2026 Cheltenham Festival Betting
We’re fast approaching the 2026 Cheltenham meeting, with the best National Hunt horses in the UK and Ireland descending on the Cotswolds between 10 March and 13 March. There are four days of jam-packed racing and you can place your bets right now. The odds are constantly changing and there’s the option to get Price Promises and Best Odds Guaranteed on the day of the race.
It will be exciting to see the latest Cheltenham Festival offers pouring in. Each bookmaker will want to attract customers to place bets throughout the four days of the meeting. This might mean free bets are available along with inflated odds for the fancied runners. You will also find money back specials when it comes to various races so there is extra value.
Make sure you sign up with several different betting sites that are advertised on Racing-Odds.com. There are advantages to having multiple accounts. You will be able to take advantage of the best promotions that are running. The big handicap races will have extended fields and it’s nice if you can land a return from backing a horse which finishes further down the order.
When you bet on the Cheltenham races, you will want to see how your selections are performing. Therefore, we recommend using the live stream service that is widely available. You can watch the action from start to finish. Sometimes you can even bet on the live in-running odds during the opening exchanges of a race and that’s a great benefit.
Day One – Tuesday 10 March
The 2026 meeting traditionally begins with the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle. This Festival opener might see MYDADDYPADDY go off as one of the favourites, with Old Park Star and Fou De Toi other horses that could make an impact. Watch out for the Cheltenham betting sites creating big offers around the Supreme.
This could be a classic renewal of the Arkle Chase which is the second race on Day One. Much comes down to whether LULAMBA can continue the winning habit. The horse will have stiff competition in the form of last year’s Supreme winner Kopek Des Bordes. Romeo Coolio is another smart runner who could be in contention.
The Champion Hurdle is the showpiece race on the first day of the meeting, with LOSSIEMOUTH potentially the one to beat. The Willie Mullins-trained mare is a talented runner who dotted up in the Mares’ Hurdle last term and much depends whether she’s entered for this encounter.
Sir Gino has been racking up the wins for Nicky Henderson and was last seen winning at Kempton Park in December 2024. There’s clearly a question mark over whether the horse can return to the track and start winning again. However, The New Lion has impressed and the Dan Skelton-trained runner can follow up last year’s Turners Novices’ Hurdle success with another win.
There are a number of other races that form part of the Tuesday card including the newly-installed Juvenile Handicap Hurdle. Then comes the Ultima Handicap Chase and another chance for punters to go through the weights and find out the best-handicapped picks. Following on from the Champion Hurdle, there are two other intriguing encounters to finish the day.
Day Two – Wednesday 11 March
The Turners Novices’ Hurdle gets the racing underway on Day Two of the Cheltenham Festival, with NO DRAMA THIS END operating as the market leader right now. Having achieved a midfield finish in the Champion Bumper at the last meeting, the Paul Nicholls-trained charge has since prospered over hurdles at Cheltenham and Sandown.
Following hard on the heels of this race comes the Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase, with this being another Grade One encounter. The runners and riders will compete over three miles in a stamina-sapping contest, with FINAL DEMAND being installed as the warm favourite. The Willie Mullins-trained charge looked the part at Navan in November.
The Cross Country Chase is the most unique of Cheltenham Festival races. A large field line up to tackle all sorts of different obstacles. Many of the horses are specialists over this course and distance, with STUMPTOWN a horse who has previously succeeded. It’s likely that this runner will set the benchmark for the 2026 renewal.
The Champion Chase is the showcase race on Day Two of the Cheltenham meeting. This is a two-mile encounter over the big obstacles and it’s set to be a thriller. IL ETAIT TEMPS looks every inch to be a prime contender, with the Willie Mullins-trained charge having hammered the field in a succession of races.
However, there are lots of potential winners when it comes to this showdown. Marine Nationale was a convincing victor of the 2025 Queen Mother Champion Chase and perhaps he’ll show the opposition another clean pair of heels. Majborough can’t easily be discounted either, with Sir Gino also a potential each-way contender.
The first handicap race on Day Two is the Coral Cup and we recommend placing an each-way bet on the action. The bookmakers will extend the number of places for this competitive tussle. There is also the Jonny Henderson Annual Chase and Champion Bumper, with the latter being a flat encounter.
Day Three – Thursday 12 March
The third day of the 2026 Cheltenham Festival kicks off with the Mares’ Novices Hurdle. Run over two miles and one furlong, BAMBINO FEVER could be the one to back although the betting market looks likely to be wide open. Oldschool Outlaw and Venusienne are other contenders who have shown some smart form this season.
The Mares’ Hurdle has been switched from Day One to Day Three and it’s always exciting to see which filly comes out on top in this Grade One encounter. Lossiemouth was the winner of the 2025 renewal although the mare might well head to the Champion Hurdle. However, WODHOOH may go well over two miles, four and a half furlongs. The five-year-old produced an excellent effort to land the spoils at Ascot in November.
Then we have a stamina-sapping contest in the form of the Stayers’ Hurdle. BALLYBURN was a disappointing fifth out of seven runners in the Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase when sent off as the odds-on favourite at the last Festival. However, there was a better effort at Punchestown and the horse also ran well at Fairyhouse.
Teahupoo might be the preferred option to some, with the Gordon Elliott-trained nine-year-old having opened the current season with successive wins. The horse narrowly missed out on a Stayers’ Hurdle success in 2025 after previously obliging in 2024 and this could be a horse that is backed into favouritism.
The strong Thursday card continues with the Ryanair Chase, with FACT TO FILE having produced a highly impressive performance to win the 2025 renewal of this race. The nine-year-old was able to oblige by nine lengths as the 6/4 favourite, although the horse has slipped up at Punchestown as favourite on two occasions. There was no disgrace finishing second to Gaelic Warrior at the end of November.
Day Four – Friday 13 March
What better way to start the final day of the 2026 Cheltenham Festival meeting than the JCB Triumph Hurdle? This is a hammer and tongs battle where the talented four-year-olds compete in a hurdle encounter. MANGE TOUT is a front runner and some of the other market leaders include Leopard Du Berlais, Macktoad and Manlaga.
We’ve also got the William Hill County Handicap Hurdle which comes before the Mrs Paddy Power Mares’ Chase. Competing over two miles, four and a half furlongs, Dinoblue boasts the best credentials. However, it’s far from certain that this mare will compete in this encounter. SPINDLEBERRY looks like a great option and the Willie Mullins-trained charge has collected a spate of victories including a Fairyhouse double.
The Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle is the fourth race of the day, with the runners and riders competing over nearly three miles. NO DRAMA THIS END has been installed as a leading contender, with Doctor Du Mesnil, Sortudo and Carlenrig among the other horses who can make a big impact.
Then we have the 2026 Cheltenham Gold Cup. This is the biggest race of the entire meeting and perhaps GALOPIN DES CHAMPS can return to the winners’ enclosure. The Willie Mullins-trained runner was successful in 2023 and 2024 before only finishing second in the 2025 renewal. However, there could still be plenty of mileage when it comes to this quality operator.
The winner last year was Inothewayurthinkin and there could be merit in siding with the same runner to achieve an excellent double. Gavin Cromwell trains a horse who was able to achieve a six-length success as the 15/2 shot over three miles, two and a half furlongs. There was a solid enough prep race at Punchestown when the horse finished midfield as an 18/1 chance.
Cheltenham Festival FAQ
The 2026 Cheltenham Festival takes place from Tuesday 10th March to Friday 13th March 2026. The four days are Champion Day (Tuesday), Ladies Day (Wednesday), St Patrick's Thursday and Gold Cup Day (Friday). Racing begins at 13:20 each day with the last race typically at 17:20.
The Cheltenham Festival is held at Cheltenham Racecourse in Gloucestershire, England. The postcode is GL50 4SH for GPS. On racedays, follow the yellow temporary signs when entering Cheltenham rather than the brown permanent signs.
On every day of the Cheltenham Festival meeting, the first race takes place at 1.20pm UK time, with the Supreme Novices' Hurdle getting us under way on Day One of Cheltenham. The races then take place at 40-minute intervals throughout the day, with this providing customers with the chance to look ahead to the next race and plan which horses they are going to back on the Cheltenham racecard.
There are seven horses races during each of the four days of the Cheltenham Festival and that means twenty-eight races in total. These include the Supreme Novices' Hurdle, the Champion Hurdle, Queen Mother Champion Chase, Stayers' Hurdle and Cheltenham Gold Cup. There are a number of Group 1 races along with a succession of handicap races and there are a wide range of betting opportunities as a result.
On every day of the Cheltenham Festival meeting, the first race takes place at 1.30pm UK time, with the Supreme Novices' Hurdle getting us under way on Day One of Cheltenham. The races then take place at roughly 35-minute intervals throughout the day, with this providing customers with the chance to look ahead to the next race and plan which horses they are going to back on the Cheltenham racecard.
The Cheltenham Gold Cup is the most famous horse race at the Cheltenham Festival and this always occurs on Day Four of the meeting, with the Gold Cup being the fifth race on a seven-race card. This race generally goes off at 4pm UK time which means that it attracts a large audience of spectators on the Friday wanting to watch the race.
It's generally the case that you won't make money backing the favourites every time at the Cheltenham Festival. While a handful of horses heading the market often win at Cheltenham, many short-priced runners are beaten and you have to take into account that every race has a high-class field of horses. Sometimes it only takes one horse to beat a race favourite and triumph at the Festival.
The going at the Cheltenham Festival depends on the weather conditions leading up to the meeting, although we traditionally find that the ground is good to soft on the first day of the meeting. Sometimes heavy rain will mean that the going is soft or even soft to heavy, although Cheltenham racecourse is a fairly good drying track and you'll find that good to soft tends to be the case. It's worth bearing this mind when you bet on the various horses.
There are a number of handicap horse races at the Cheltenham Festival, with this meaning that each runner is carrying a certain amount of weight depending on their official rating. The Ultima Handicap Chase and Juvenile Handicap Hurdle take place on Day One, while the Ballymore Novices' and the Coral Cup are handicap Cheltenham races on Day Two, while others include the Fulke Walwyn Kim Muir Challenge Cup and Martin Pipe Conditional Hurdle.
There are twenty-eight races at the Cheltenham Festival meeting and you can go through the racecard each day and pick out the horses that you expect to win. You should look at each horse's form for the season and also pick out trainer comments which can be quite telling in terms of each horse's chances of winning. Some punters also look at the betting market and see if there's been money for any of the horses.
There are several bookmakers who have a Bet and Watch service when it comes to horse racing. That means you can log into your betting account, place a bet on the Cheltenham Festival race you want to watch and then access free live streaming. You can watch a Cheltenham race through your mobile device and sometimes there are live in-running odds available during the early stages of a race.
There are a number of ways to score free Cheltenham Festival bets. Sometimes there is the chance to get a free bet when you open a bookmaker account during Cheltenham week and that means you can get a deposit bonus when you have placed your first bet on the racing. Sometimes a bookie will give you a free bet on the next race if you have backed a winner, while there are sometimes money-back specials.
There are lots of ways to try and back winners at the Cheltenham Festival and you might even fancy placing a Cheltenham accumulator. It's possible to either select horses that are running on different days of the meeting or alternatively place a daily Cheltenham acca on the action, with the odds of each selection combining so that you can get a bumper return on the selections if they all end up winning.
The majority of bookies have Cheltenham antepost betting available and this means a chance to bet on a Cheltenham race well in advance of it taking place. Sometimes you can back a horse antepost at a big price and those odds are considerably larger than you would find on the day of the race. However, antepost racing betting is also more risky as you have no guarantees that the horse will line up for that race.
The Cheltenham Gold Cup is the biggest horse race at the Cheltenham Festival, although there is also the chance to bet on other huge Group 1 races. This includes the Champion Hurdle, the Queen Mother Champion Chase and the Stayer's Hurdle that take centre stage on the Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday of the meeting. There are other big races like the Supreme Novices' Hurdle, Arkle Chase and Ryanair Chase.
The vast majority of bookmakers offer Best Odds Guaranteed at the Cheltenham Festival. That means you can bet on a horse to win by taking an early price and then getting paid out at the Starting Price should this end up being bigger. The BOG Cheltenham prices are always worth taking and means that you always get the value on Cheltenham.
You can bet each-way on all of the Cheltenham Festival races and it's a simple case of splitting your stake between win-only and place. The place terms for each Cheltenham race depend on the bookmaker and the number of runners in a race. For a big Cheltenham handicap race, you might find that you can get five or even six places, although that won't be the case for a smaller field.
A Lucky 15 consists of fifteen bets on four selections: four singles, six doubles, four trebles and one fourfold accumulator. You only need one selection to win for a return, making it less risky than a straight accumulator. Many bookmakers offer bonuses if only one selection wins, making it popular for backing multiple horses across different Cheltenham races.