Whether you’re a seasoned racing punter or a newcomer trying your luck, bookmaker offers can help maximise value throughout the Cheltenham Festival. Ahead of the next edition of the much-loved Festival, scheduled for 10th to 13th March 2026, we wanted to share our ultimate betting guide covering the whole event. On this page, you will find information about Cheltenham Festival betting offers, strategies for using them, and popular Cheltenham betting markets.
Where to Find the Best Cheltenham Betting Offers?
Here you will find a hand-picked list showcasing the top Cheltenham betting offers from trusted UK bookmakers. Using this, you can easily compare and select the best deals for you.
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Which Are the Most Popular Cheltenham Betting Offers
Cheltenham Festival betting offers come in many shapes and sizes, but some promotions are particularly sought after. From generous sign-up bonuses and enhanced odds to free bets and money-back specials, popular offers like these can significantly boost your account balance. In this section, we’ll explore the leading promotion types so you can make the most of the excitement across all four days of the Festival.
Free Bets
One of the most common and popular Cheltenham bet promotions. A free bet allows punters to place a wager without directly risking their own funds. Receiving a free bet, however, may require a bettor to place a real-money bet.
- Matched Bet – The bookmaker will match your real-money bet, up to a fixed amount. For example, bet £5 for £5 in free bet credit.
- Qualifying Bet – A qualifying real-money bet, or series of bets, will unlock the release of a fixed-value free bet.
- Risk-Free Bet – Place a real-money bet, and if it wins, you keep your winnings as normal. If it loses, however, you will receive your stake back as a free bet (up to a maximum limit).
- No Deposit Free Bet – New players can claim a free bet before their first deposit. This is truly a risk-free promotion as it requires no real money.
Outside of this, there are Cheltenham free bets for existing customers that require no directly linked qualifying bets or deposits. A bookmaker may simply make these free bets available to eligible customers.
Enhanced Odds
Through Enhanced Odds or ‘Price Boosts’, bookmakers will increase the odds of selected bets. During the Cheltenham Festival, this could involve a bookmaker boosting the odds on a horse to win, or perhaps on a ‘to win’ double. It is also common to see boosts on special bets, such as ‘Willie Mullins to train 3+ winners on Day One of the Festival’.
Regular enhanced odds, available to all customers, will see a fairly modest increase to the odds, for instance, evens to 11/8. There are, however, new customer enhanced odds deals which see huge increases, but usually limited to a £1 stake. A previous example is ‘Get 50/1 for Constitution Hill to win the Champion Hurdle’.
Antepost Offers
With an ante-post bet, you bet on the outcome of a race before the final declaration, whether days, weeks or months before. Punters do this as you can often get bigger odds in the ante-post market. The drawback is that if your chosen horse does not feature in the race, the bet is a loser. You do not get your stake back like you would if backing a non-runner after the final declarations.
While this is normally the case, a Non-Runner No Bet (NRNB) promotion will refund you should your ante-post selection not run. This is one common form of ante-post offer, but others exist, such as enhanced odds.
Money Back Offers
Money-back offers provide something of an insurance policy to users when placing their bets. Place a qualifying bet, and if it wins, you will collect the standard returns. Should it lose, though, the money-back promotion may bail you out. The best money-back offers give you a refund if your horse fails to win. Other promotions may require your horse to finish in second or third. Regarding the refund, be aware that there is always an upper limit, often £10. Additionally, the bookmaker may refund you in cash or free bets.
Non-Runner No Bet
A Cheltenham Festival non-runner no bet (NRNB) promotion prevents ante-post bets from losing if the backed horse does not end up competing in the race. The reason for the withdrawal is irrelevant under this offer, and you will get your money back as cash. There is no cap on the refund either, like with other promotions, as the bet is void and treated like any normal void bet.
Typically, horse racing betting sites launch their NRNB promotion for Cheltenham a few weeks before it begins. If you want to place a bet months before, you may struggle to find NRNB insurance. Also, be aware that bookies generally only provide ante-post betting for the larger races of the festival.
Bet-Through-the-Card Offers
Bet-Through-the-Card offers vary, but the underlying principle is that players can unlock bonuses covering a full card (i.e. all races at a particular racecourse on a given day). These are not overly common, but you can occasionally see them for big meetings like the Cheltenham Festival. One example we have seen previously is when you bet £10 on the first race, you get a £5 free bet token for every remaining race. Only new customers are likely to be able to access an offer this generous, though.
Tote Betting
Tote betting is a pool-based form of wagering where all stakes go into a combined pool, and payouts depend on the amount of bet and the number of winning tickets. Although players can bet directly with the Tote, many bookmakers also facilitate Tote betting. There are a few Tote betting markets, such as exacta, trifecta, placepot, and your standard ‘win’ and ‘place’ options.
During events such as the Cheltenham Festival, the Tote often run special offers such as guaranteed prize pots. In the 2025 edition, they had a guaranteed £750,000 Placepot prize for every day of the meeting.
Cheltenham Offers for Existing Customers
Bookies will reserve some of the offers mentioned above for new customers, but they still offer plenty for existing players. One thing many like to do is provide incentives for accumulator bets. This can come in the form of an acca boost or an acca insurance. The first increases the odds of your combined selections, and the second will refund your stake if just one of your legs lets you down. Lucky 15/31/63 bets are also popular, and some sites will run promotional consolation prizes for these on partially (or fully) losing bets.
A big horse racing promotion to look out for is best odds guaranteed (BOG). Through this, a bookie will pay out at the official starting price odds if you made a qualifying fixed-odds bet at a lower price. This is a very common policy for many UK bookmakers. Less common are loyalty schemes like the Sky Bet Club, where customers receive rewards for betting £30 in a given week.
These are more general promotions, but during the Cheltenham Festival, you can see extras such as faller insurance. This gives your money back if your horse takes a tumble over the fences/hurdles. Bookies will also generally ramp up extra place offers and daily race boosts for Cheltenham. With the former, you can expect generous enhancements of each way terms, across many races. For example, some bookies have paid seven places, up from four, for the Ultima Handicap Chase.
How to Use Cheltenham Betting Offers?
When you claim betting offers for Cheltenham, it’s important to pay close attention to the terms and conditions attached. For any promotion that requires a qualifying bet, you should always check the required minimum stake and minimum odds. Minimum odds regularly apply for new customer promotions, and there could be a minimum deposit requirement too. Also, check to see if your desired payment method is eligible for the bonus.
As well as ensuring you read the key criteria, players should check to see if the offer requires any activation. Some promotions require players to ‘opt in’ or ‘claim’ before they unlock access to the Cheltenham bonus.
What to Keep in Mind When Using Cheltenham Betting Offers?
If you have little experience redeeming Cheltenham promotions, this section is important to read. Here we outline some of the most important things to remember before you start parting with your cash. Bookmakers are not trying to catch players out with their offer terms, but customers can still accidentally slip up by not considering these four things.
Restrictions on the Bet Type
There are not usually too many exclusions on offers, but some may require you to place a certain bet type, such as a single or accumulator. Others may require you to place a qualifying bet on certain sports or a specific Cheltenham Festival race. Restrictions can apply to either the qualification bet, if there is one, or the bonus.
Players should also know that cashing out bets almost always stops them from qualifying for a bonus.
Expiry Time of the Offer
Some offers run continuously and have no set end date, or an end date after the Cheltenham Festival. Race-specific offers, though, will have a deadline. Some might be valid right up until the race begins, while others may have a slightly earlier cut-off.
Cheltenham betting promotions that issue a reward, like a free bet or even free spins, will also come with an expiry. For free bets Cheltenham bookmakers offer, the expiry relates to the usage date, not the bet settlement date.
Wagering Requirement
Many Festival offers will have no wagering requirement. Others, like free Cheltenham bets, will usually come with the bare minimum requirement (1x). All this means is players need to use the bonus once, in full, before they can redeem any winnings from it. Higher wagering requirements on a sportsbook are not overly common but can occasionally apply. If a £20 bonus has a 10x wagering amount, that means you must place £200 in bets before you can withdraw the funds.
Is the Free Bet Stake Included in the Returns?
For a normal, successful bet, a player will receive their stake back plus any winnings owed. If betting with a free bet, however, it is very rare to get the stake value back. So, a successful £10 free bet at odds of 1/2 would return £5, not £15 like a £10 cash bet would. This is standard sports betting policy, rather than specific to racing.
Also, it’s worth knowing that you are unlikely to get the free bet back if the bookmaker voids the selection for whatever reason, such as if a race meeting is abandoned.
Cheltenham Betting Markets
If you want to place a bet on the Cheltenham Festival action, there are a lot of ways of doing so. Whether you are a cautious gambler who wants short odds or you are a risk-taker chasing bigger payouts, understanding the different betting markets will help you find the right fit.
Match Bet
Also known as match-ups, this bet involved betting on one horse to finish ahead of another. This effectively turns the race into a two-horse battle, and you must pick who, between them, will be first past the post – Horse A or Horse B. With just two possible outcomes, this is a very straightforward market. Note that bookmakers generally provide odds for competitive matches, rather than giving odds for every possible combination.
Win or Each-Way
With a ‘to win’ bet, you are just trying to pick the horse that finishes first. An each-way bet is a two-part wager. Half of your stake is the same as a ‘to win’ bet. The other half goes on the horse to place at a fraction of the full odds. If a race has 10 runners, standard each-way terms would cover three places (1-3) at 1/5 odds. So, if you bet £5 each way (£10 total) on a 20/1 horse that finishes second, the £5 win bet loses, but you would get £25 for the place part (£5 at 4/1 + £5 stake back).
Placepot & Jackpot Pool Betting
These Tote markets are challenging bets, but ones that often pay out very well if you get them correct. With the Placepot, players have to correctly pick a horse to place across the course’s first six races. The more challenging Jackpot bet requires you to bet on the first six winners. Across both markets, you can pick more than one horse per race, but it will increase your stake.
The opening day of the 2025 Cheltenham Festival saw the Placepot pay a dividend of £11,050.70 to a £1 stake while nobody claimed the Jackpot.
Forecast / Tricast Betting
For a challenging bet relating to just one race, forecast or tricast betting is the one for you. With a forecast bet, you must correctly pick the horses that finish first and second, in the correct order. Similarly, a tricast bet requires you to name the top three runners in order.
A reverse forecast still requires you to correctly guess the top two runners, but you do not specify the order. This is also true of a combination forecast/tricast, but this bet enables you to choose more than two or three runners, with each extra selection creating more bet lines.
Top Festival Jockey Betting
A popular special market at the Cheltenham Festival is betting on the top jockey. The ‘top’ jockey is simply the one who records the most victories at the four-day meeting. If two or more jockeys finish with the same number of wins, the tie is decided first by the number of second-place finishes, and then by third-place finishes if still needed. You can bet on this market before or during the festival.
Top Festival Trainer Betting
Very similar to the top jockey market, but here you are betting on the trainer who lands the highest number of Festival winners. For this market, is it not just about which trainer has some star names, but who has a lot of entries? There are 28 races across the Cheltenham Festival, so the more the trainer is involved in, the better their chances of a leading trainer crown.
Horses to ‘Win ANY Race’ at the Festival
Horses can only compete during one race at the festival, but they may approach it with two or three possibilities. Sometimes trainers/owners decide late on which race to settle for as they weigh up ground conditions and potential rivals. If you are confident in a horse’s ability, rather than waiting for their target to be confirmed, you can back them to win any race.
Overview of the Cheltenham Betting Offers
Our team of horse racing experts are always keeping an eye out for the latest Cheltenham Festival betting offers. We intensify our search as the big racing occasion draws near, ensuring no valuable promotion goes unnoticed. Alongside bringing you the latest and best deals, we hope this handy guide helps you make the most of your Cheltenham betting offers and redeem them with confidence.
FAQ
How to Bet on the Cheltenham Festival?
Complete the registration at a bookmaker, place a deposit and head to their horse racing betting page. If it is around the Festival time, they should have a dedicated Cheltenham betting page (if you are early, check the ante post bets). Find your desired bet, add it to your betslip, and enter your stake.
How many races does the Cheltenham Festival include?
Each day of the Festival features seven races, meaning there are 28 races in total. Many bookmakers will stream every single race live on their desktop site and mobile apps.
When does the Cheltenham Festival start?
The Cheltenham Festival takes place every March, beginning on a Tuesday and ending on a Friday. The 2026 edition will run from 10th to 13th March.
Which bookmakers offer the best Cheltenham betting offers?
A lot of the big UK bookmakers tend to provide customers with the best Cheltenham betting offers. Names like Bet365, Coral, Ladbrokes, William Hill, Paddy Power, Betfair, Betfred and Sky Bet tend to be generous with their promotions during the four-day event.
Are Cheltenham betting offers withdrawable?
If paid in cash, betting offers Cheltenham bookies offer are usually redeemable without requiring any wagering. However, you cannot withdraw the value of free bets.