many horse racing fans taking the week off to enjoy all of the action from the comfort of their own home.
It has taken place over four days since 2005, with four new races added to help stretch out the championship races. It brought the total to 28 races, and it has remained that way for the subsequent 14 years.
There are many warm-up races ahead of the Cheltenham Festival, which take place throughout the National Hunt season, including Cheltenham Trials Day, which is staged at the end of January.
It is closely followed by Grand National meeting at Aintree with many Cheltenham horses also competing at the Merseyside course.
When and Where?
The Cheltenham Festival is held at Prestbury Park, which is located in the heart of Gloucestershire and is easily accessible by rail and road. It is always held during the second week of March and will begin on the Tuesday afternoon at 13:30. It finishes on Friday afternoon.
Why is the Cheltenham Festival so Popular?
Sports fans who don’t necessarily follow horse racing throughout the season will often make a special effort to tune into the Cheltenham Festival. It sees some of National Hunt’s best-loved horses competing across the four days, and that is a huge part of the appeal. It is also an opportunity to see the next generation of chasers compete at the track. The high-quality of race is a huge draw and the audience continues to grow with each passing year.
What Betting Opportunities are Available?
There are so many betting opportunities available at the Cheltenham Festival. It is one of the most punted events of the calendar year and sees large amounts of money gambled on every single race. Even the less-glamorous races attract plenty of money.
Accumulators across the week are hugely popular at the Cheltenham Festival whilst ante-post bets are also commonplace. Throughout the season, punters are able to place wagers on these pre-race markets, although horses are liable to be withdrawn at any given point.
Huge amounts of money are also gambled on a race-by-race basis, with punters both on-course and off-course analysing the form before picking their chosen horse.
There are betting opportunities on the festival as a whole with markets including: Number of Irish Winners, Number of Winners for Jockey X, Number of Winners for Trainer X.
Popular Betting Markets
To Win the Race – This barely needs explaining, but it is simply a case of picking which horse will cross the line in first place. The market are generally priced up 12 months in advance by some bookmakers, and it is possible to take advantage of big prices by wagering earlier in the season. On a race-by-race basis, this is the most popular way of betting at the Cheltenham Festival.
Each Way Betting – The Cheltenham Festival is a hugely competitive spectacle and it attracts massive fields. Some races may have 20+ runners participating, and that leads to a huge prices on outsiders. The four-day meet does produce a fair share of bigger price winners and it isn’t unusual to see a 33/1 shot picking up second or third place. Many betting companies will offer 1/4 of the odds and will pay out five or six places in order to encourage customers to bet with them, and this is a great incentive.
Top Festival Jockey – A number of top jockeys will compete at the festival with the likes of Barry Geraghty, Ruby Walsh and Richard Johnson all taking to the turf. These experienced sportsmen can help get a little extra out of the horse in the closing stages, and its no surprise to see the top jockeys firing in winners on a regular basis. Punters can place a bet on which jockey will have the most winners across the four days and if these totals are tied at the end of the Cheltenham Festival, it will be judged on second places.
Top Festival Trainer – Irish trainers have fared well in recent years and a number of experienced hands will be aiming for the much-coveted title of top trainer at the Cheltenham Festival. The likes of Nicky Henderson and Paul Nicholls are always likely to be heavily involved, whilst Willie Mullins and Gordon Elliott will be representing Ireland. Generally, a trainer will need at least seven winners in order to challenge for this honour.
Number of Winners for Trainer X… – Betting companies will price up markets for all of the major trainers, and punters can choose to the number of winners for each handler. These are often listed as 4-5 or 6-7 etc. This will apply to all races across the four days.
Number of Irish Trained Winners – The additional narrative to the Cheltenham Festival over the last few years is UK vs Ireland. Irish trainers have dominated over the last few years and punters can choose to predict the number of winners from this sphere.
Bobby’s Big Betting Tips for the Cheltenham Festival
The Going is Vitally Important – Cheltenham can be hugely suceptible to the elements and the weather has been known to batter Gloucestershire in recent years. This can alter the going significantly overnight and this is something which simply has be factored into the betting. If a horse has history on a sodden-course, this may be one to keep an eye on. Good-going horses could struggle with the competitive nature of the course if there has been plenty of moisture around in the last 24 hours.
Previous Cheltenham Winners Should be Considered Carefully – Many horses return time-and-time again to the course, and regularly run well here. It is a left-handed track, which doesn’t suit all horses, so it’s always best to check this beforehand and whilst it isn’t as stiff as the likes of Carlisle, it is very different to the likes of Ascot, Aintree and Sandown. Always consider a horse who has won or placed at the track previously.
Warm-Up Races Tend to Help – Horses coming to Cheltenham should have run at least once in the calendar year, but it isn’t always possible due to track conditions, injuries or logistics. Some meetings are cancelled during the winter months, which makes it often impossible to judge the form ahead of the festival. If a horse has performed well during the build-up to the Cheltenham Festival, that is a big tick in the box.
Pay Attention to Trends – Ahead of the race, many sites will trot out the usual ‘Cheltenham Festival Trends’ articles, but these are generally worth paying attention to. For example, 18 of the last 25 winners of the Champion Hurdle have raced at the track previously and 21 of the last 24 winners have started the race in the top six of the betting. This may not lead you directly to the winner, but it certainly helps to narrow down the field.
Take Advantage of Bookmaker Offers – The Cheltenham Festival is a biggest time of year for UK bookmakers, and they will have a number of incentives for new and exisiting customers. It is a great time to sign-up for a new account or take advantage of additional places. Don’t miss out on these promotions.
Where Can I Watch the Cheltenham Festival in the UK?
The Cheltenham Festival remains on terrestrial TV and is broadcast on ITV 1 and ITV 4 each year. The whole festival is also broadcast on Racing UK.
