2021 Cheltenham Betting Odds, Tips & Predictions

Quite rightly billed as The Greatest Show on Turf, the Cheltenham Festival is the highlight of the British National Hunt Horse Racing season. Offering over £4 million in prize money, the festival itself is the biggest of its kind in horse racing, attracting some 250,000 people to the stunning Cotswold Hills for four days of exciting equine action. Of course, this makes for some incredible Cheltenham betting opportunities!

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Best Betting Sites We Recommend for the 2021 Cheltenham Festival

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Best Cheltenham Betting Sites – Top 6 Ranked

• bet365
• betfair
• Paddy Power
• William Hill
• Coral
• BetVictor
• MansionBet

2021 Cheltenham Betting Odds, Tips & Predictions

The 2021 Cheltenham Festival is due to begin on Tuesday 16th March and end the same week on Friday 19th. 

2021 Cheltenham Betting Odds

Below are the latest Cheltenham betting odds for this year’s festival.

Cheltenham Champion Chase Winner Odds

Cheltenham Gold Cup Winner Odds

Cheltenham Stayers Hurdle Winner Odds

Cheltenham Champion Hurdle Winner Odds

Cheltenham Ryanair Chase Winner Odds

2021 Cheltenham Betting Tips & Predictions

Our Cheltenham betting tips will be announced closer to the start date of the event.

Cheltenham Betting Tips – Champion Hurdle

We will add our Cheltenham betting predictions for the Champion Hurdle closer to the commencement date of the festival.

Cheltenham Betting Tips – Queen Mother Champion Chase

Watch this space for our expert Queen Mother Champion Chase betting predictions closer to the start date of the race.

Cheltenham Betting Tips –  Stayers Hurdle

Our predictions for the Stayers Hurdle race will be added here as the start date draws closer.

Cheltenham Betting Tips – Gold Cup

Our Gold Cup Cheltenham betting predictions will be added here closer to the start date of the race.

Popular Cheltenham Betting Markets

Over the winter months when the UK jump racing season is in full flow, everything builds towards the Cheltenham Festival, the climax of the national hunt campaign and the biggest horse racing betting occasion in the British calendar. Below we have listed some of the ways you can get involved with Cheltenham betting.

Ant-Post Cheltenham Betting

Ante-post betting is, quite simply, a bet on the outcome of an event that can be placed well before it even begins. While it can generate greater value, betting this far ahead of time does bring risks. If your selection doesn’t run, your stake will be deemed a loser, rather than voided. People often take the risk, though, due to the enhanced odds given as a result of the extra risk attached.

Best bookie for Ante-Post Cheltenham betting: Ladbrokes

Singles and Each-Way betting

An each-way bet is basically two separate bets in one, made up of equal stakes. One half of the bet is reserved to back the outright winner, while the other half acts as a kind of insurance that rewards a place finish for a fraction of the odds. For example, a £5 each way (e/w) bet will cost £10 in total. The first bet is a bet on the horse to win and will be settled at the full odds given, while the second bet is a bet on the horse to be placed. The latter depends on the race’s length and number of runners, and can be anywhere between the 2^nd and 5^th places. It's usually ¼ or ⅕ of the odds, unless the bookmaker is running a promotion.

Best bookie for Singles and Each-Way Cheltenham betting: Betfair

Forecasts & Reverse Forecasts

A forecastis a bet on the top two finishers of a race, say for example the Cheltenham Gold Cup, in which you have predicted the first and second places accurately. Working in a similar way to each-way bets, reverse forecasts are two-stake bets in which you have successfully predicted the top two finishers but have split your stake on them finishing in either order. This means that, as long as your two selections finish in the top two, you will get paid according to whichever order they finish in.

Best bookie for Forecasts and Reverse Forecasts in Cheltenham betting: betfair

Placepots

A placepot goes live for every race meeting in the UK (in this case, Cheltenham) and is operated by the Tote, a one-time UK national bookmaker and pools service that was recently saved from administration. A placepot works by punters picking a horse to place in the first – or last – six races of a meeting. So long as your pick places in each race, your bet will pay out according to a figure generated by the Tote, which is divided by how many winners have also won the pot, similar to a lottery.

Best bookie for placepots at Cheltenham betting: bet365

Accumulators

An accumulator, or an ‘acca' as it is often referred to, is another popular bet that goes very well with horse racing. Essentially, it means to bet on the winner of a race in at least four different occasions. Because the rewards can be so large, there is a growing number of horse racing punters using their horse racing knowledge to predict multiple race winners and scoop potentially huge payouts. Beware, though – unless you have selected an each-way acca, a horse racing accumulator will only pay out if all of your selections win.

Best bookie for accumulators at Cheltenham betting: Betsafe

Other Permutation bets

Betting permutation bets, also known as combination bets, are, like accumulators, multiple selection bets. However, they are broken down into minor bets such as doubles, trebles, four-folds and so on; in addition, if you so wish, you can include singles too.

While all of your picks need to win for a maximum payout, only a number of successful selections, or even one, are required to get a return on your investment. These bets are listed as a Trixie, which is made up of three selections and four bets (3 doubles and 1 treble), and becomes a 7-bet wager named a Patent when the 3 selections are included as singles too.

There are names for the corresponding bets with extra selections as well, such as a Yankee (4 runners), Canadian (5 runners) and a Heinz (6 runners) that, with singles, become a Lucky 15, Lucky 31 and Lucky 63 respectively.

Best betting sites for other permutations inCheltenham betting: NetBet

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Cheltenham Festival Tournament Structure

As ever, Tuesday is opening day of Cheltenham, although it is more commonly referred to as Champions Day. The opening event is the Supreme Novices' Hurdle, which features the best young hurdlers around. The Arkle also runs on Day One, as does the Unibet Champion Hurdle, which has in turn been won by some true legends over the years, including Brave Inca, Persian War and Istabraq.

Day Two is known as Ladies Day, and sees the staging of the Betway Queen Mother Champion Chase which features the fastest two-milers around. This is swiftly followed by the RSA Insurance Novices' Chase, which provides a test for the stayers of tomorrow. Look out too for the Cross Country Chase, with which two-time Grand National winner Tiger Roll announced his arrival as a thoroughbred of note.

Thursday is another huge day of thrilling national hunt racing at its finest, boasting not one but two Grade Ones, the Stayers' Hurdle and the Ryanair Chase, while the three-mile Pertemps Network Final is yet another quality charge. On Friday, Gold Cup Day, one of racing’s most sought-after titles is put on the line in the Cheltenham Gold Cup. Also taking place on the festival’s final day are the JCB Triumph Hurdle and the Albert Bartlett Novices' Hurdle, while the Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys' Handicap Hurdle rounds off the Festival.

The Cheltenham Festival is the beginning of the end of the national hunt season, along with the Grand National, which takes place at Aintree usually on the first Saturday of April and is followed by the Scottish Grand National. As spring begins to take over, horse racing fans and bettors can look forward to the five classics as well as summer festivals, such as Glorious Goodwood and Royal Ascot. And, of course, virtual horse racing events run all year for fans who cannot wait that long.

Cheltenham Betting – Schedule

Keep your Cheltenham betting up-to-date with our detailed schedule of events for duration of the Cheltenham Festival.

Tuesday, March 16: Cheltenham Day 1

Wednesday, March 17: Cheltenham Day 2

Thursday, March 18: Cheltenham Day 3

Friday, March 19: Cheltenham Day 4

Cheltenham Betting – Biggest Festival Races to Bet on

Champion Hurdle

The Champion Hurdle is the feature race of Tuesday’s Day One, making it the first Grade 1 of the festival and the first of four key championship races at the event. The race is run over 2 miles and ½ a furlong, and takes place on the old course at Cheltenham. Open to horses aged four or older, this race has in the past been dominated by Willie Mullins and Nicky Henderson, two of the most successful trainers at the festival and incidentally worth following when making your picks. Past winners in this championship race include BuveurD'Air, Brave Inca and Faugheen. The Champion Hurdle is a must for Cheltenham betting.

Queen Mother Chase

The feature race of Day Two is the Queen Mother Champion Chase, a Grade 1 championship event run over two miles on the old course. It is the second of four Championship races and has a rich history, making it the highlight of Ladies Day. The race is open to horses five years old and up. Winners in previous years include Master Minded, Altior, Sprinter Sacre and Sizing Europe.

The Stayers' Hurdle

The Stayers’ Hurdle is the headline race of Day Three and, as the name suggests, tests the staying powers of racing’s elite hurdlers. The race is run over 3 miles on the new course and is open to all horses aged four and older. Over the years, this race has been won by some of the best horses in the history of jump racing such as Thistlecrack, Big Buck’s, Inglis Drever and Baracouda.

Cheltenham Gold Cup

The Cheltenham Gold Cup is arguably the premium jump race in the UK’s National Hunt season. It is an extremely prestigious Grade 1 race that takes place each year, usually on the second or third Friday in March. This Steeple Chase is run over a distance of 3 miles 2½ furlongs and features 22 fences. Only horses five years or older that have a British Horseracing Authority (BHA) rating of 130 or more are eligible to enter.

Although classics, such as the St Leger, are reserved for flat races, the Cheltenham Gold Cup is as close as jump racing gets. When compiling Cheltenham betting tips, keep in mind that very much influencing Cheltenham odds is the King George VI Chase, which runs on Boxing Day at Kempton Park. Famous winners from yesteryear include Arkle, Desert Orchid, Best Mate, Kauto Star and Native River, only the last of which never won both.

Cheltenham Festival History

Operated by The Jockey Club, the Cheltenham race course is located on the edge of town, by the famous Cleeve Hill. The modern day Cheltenham Racecourse, complete with recently built grandstand, becomes the centre of the horse racing world for four days each March when it hosts its world-famous festival.

Cheltenham didn’t see its first horse race until 1815, when flat racing was staged on Nottingham Hill. By 1818, this had extended to five races on Cleeve Hill, which inspired the original grandstand to be opened for the following year. Back then, the meeting was based in August, and before long, had been extended to three days with a course officially laid out to match. Soon after, a trophy was added to proceedings, and the first ever Gold Cup was run as a three-mile flat race for three-year-olds.

As the meeting grew in popularity, it attracted the best and the worst of society, the latter of which set the grandstand a blaze in 1829, completely destroying it. In 1831, racing first began at Prestbury Park on the site of the current course before returning briefly to Cleeve Hill. As the turf deteriorated and the popularity of steeplechasing grew, Cleeve Hill gradually fell out of use. Around the same time, racing enthusiast William Baring Bingham purchased the Prestbury Park site, initially with the intention of using the site as a stud farm.

However, by 1902, Baring Bingham had established the modern course and with it, Cheltenham’s first National Hunt Festival, after which it was decided that Cheltenham should be the headquarters for steeplechasing in the UK.

Famous Cheltenham Horses

Istabraq

Istabraq was extremely popular at the Cheltenham Festival because he was a warrior who could display a stunning turn of speed when the vital moment arrived. Winning the Champions Hurdle three times, he might even have won it a fourth in 2001. However, that year’s event was called off due to a national outbreak of foot and mouth disease, probably the only thing that could have stopped this remarkable champion.

Arkle

A horse so popular he received fan mail, Arkle was another horse to have won three Gold Cups. He also collected three Leopardstown Chase wins, as well as the King George VI and two Hennessy Gold Cups over his remarkable career. It was a career in which he won 27 out of his 34 major outings, peaking in 1965 when he was seemingly unbeatable. Even more impressive was the fact that he would often be carrying two or three stone more than his rivals in handicaps – not that it could stop him. The second race of Cheltenham’s first day is named in his honour.

Kauto Star

Once labelled ‘the most complete chaser of the modern era’ by AP McCoy, Kauto Star was a legendary National Hunt horse and the first horse to win the Cheltenham Gold Cup, only to lose it the following year when he came in second, then win it back again the following year. In 2009, he won the King George VI Chase at Kempton Park by a record-breaking 36 lengths – such was his overwhelming quality. In truth, Kauto Star had mixed success at Cheltenham, failing to finish in his first run in the Queen Mother Champion Chase in 2006 before scooping the Gold Cup for the first time a year later. His last run in the Cheltenham Festival ended up being his final race, pulling up early in the 2012 Gold Cup to rule out another prestigious win.

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Desert Orchid

The winner of Gold Cup in 1989, and possibly the most famous thoroughbred racehorse in British history, Desert Orchid was known affectionately as ‘Dessie'. He was a gutsy superstar and, with his grey colouring, eye-catching too, standing out from the rest of the field. Away from Cheltenham, he famously won another staple of the National Hunt season, the King George VI Chase at Kempton, four times. He was later buried at the Surrey course, where he is now immortalised in marble.

Best Mate

The incredible Best Mate won a stunning Cheltenham Gold Cup three times in a row in 2002, 2003, and 2004, ridden by  jockey Jim Culloty. Best Mate never fell at a fence and always finished in the top two, but sadly died in tragic circumstances of a heart attack at Exeter in 2005. He was such a well-loved horse that his death was front-page news, and his ashes are buried by the winner’s post at Cheltenham accompanied by a statue.

Cheltenham Betting Key Stats

• In 1934, Golden Miller became the first ever horse to win the Cheltenham Gold Cup and follow it up with the Grand National in the same season.
• On 25 occasions, an Irish-trained horse has won the Cheltenham Gold Cup.
• In 2016, Ruby Walsh recorded six victories, which is a record amount of wins in one festival.
• The most consecutive victories by a horse record in any Cheltenham Festival is also six, and belongs to Quevega in the Mares’ Hurdle between 2009 and 2014.
• Katie Walsh became the first female jockey to win a Grade 1 race at Cheltenham during the 2018 festival, when she won the Champion Bumper.

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ThePuntersPage Final Say

Climaxing in the Gold Cup on the fourth and final day of the meeting, the Cheltenham Festival is an epic week of elite horse racing, boasting the finest display of jump racing in the world. This is a true feast of national hunt racing that can be enjoyed by horse racing obsessives, horse lovers, those that maintain a minor interest in racing and those that simply love to bet. An even greater thing about this festival is that many bookmakers will promote a host of Cheltenham betting offers to take advantage of.

Make no mistake, the Gold Cup, while absolutely glorious, is just one small part of it. It is the fourth of four flagship events that are held over the week of the meet. Among the 28 races taking place, there is also the Champions Hurdle, the Queen Mothers Chase and the Stayers Hurdle to keep an eye on and, if you do your homework, maybe win a little bit on your Cheltenham bets too.