Every March all eyes of Britain’s horse racing community and enthusiasts, as well as many international jump racing fans, turn to the Cheltenham Racecourse. Cheltenham Festival is one of the most prestigious National Hunt events that brings together some of the best runners, jockeys, and trainers in the field.
As Britain’s second largest horse race meeting in terms of race prize money, Cheltenham Festival attracts bettors and bookmakers even before it starts. For those who would like to place a wager at the upcoming Festival 2026, we compiled a complete betting guide on how to bet on Cheltenham races.
What Is Cheltenham and Why Is It Popular for Betting?
The Cheltenham Festival was established in 1860 and travelled through a number of venues until it finally arrived at the Cheltenham Racecourse. Throughout its existence it has earned the reputation of a highly prestigious horse race meeting.
Currently, the Cheltenham Festival is conducted over the course of four days, with one of the days often falling on St. Patrick’s Day. Each day typically includes 7 highly reputable races, which amounts to 28 races for the entire event.
There are a number of factors that make Cheltenham Festival races an appealing opportunity for bettors. Every year Cheltenham hosts some of the most prominent names in horse racing, who, in their turn, attract a high volume of visitors. The prestige of the race trophies combined with a substantial amount of prize money add to the interest Cheltenham Festival enjoys among bettors.
How to Bet on Cheltenham (Step-by-Step Guide)
Before you venture into betting on any of the races conducted during the festival, take your time to master some of the essential steps to understand how to bet on Cheltenham.
Step 1 – Choose a Bookmaker
Betting with a trustworthy bookmaker is non-negotiable if you want to have a safe and transparent experience. Before you even register, check the sportsbook’s licence and regulatory authority that issued it.
Once you find a bookmaking platform that guarantees fair play, study their offers. While most large bookmakers offer a variety of betting markets on each race of the Cheltenham Festival, it always bears checking what exactly a particular bookmaker has on the menu.
Another thing you will want to compare among different bookmaking platforms is the odds they offer on the race and market you are interested in.
Step 2 – Select a Cheltenham Race
Once you are done with the registration or log in process, select one of the 28 races taking place during the Cheltenham Festival to place your wager on.
Every day of the meeting has its own race card that is published well in advance. It shows the races that will be conducted on that day as well as the exact schedule. Moreover, Cheltenham race cards will provide information on the specific conditions of each race: race distance, age limit for horses, whether it is a handicap or not, as well as prize money. Once the list of runners and their jockeys has been finalised for each race, race cards will reflect that information too.
Bearing all this in mind, you can select a race that closely fits your interests in National Hunt horse racing.
Step 3 – Understand the Odds
Understanding the odds is an essential part of the betting process. They show you how likely each horse is deemed to win the race, who the favourites are, and how much you stand to win if your prediction is correct.
If you are betting with a UK bookmaker, the odds will be presented in fractions. The first number shows how much you can expect to win if you stake the amount indicated by the second number. For example, if a bookie offers 7/1 odds on a certain market, it means that on every £1 you bet you will win £7 if you predict the correct outcome. So if you bet £10 on a horse to win the race under these odds, you will win £70. Add here your initial stake of £10, and your total payout at the cashier’s amounts to £80.
If the top number of the fraction is higher (heavier) than the bottom one, it means the bookmakers don’t see this outcome as a very likely one to happen. On the contrary, if the bottom number is heavier, they are fairly certain this outcome will take place on the tracks.
Another common way to present odds is decimals, most widely used in European countries. The decimal number shows how much you will get on each £1 you stake if your bet wins. Here you don’t have to add your initial stake to the total payout as it is already included in the odds. For example, the odds of 2.25 mean that if you bet £10 on a winning outcome, you will get £22.5, which breaks down to your initial stake of £10 and £12.50 in winnings.
If the odds on a market are lower than 2.00, it is considered high probability but will yield lower payouts. Anything above 2.00 is seen as less likely to happen but will bring higher payouts if it does.
Using the odds you can also calculate the implied probability of each outcome. The implied probability shows what percent probability this outcome is expected to happen. Calculating it requires some experience but is not overly complicated.
For fractional odds:
Bottom number / (Top + Bottom)
For example: the odds are 1/1.
1 / (1+1) = 1/2 = 0.5
This event is seen as having a 50% chance of happening.
For decimal odds:
1 ÷ Decimal Odds
For example: the odds are 4.00
1 / 4 = 0.25
This event is seen as having a 25% chance of happening.
Step 4 – Choose Your Bet Type
Now it is time to choose what bet you want to place on your selected race. Here are some of the most popular bets for horse racing:
- Win: This betting market is directly tied to the outcome of the race. You are placing your wager on a horse that you see as the most likely to come to the finish line first and win the race. It is easy to understand and to follow, that’s why even beginner punters are recommended to start building their horse racing experience here.
- Each Way: This bet is a 2 in 1 deal of sorts. Here you are placing your wager on the horse to both win the race and be placed in it. What this means is that if the horse comes to the finish line first, you win both markets and get a double payout (win + placement). If the horse misses the first place but still finishes within the winning top (between top 2 and top 4 depending on the race), you lose your win bet but win the placement bet. Keep in mind that your stake will double when you bet on this market.
- Forecast: For this betting market, your stake covers two horses. You are betting that horse A will be the first to finish the race, while horse B will come to the finish line second. There are two types of forecast bets. If it is a straight forecast, both horses have to finish the race in the order you defined. Any other outcome will result in you losing your wager. If it is a reverse forecast, if horse B comes first and horse A comes second, your wager still wins. However, if one of the horses misses the top two, your wager will lose.
Step 5 – Place Your Bet
Once you have settled on the race, the horse, and the betting market you want to place your wager on, it is time to select your stake and place the bet. Add it to your bet slip, check that all the information is correct, and confirm the bet.
Now it is time to sit back and wait for the results to come in to see if your prediction was correct.
Betting on Cheltenham Races Explained
An indispensable part of knowing how to bet on Cheltenham races is understanding various types of betting and what they imply.
First things first, learn the difference between a single race, multiple race, and accumulator betting.
- Single race betting means you are placing one bet on one horse in one race. If the horse comes first, you win. If it doesn’t, you lose. Single race betting is very straightforward, implies lower risks and smaller payouts.
- Multiple race betting means you place a wager on several horses across several consecutive races. If horse A wins race A, your winnings roll over as a stake on horse B in race B. If you win this bet too, the stake goes to horse C in race C. But if you lose at any leg of a multiple bet, you lose all the winnings you made so far and can’t bet on the next leg. You need to win every leg to get a payout. Understandably, the risks here are higher but so are the payouts.
- Accumulator betting (also known as acca) is a type of multiple race betting but it always consists of 4+ races. The betting and payout mechanisms here are the same as with smaller multiple bets (doubles and trebles) but as more legs are added, your risk to lose before collecting a payout is also higher.
Ante-post betting is very popular on large events like the Cheltenham Festival. It means you are placing a wager before the final list of runners has been announced for the race — days, weeks, and sometimes even months before the actual event.
This means you are getting much higher odds, essentially locking in on a higher value in case the odds drop later. However, the big risk you are facing here is the uncertainty of the field. If you bet on a horse that later doesn’t run for any reason, you lose your stake.
Contrary to this, if you bet on a non-runner on the day of the race, your stake will be returned to you. While the odds for the day of race betting might not be as high, it offers more information and more certainty.
Day of race betting is considered after the final list of runners has been announced. This means you have full confirmation of who is going to participate, access to the horses’ and jockeys’ form, as well as ground information.
If you compare ante-post and day of race betting, the former works the best for long-term punters who track the form and performance well in advance. The latter works the best for punters who rely on definitive information and want more certainty.
Last but not least comes live betting. You might think that once the horses take off from the start line, odds remain unchanged but that is not so. Odds continue changing during the race based on which runner is leading, what the position of each horse in the race is, and, in case of National Hunt races, how many jumps have been made. You have to be fast, make decisions under pressure, and know how to manage risks. Keep in mind that not every market is available for in-play betting. Some platforms close betting before the start of the race altogether.
Cheltenham Festival Betting Tips for Beginners
Like any other type of gambling, horse racing requires a responsible approach. While you are never guaranteed any outcome due to the nature of gambling, you should be taking informed decisions instead of placing random bets.
Check the runners’ form. Information on the horses who are set to participate in the race is readily available online along with their recent performances. If you are attending Cheltenham Festival (or any other race, for that matter) in person, pay a visit to the Parade Ring to see the horses for yourself and make conclusions.
Take a look at course history. From track shape to weather and ground conditions, a lot of things have an external effect on the outcome. A particular skillset a horse has may work better on one track than another. Check results from previous years to see what type of runners tend to win this race.
Check trainer and jockey records. Despite each horse running for itself in the race, horse racing is a team effort. The physical form and past performance of the jockey as well as the performance record of the trainer play a huge role in how the horse will behave on the track. Study this information as closely as the runners.
Avoid chasing losses. No outcome is guaranteed in betting. If your prediction turns out to be incorrect, you will lose your wager. Don’t try to bet more to cover your losses because this leads to devastating results. Once you have reached your set budget limit, call it a day.
Manage your bankroll. Always remember that gambling is a form of entertainment, not a way for fast financial gain. Set a budget limit that won’t affect your financial or mental well-being if you lose it. Define your aim for gambling: do you want to place the entire budget on one race or do you want to distribute it on several races and stay in the game longer? Manage your stakes accordingly and stop playing once you reach the budget limit.
Common Mistakes When Betting on Cheltenham
There are a number of mistakes punters make when betting on Cheltenham fixtures or any other horse racing. While not guaranteeing any outcome, taking them into account will improve your betting experience.
Only betting favourites. Favourites are favourites for a reason. Based on their past performances and physical form, physical form of their rivals in the race, and many other factors, they are seen as the most likely to win the race. However, being a favourite doesn’t necessarily mean they are absolutely guaranteed to win. On top of that, odds on favourites are always lower, so even if your wager wins, your payout won’t be that high. Consider betting on horses with higher odds as well, especially if they seem to be in good form.
Ignoring each way value. Some horse racing punters only bet on the winning horse. This increases volatility, meaning they are more likely to have long losing streaks. In addition to that, sometimes placements are mathematically a better option due to the way bookmakers price the markets. Another mistake is not to check how many places are included in the winning top (and correspondingly, will pay out). Always consider each way betting when betting on races with lots of runners, as the number of horses in the race increases the number of places, i.e. the chances of a payout.
Betting too early. There are a lot of external factors affecting the race that can change closer to the start. If you are betting days or sometimes even the night before, you are missing out on a lot of essential information. Ground conditions are a decisive factor. Some horses perform better on certain grounds, so backing a horse before the conditions have been confirmed can lead to unfavourable results. Notice how the final list of runners will also change before the start of the race. Horses can be withdrawn, drop out because of the ground conditions, or replaced. This leads to changes in odds, number of paid placements, and the entire outcome of the race. This is not to say that you should never bet early on, but it requires a lot of experience to understand when it is warranted. Until then, you are better off placing a bet once you have the full information.
Not understanding non-runner rules. There are multiple reasons why a horse is declared as a non-runner before the start of the race: from an injury to unfavourable ground conditions to the last minute trainer decision. For you as a bettor this means that the market will significantly change. If a horse leaves the race before it started, it may reduce the odds (especially if the non-runner had shorter odds) and/or change the number of paid placements and, as a result, the each way value. All of this means that you are losing value on your bet. If you bet on a non-runner in an ante-post bet, you will lose your stake too. That’s why it is always recommended to wait until the final list of runners is announced.
Betting is only available to participants aged 18 years and over. Please bet responsibly. BeGambleAware.org