The Cheltenham Festival in March is the Olympic Games of National Hunt horse racing. Fans from far and wide flock to Prestbury Park to see the finest equine athletes strut their stuff. The highlight of the week is the Cheltenham Gold Cup, a 3m 2f steeplechase viewed by many as the perfect test of stamina and speed. It is by far the biggest betting week of the year for British Bookies and punters. If you are planning on having a festival punt, this guide to the best Cheltenham Betting sites 2020 will be well worth giving a read.
Not only will our horse racing betting analysts reveal their favourite Cheltenham 2020 betting sites, we will also give you an idea of what Cheltenham betting promotions and bonuses you might come across. We also preview this year’s Gold Cup and give you an exclusive Cheltenham betting tip. Our Cheltenham odds comparison section will explain where you can find the best prices too. If you want to know about how to bet on Cheltenham, you are most certainly in the right place.
After hours and hours of research our Cheltenham betting experts have finally come to a decision. They have selected a Top 7 of the best Cheltenham betting sites and some big names have missed out. However, we are sure you will be familiar with most of our favourite Cheltenham bookies. If you aren’t, you can find out more by checking out our in depth reviews. Paddy Power topped our list, but Betfred and William Hill were not too far behind.
One of the best betting sites for Cheltenham promotions is Paddy Power. They have a huge presence both online and offline and you can be sure you’ll find lots of Paddy Power Cheltenham Promotions for every day of the festival. Another one of the best things about Paddy Power is that they are usually one of the first Cheltenham betting sites to go Non Runner No Bet on the Championship races.
Paddy Power are also famed for taking big chances with Money Back Specials for the Cheltenham Festival. Usually they pick out one of the hottest favourites of the week and offer customers money back on all losing bets on other horses in the race if the favourite wins. Hurricane Fly, Douvan and Un De Sceaux are just three of the horses that have been the subject of Paddy Power Cheltenham Money back specials over the years.
Betfred, aka the Bonus King, is well worth considering for your Cheltenham bets. This 100% British Bookie is long established as one of the UK’s favourite Cheltenham betting sites. Not only can Betfred be relied upon for competitive prices, a slick website and top class mobile app, you can also be sure that they will be offering extra places for each way bets for a huge amount of races throughout the week.
For the big handicaps you might get paid out on a whopping 6 places instead of the standard 4 you’ll get with a lot of other Cheltenham betting sites. If there are decent sized fields in the Grade 1 races like the Champion Hurdle or Cheltenham Gold Cup, Betfred will most likely pay out on an extra place for those contests too. For each way betting enthusiasts especially, Betfred is a Cheltenham betting site you should definitely take a punt on.
A British Betting institution, William Hill is one of the best known bookmakers in the UK. They have shops all over Britain and they are one of the biggest online operators too. As you might have guessed, William Hill targets Cheltenham every year with lots of specials and Cheltenham free bet offers. Just check out the Free Bet promotion they ran in 2019.
If you placed a £10 bet on any football match, William Hill gave you a £5 free bet to use on any race on Day 1 at the Cheltenham Festival. Any single or multiple bet placed on football qualified, once the minimum odds were 1/5 (1.2). William Hill also have an excellent ‘Bet Boost’ feature that can be used to pump up the price of any Cheltenham bet you like. Make sure you choose wisely when you use it though, there isn’t much point in boosting the odds of a loser!
It is safe to say that the biggest race of the week at Cheltenham is the Gold Cup. The 2020 renewal looks like being one of the most open for years. The two battling out for favouritism are last year’s hero Al Boum Photo and the hype horse, Santini. The former is trained by Willie Mullins and he has had just one run this season. That was an easy win on soft ground at Tramore and he is sure to be in tip top shape on March 13 for his seasonal target.
Santini, beaten in the RSA Chase in 2019, has run twice this year and despite winning, he has looked as slow as a boat. You need a turn of foot to win the Cheltenham Gold Cup, unless the ground is testing, so his backers will be praying for rain. Delta Work won his two prep races and in our opinion should be favourite.
A Grade 1 winner over 20f on good ground, he clearly possesses speed as well as stamina and that is exactly what is needed in the Cheltenham Gold Cup. He was unlucky behind Topofthegame and Santini in the RSA last year and he travelled very sweetly throughout the race. His trainer Gordon Elliott knows what it takes to win this race and at odds of 6/1 Delta Work is the Sportsbetting24 tip for the 2020 Cheltenham Gold Cup.
Sportsbetting24 Cheltenham Gold Cup 2020 Tip: Delta Work @ 6/1 William Hill
There are many variables when betting on the Cheltenham Festival that you cannot control. It makes sense to take care of all the things you can control and one of the most important things that a lot of inexperienced punters overlook is getting the best Cheltenham odds. As you are about to discover, Cheltenham odds can be very different depending on the bookie you use. No one site is guaranteed to have the best Cheltenham odds for every race and every horse. You can find out more on how to get the best Cheltenham betting odds below…
Horse Name |
Betfred |
PPower |
888 |
Santini |
7/2 |
7/2 |
10/3 |
Al Boum Photo |
4/1 |
7/2 |
4/1 |
Delta Work |
5/1 |
5/1 |
5/1 |
Lostintranslation |
7/1 |
13/2 |
6/1 |
Clan Des Obeaux |
8/1 |
7/1 |
8/1 |
Kemboy |
8/1 |
7/1 |
8/1 |
Presenting Percy |
10/1 |
10/1 |
11/1 |
Monalee |
20/1 |
20/1 |
20/1 |
To give you an idea of how much prices can vary, we compared the prices for the 2020 Cheltenham Gold Cup between 888sport, Betfred and Paddy Power. Although Paddy Power are best for promotions, when it comes to odds they are lagging behind their rivals. Their overround for the Cheltenham Gold Cup, worked out from the table above, was 113.3%. 888sport were a shade better with an overround of 109.4% but Betfred beat both hands down with an overround of just 107.5%.
However, overrounds don’t always tell the full story and Presenting Percy’s price illustrates why we believe it is so important to shop around before you back a horse at Cheltenham. Yes, Betfred have the best overround but they are only 10/1 about Presenting Percy. 888Sport, on the other hand, go 11/1 about the enigmatic Irish horse. That translates to a big difference in returns if he wins, especially if your stake is big.
We already highlighted some of the best Cheltenham betting promotions you can expect to encounter with the likes of William Hill, Paddy Power and Betfred. However, plenty of Cheltenham betting sites come up with new and exciting promotions for Cheltenham every single year and below are some of the best types of Cheltenham betting promotions you should look out for in March.
If, like so many punters these days, you prefer to bet on your mobile device the William Hill App has got you covered for Cheltenham. William Hill have designed native apps for both Android and Apple devices. Both apps are free to download from the relevant stores (Google Play/App Store).
The App downloads quickly on all device types and works equally smoothly on Android and iOS. The William Hill Web App works perfectly well on other devices, like Nokia and Windows Phones. But why is it our favourite Cheltenham betting app?
What we liked best about the William Hill App was the fact that not only can you bet on Cheltenham, you can also stream every single Cheltenham race live. So, if you are out and about and can’t make it to a TV or betting shop, simply open the William Hill app, place a minimum bet of £1 and you will be able to watch all the drama unfold on your mobile device. And it isn’t just horse racing streaming that is available either, you can also stream football, ice hockey, basketball and lots of other sports if you download the William Hill App.
The Cheltenham Festival is the most competitive week in national hunt horse racing. With so much prize money (and prestige) up for grabs it is one meeting where nearly every horse will be doing their level best to win. In the Grade 1 races form usually stands up, but there are a number of things you should take into consideration before betting at Cheltenham.
Being disciplined is obviously important, as is finding the best odds. There are a few more things you should watch out for when backing a horse at Cheltenham, check out some useful Cheltenham betting advice below.
The Cheltenham Festival is held at Cheltenham racecourse in Gloucestershire every year in March. Hordes of Irish racing fans head across the pond to support their horses, while the home team is usually well represented too. It makes for a unique and electric atmosphere and there are few better sounds than the famous Cheltenham Roar when the Supreme starts on Day 1.
It has been held at its current venue since 1911 and the oldest race at the Festival is the Stayers’ Hurdle, first run in 1912. The Gold Cup was first run in 1924 and while it wasn’t a Grade 1 initially, it soon became the blue riband race of the week.
Up until 2005 Cheltenham was a 3-day festival but a 4th day was added. There is now 28 races run throughout the week, with the four Championship races taking centre stage on alternate days. The Champion Hurdle is the main race on the Tuesday, Wednesday is Champion Chase Day, on Thursday the Stayers’ Hurdle is the feature while on the final day, The Gold Cup reigns supreme.
The first woman to ride a winner at Cheltenham was Gee Armytage in 1987 on The Ellier in the Kim Muir. Some of the most legendary Cheltenham horses include Kauto Star, Sprinter Sacre, Quevega, Best Mate and the legendary Dawn Run. The now retired Ruby Walsh rode a record 32 Cheltenham Festival winners. Irish handler Tom Dreaper, the trainer of the mighty Arkle, holds the record for the most festival wins with 26.
With thirteen Grade 1 races held over four days, the Cheltenham Festival is the mecca for national hunt horse racing trainers and jockeys. A Cheltenham winner is very hard to come by, particularly at Grade 1 level.
In recent years Irish trainers Willie Mullins and Gordon Elliott have been very successful, while UK trainers Nicky Henderson and Colin Tizzard have flown the flag for the home team. Below you can find some of the most interesting Cheltenham Festival facts and records…
The Cheltenham festival is where jumping horse racing legends are made and some famous horses have won there down through the years. Sprinter Sacre, Istabraq, Arkle and Kauto Star are just some of the names to have graced the winner’s enclosure at Prestbury Park. Below we look back at some of the most famous Cheltenham Festival horse racing winners from the past.
Year |
Horse |
Jockey |
Trainer |
2019 |
Al Boum Photo |
Paul Townend | Willie Mullins |
2018 |
Native River |
Richard Johnson |
Colin Tizzard |
2017 |
Sizing John |
Robbie Power |
Jessica Harrington |
2016 |
Don Cossack |
Bryan Cooper |
Gordon Elliott |
2015 |
Coneygree |
Nico de Boinville |
Mark Bradstock |
2014 |
Lord Windermere |
Davy Russell |
Jim Culloty |
2013 |
Bobs Worth |
Barry Geraghty |
Nicky Henderson |
2012 |
Synchronised |
Tony McCoy |
Jonjo O’Neill |
2011 |
Long Run |
Sam Waley-Cohen |
Nicky Henderson |
2010 |
Imperial Commander |
Paddy Brennan |
Nigel Twiston-Davies |
2009 |
Kauto Star |
Ruby Walsh |
Paul Nicholls |