If the Cheltenham Festival is the most prestigious and the most anticipated horse racing fixture of the National Hunt season, the Cheltenham Gold Cup is definitely its crown jewel. For a race of such distinguished reputation and the highest prize money for a non-handicap chase in Britain, it is not surprising that horse racing enthusiasts and bettors start following Gold Cup odds as soon as they become public.
Here we will break down the Gold Cup betting markets, take a closer look at the currently offered odds, and review other significant aspects of betting on the race universally recognised as the culmination of the Cheltenham Festival.
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Cheltenham Gold Cup Odds
Below you will find the latest Cheltenham Gold Cup odds for the win betting market. The race will take place on Friday, 13 March, so be sure to check the most up-to-date odds before placing your bet.
Gold Cup Win Odds
| Horse | Age/Weight | Jockey/Trainer | Odds |
|---|---|---|---|
| Envoi Allen | 12 11-10 | J: Darragh O’KeeffeT: Henry De Bromhead | 40/1 |
| Firefox | 8 11-10 | J: Jack KennedyT: Gordon Elliott | 35/1 |
| Gaelic Warrior | 8 11-10 | J: Paul TownendT: Willie Mullins | 16/5 |
| Gold Tweet | 9 11-10 | J: Clement LefebvreT: Gabriel Leenders | 100/1 |
| Grey Dawning | 9 11-10 | J: Harry SkeltonT: Dan Skelton | 14/1 |
| Haiti Couleurs | 9 11-10 | J: Sean BowenT: Rebecca Curtis | 5/1 |
| Inothewayurthinkin | 8 11-10 | J: Mark WalshT: Gavin Cromwell | 8/1 |
| Jango Baie | 7 11-10 | J: Nico de BoinvilleT: Nicky Henderson | 5/1 |
| L’homme Presse | 11 11-10 | J: Charlie DeutschT: Venetia Williams | 50/1 |
| Spillane’s Tower | 8 11-10 | J: Harry CobdenT: James Joseph Mangan | 14/1 |
| The Jukebox Man | 8 11-10 | J: Ben JonesT: Ben Pauling | 16/5 |
If you have previous experience betting on any type of sports, you already know how the Win market works. But even if you are new to sports betting, you won’t require extra effort to wrap your head around it. Same as any other straight win betting market, here you are trying to predict the outcome of the event.
One thing that sets horse race betting apart from most team sports is how many outcomes you can potentially have per one event. Most team sports allow for either two (either a home team win or an away team win) or three (a draw) outcomes. In horse racing, every runner can potentially win the race, so that’s how many probable outcomes you have.
If the horse you placed your wager on does come first to the finish line and wins the race, you will be eligible for a payout proportional to the offered odds and your stake.
Gold Cup odds depend on a number of factors. Some of the biggest ones are:
- Horse’s physical form and performance. If there is a slightest chance that a horse will participate in the annual Gold Cup, bettors and bookmakers will follow its performance right from the start of the current National Hunt season. Every outstanding or poor performance influences how the Gold Cup odds on this horse will be formed.
- Non-runners. If a horse was announced as a non-runner, this will significantly change the odds for those remaining on the list. This is especially true if the withdrawn horse had shorter odds, i.e. was considered as more likely to win the race. The actual number of participants right before the race will also impact the number of paid placements, which is important for several types of betting markets.
- Ground and weather conditions. Ground conditions are measured multiple times before the start of the race, as they have a tendency to change very frequently. Ground conditions can significantly impact how a horse performs on the track, that’s why it is recommended to check the final announcement.
Similar to many other types of sports betting, horse racing offers a wide range of betting markets. The top three most popular ones are the Win, Forecast, and Tricast markets. Their popularity is partly explained by the simplicity of their concept, which makes them suitable for beginner punters but also equally interesting for seasoned bettors. Below we will discuss in detail how they work if you are placing a wager on the Gold Cup.
If you want to know more about the Gold Cup, race cards, and list of runners for Cheltenham Gold Cup Day, you will find all this information and more in our article about Cheltenham Day 4.
Cheltenham Gold Cup Forecast & Tricast Odds
Below you will find forecast and tricast odds on Gold Cup.
Gold Cup Forecast Odds
| Horse | Age/Weight | Jockey/Trainer | 1 | 2 | Any |
| Envoi Allen | 12 11-10 | J: Darragh O’Keeffe
T: Henry De Bromhead |
SP | SP | SP |
| Firefox | 8 11-10 | J: Jack Kennedy
T: Gordon Elliott |
SP | SP | SP |
| Gaelic Warrior | 8 11-10 | J: Paul Townend
T: Willie Mullins |
SP | SP | SP |
| Gold Tweet | 9 11-10 | J: Clement Lefebvre
T: Gabriel Leenders |
SP | SP | SP |
| Grey Dawning | 9 11-10 | J: Harry Skelton T: Dan Skelton |
SP | SP | SP |
| Haiti Couleurs | 9 11-10 | J: Sean Bowen
T: Rebecca Curtis |
SP | SP | SP |
| Inothewayurthinkin | 8 11-10 | J: Mark Walsh
T: Gavin Cromwell |
SP | SP | SP |
| Jango Baie | 7 11-10 | J: Nico de Boinville
T: Nicky Henderson |
SP | SP | SP |
| L’homme Presse | 11 11-10 | J: Charlie Deutsch T: Venetia Williams |
SP | SP | SP |
| Spillane’s Tower | 8 11-10 | J: Harry Cobden
T: James Joseph Mangan |
SP | SP | SP |
| The Jukebox Man | 8 11-10 | J: Ben Jones T: Ben Pauling |
SP | SP | SP |
Gold Cup Tricast Odds
| Horse | Age/Weight | Jockey/Trainer | 1 | 2 | 3 | Any |
| Envoi Allen | 12 11-10 | J: Darragh O’Keeffe
T: Henry De Bromhead |
SP | SP | SP | SP |
| Firefox | 8 11-10 | J: Jack Kennedy
T: Gordon Elliott |
SP | SP | SP | SP |
| Gaelic Warrior | 8 11-10 | J: Paul Townend
T: Willie Mullins |
SP | SP | SP | SP |
| Gold Tweet | 9 11-10 | J: Clement Lefebvre
T: Gabriel Leenders |
SP | SP | SP | SP |
| Grey Dawning | 9 11-10 | J: Harry Skelton T: Dan Skelton |
SP | SP | SP | SP |
| Haiti Couleurs | 9 11-10 | J: Sean Bowen
T: Rebecca Curtis |
SP | SP | SP | SP |
| Inothewayurthinkin | 8 11-10 | J: Mark Walsh
T: Gavin Cromwell |
SP | SP | SP | SP |
| Jango Baie | 7 11-10 | J: Nico de Boinville
T: Nicky Henderson |
SP | SP | SP | SP |
| L’homme Presse | 11 11-10 | J: Charlie Deutsch T: Venetia Williams |
SP | SP | SP | SP |
| Spillane’s Tower | 8 11-10 | J: Harry Cobden
T: James Joseph Mangan |
SP | SP | SP | SP |
| The Jukebox Man | 8 11-10 | J: Ben Jones T: Ben Pauling |
SP | SP | SP | SP |
Two other betting markets that attract a high volume of betting alongside the standard Gold Cup odds for the win market are the forecast and tricast bets. Similar to the win market they are directly tied to the outcome of the race, but their mechanism functions under quite different conditions.
Your main task in the win bet is to predict the winner of the race. In the forecast bet you are placing a wager on the winner and the second place runner. To do this, you choose two horses from the list of runners and specify which one of them will finish the race first and which one will be the second. If this is a straight forecast, both horses have to finish the race in the exact order you defined for them. If they don’t, you will lose your wager.
However, if you prefer to bet on the reverse forecast, you will have a bit more flexibility. With this option, you still nominate two horses based on their Gold Cup odds, but you win the bet as long as those two horses finish first and second in any order.
The idea behind the tricast betting market is exactly the same. The only exception is that now you nominate three horses to be the winner, the second, and the third runners up for the race. In straight tricast they need to finish the race in the exact specified order for you to qualify for a payout. For combination tricast, it is enough for all three of them to finish the race in the winning top three, regardless of the exact order they come to the finish line.
Both for forecast and tricast bets, it is absolutely necessary for all the horses you nominate in your bet to finish the race within the winning top two (forecast bet) or top three (tricast bet). If one of your selected runners finishes outside the top two in a forecast bet or outside the top three in a tricast bet, the wager will be lost regardless of the initial Gold Cup betting odds.
Gold Cup Betting Markets Explained
Other popular betting markets that are available for Gold Cup betting include:
Each-Way Betting On The Gold Cup
The conditions of the each way betting market may sound unusual at first, especially for those new to Cheltenham betting or analysing Gold Cup odds. For this bet, you place two wagers on the same horse. One of them is for the horse to finish the race first and take victory home. The other one is for the same horse to finish the race within the winning top. As there are two wagers involved, your stake will double.
Now this is how this betting market works once the race is over and the results are announced. If your prediction was correct and the horse you placed your wager on did come first to the finish line, you will be eligible for a double payout: one for the win and one for the placement. If the horse misses the first place but still comes to the finish within the winning top, you will lose the win stake but will get a payout on the placement stake.
Inexperienced horse racing bettors often disregard this betting market, however as you can see it offers value to bettors. It works especially well in large scale Grade 1 races like the Cheltenham Gold Cup because such races typically include a larger number of runners. The number of paid placements is directly proportional to the number of participants, so the more runners in the race the more chances for the horse you choose to make it into the winning top.
Non-Runner No Bet
When it comes to official declarations, for such key events of the National Hunt calendar as the Cheltenham Festival and all its races, final runners are announced 48 hours before the start of each race. From that moment on until the morning of the race, trainers can still withdraw their charges if there is a medical issue, changed ground conditions, or any other reason.
If a horse you backed at early Gold Cup odds becomes a non-runner, the outcome of your stake usually depends on when the bet was placed. If you placed your bet after the official declarations were made, you will simply get your stake back. But if you bet early on, your wager will typically be lost.
This is where the non-runner no bet market comes in. It allows you to keep your stake even if you placed your wager before the official declarations. Bookmakers offer NRNB to promote ante-post betting.
Match Bets
Unlike most horse racing betting markets, this one isn’t focused on the outcome of the race, but rather the results two participating horses show in relation to each other. To place a wager on this market, you choose two horses from the list of runners and bet which one of them will show better results compared to the other.
Neither of these horses have to win the race or be placed within the winning top for this bet to work. The only results that matter are their relative positions against each other at the end of the race.
Without the Favourite
This betting market becomes particularly interesting when the race features a strong favourite with very short Cheltenham Gold Cup odds. Here you are betting on any horse but said favourite to win the race, but the results of the favourite don’t count.
Here is a practical example. If horse A is considered a heavy favourite of the race, you bet on horse B to finish the race first. Your wager will win in two cases. Number one, if horse B does come to the finish line first. And number two, if it comes second after the favourite horse A. The results the favourite shows are disregarded, and horse B is effectively counted as the winner for the purpose of your bet (but not the race itself, of course).
Winning Distance
The winning distance in horse racing is the official, adjudicated length between the first two horses crossing the finish line. To put it in simpler words, this is the margin by which a horse wins or loses the race. It is usually measured in lengths.
If you are betting on the winning distance, it means you are predicting the margin by which the winning horse will beat the horse coming second to the finish line.
Top Trainer/Jockey
It is not only the horses who get awarded during a horse race. At such grand events as the Cheltenham Festival, the best trainer and jockey are also granted the title of the Top Trainer and Top Jockey respectively.
Both titles have the same mechanism for determining the winner. It is bestowed on one trainer and one jockey with the highest number of wins across all 28 races of the Festival. Your task as a bettor is to predict who among the participating trainers and jockeys will earn the title.
Betting is only available to participants aged 18 years and over. Please bet responsibly. BeGambleAware.org