oddschecker has brought together all the information you need to make the most of the Cheltenham Day 1 offers and free bets.
Here at oddschecker, we know that things get hectic around Cheltenham, and it can be hard to know what offers to claim and what bets to place. We are giving you the inside track on how to claim the best offers and free bets on the first day of Cheltenham using expert insight and betting data.
Offers to use:
We’ve identified four excellent offers that you can claim on Day 1. Sky Bet are offering money back as cash on all losers in the first race for all customers, Betfair are offering all customers money back as a free bet in the Arkle, Matchbook £50 in free bets on Honeysuckle for new customers while Paddy Power are giving new customers a free bet to use on each race of day 1 following a qualifying stake.
Sky Bet - All Customer Offer - Money Back as CASH if your horse loses in the Supreme Novices' Hurdle
T&Cs
Max refund £/€10. First bet only. Win singles or win part of each way singles only. Free bets and cashed out bets excluded. Best Odds Guaranteed does not apply. Minimum runner stipulations apply. Eligibility restrictions apply. Further T&Cs
Not signed up to Sky Bet yet? - Sign up and bet £5 to get £25 in free bets
T&Cs
New Customers only. First single & e/w bet only. Odds of 1/1 or greater. 5 x £5 bet tokens. First £5 free bet credited on bet placement. Free bet stakes not included in returns. Free bets are non withdrawable. No free bet expiry. Eligibility restrictions and further t&cs apply. 18+. begambleaware.org
Matchbook - New Customer Offer - Bet £20 Get £50 Free Bet on Honeysuckle
T&Cs
18+ New customers only. Free bet will be placed into your account on Tuesday 15th March at 10AM. Free bet value will not be included in any winnings. Please find the full terms and conditions for this offer at the bottom of this page. Better odds, better winnings, and a better way to bet with Matchbook.
Paddy Power - New Customer Offer - Bet £10 on the 13:30 Cheltenham Get £60 in Free Bets
Betfred
- Huge range of regular promotions
- 24/7 live chat service
- PickYourPunt builder for custom bets
T&Cs
18+ New customer offer. Place a single £10 (or £5 e/w) bet on the 1:30 race at Cheltenham, after your qualifying bet settles you will get a £10 free bet for each of the remaining races on the card (£60 in total). Only deposits with Cards apply (Apple pay deposits are excluded). T&C apply.
Betfair - All Customer Offer - Money back as a Free Bet if your horse loses in the 14:10 Cheltenham
T&Cs
Applies to win singles and win part of each-way singles only. Cash bets only. Max free bet award £10 per customer. Applies to all bets placed after 12:00 on Sunday 13th of March for the stated race. T&Cs apply.
Day 1: Tips and Insight for each race
Supreme Novices’ Hurdle
We start the Cheltenham Festival with the highly anticipated Supreme Novices’ Hurdle where Nicky Henderson and Willie Mullins’ exciting Novice hurdlers will be going head-to-head. You can make use of Sky’s money back as cash offer and Paddy Power’s bet through the card offer on this race.
Our racing expert Stu Williams has tipped Dysart Dynamo to win this one and the Willie Mullins trained six-year-old looks a good option to use our first offers.
He wrote: “Dysart Dynamo seemingly possesses many of the traits deployed by former Closutton winners given his preference to jump out handy and make his blend of speed and stamina tell. He clearly has a huge engine, and it would take smart horse to close him down if a gap were to appear.”
Read the full preview here.
Arkle Chase
Next up is the Arkle which promises to be a fascinating race even in the absence of Ferny Hollow who was withdrawn because of injury. We’ve got our first Paddy Power free bet to use on this one and Betfair are offering money back as a free bet if your horse loses.
Our horse racing expert Architect Tips has picked one out at a bigger price here in the form of Haut En Couleurs who remains a best price 7/1 at the time of writing. “With the potential to reach the very top of the two-mile novice chase division, I’ll take my chances on him hopefully proving to be a serious force in all the top two-mile events in years to come, starting with the Arkle next month.”
Read his full preview here.
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Ultima Handicap Chase
Our first handicap of the meeting is the Ultima. Does He Know is the current second favourite for the race and is the most backed selection through oddschecker. At a current best price of 8/1, he looks a good option for our second free bet from Paddy Power.
Champion Hurdle
Next comes the feature race of the day and the chance to use the generous new customer offer from Matchbook. Honeysuckle is the current odds-on favourite for the race and is the most backed horse for the race through oddschecker with 67% of bets.
You can get a £50 free bet on Honeysuckle to continue her unbeaten record if you place a £20 bet when you sign up to Matchbook.
For an outside chance to use your Paddy Power free bet on, it’s worth considering Teahupoo who Stu Williams has identified as a potentially big player. You can read his analysis here.
Mares’ Hurdle
Next up is the Mares Hurdle and there are plenty of options here for your next free bet. At the top of the market Telmesomethinggirl looks like a strong contender and is the favourite at time of writing having taken the most bets for this race so far with 31%. At a bigger price of 6/1, Burning Victory is well fancied in the race and looks a good option if you are opting for something at a bigger price.
Boodles Juvenile Handicap Hurdle
The penultimate race of the day is the wide-open Boodles. Our expert Architect Tips - who regularly finds winners at a big price - likes the look of Lunar Power and Bell Ex One at odds of 20/1. View the full race market here.
National Hunt Chase
The final day 1 race is the National Hunt Chase and it’s Run Wild Fred who has been the most popular for this one through oddschecker. At 11/4, he looks a strong option for the last free bet of the day.
We will be back tomorrow with insight on the best offers for Day 2 complete with tips on how best to use them. For more free bets, visit our free bets page and for tips and insight across all races visit our Cheltenham tips page.
