New to the Cheltenham Festival? Read oddschecker’s betting guide to get the upper hand on the bookies!
The biggest racing festival of the year is set to begin on 16 March and with 28 races over four days, there will be plenty of opportunities for punters.
For seasoned horse racing bettors, Cheltenham is seen as place to watch quality racing and win some money, but for many bettors, Cheltenham betting can feel incredibly daunting. However, oddschecker is here, providing a fool proof Cheltenham betting guide to help you enjoy the four days of racing and punting.
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Betting Tip 1: Bet Each-Way
Each-way betting is hugely popular in horse racing, as it allows punters to secure some money even if their horse fails to win.
Alongside backing a horse to win, you can also back it to finish within a certain number of places – these terms differing from bookie-to-bookie. Use oddschecker to secure the very best place terms.
Should your chosen horse finish among the places, a smaller return is yielded, but your initial stake is often returned, making it a more popular bet for those looking at the bigger-price horses to finish in the upper echelons of the race.
Betting Tip 2: Consider Trixies
A Trixie bet consists of four bets across three different events that have been combined into one, normally shown as three doubles and one treble. This means your stake will be four times what you enter: so a £1 bet will cost you £4. This is seen as ‘cover bet’ as it covers you for multiple scenarios.
| 1 x Double on outcome | A & B |
|---|---|
1 x Double on outcome |
A & C |
1 x Double on outcome |
B & C |
1 x Treble on outcome |
A, B & C |
Stake: £1 |
Total Stake: £4 |
This means that there are three possible outcomes for your bet:
- The first outcome: No horse or one horse wins and you would lose your entire stake.
- The second outcome: Two horses win, this means that one of the doubles wins and you get a return.
- The third outcome: All three horses win, which means each double lands and so does the treble, meaning massive profit is made.
Using oddschecker will allow you to see the best possible odds for your future Trixies.
Betting Tip 3: Do your Research
When betting on any sport it always helps that you know the sport! There are plenty of experts out there who have dedicated their lives to studying racing and it will help if you have a grasp of what is going on.
Does your fancied horse come into this in good form? Who is the trainer and who is the jockey? Have they encountered any issues in the lead-up to the Festival? What is their Cheltenham record like?
Being aware of such basic yet crucial information will be invaluable when deciding which horses to back, and which to steer clear of…
Betting Tip 4: Bet with Multiple Bookmakers
This year’s Cheltenham will be the most unique ever, as punters will not be admitted, providing an interesting dilemma for bookies, as they will have to go online.
Being loyal is an important quality to have in life but during Cheltenham, being loyal to one bookmaker can be a dangerous game to play.
The odds markets during Cheltenham fluctuate a lot depending on previous races and information coming out the race. Therefore, it’s important to have multiple betting accounts to allow yourself the best chance of succeeding this year, because you always want to back your horse at the best price.
Find all the very best expert insight and predictions for this year's Festival on our Cheltenham Tips page. For special offers and bookmaker signups head to our Cheltenham Free Bets page.
