Welcome to Cash Out Betting Sites Beginners Guide to Cheltenham Festival, the Festival is the pinnacle of the Jump Racing Season, the four day Festival brings together the best horses around the UK & Ireland in one arena and with 27 races there is something for all types of horses to aim at.
This is the place where owners, trainers, jockeys, stable staff and breeders dream of having winners, the racing is exhilarating, the atmosphere is electric and every day has something different, in this Beginners Guide to Cheltenham Festival we’ll tell you everything you’ll ever need to know in order to pick those Cheltenham bets.
Cheltenham Festival Betting Guide
Each day of the Festival has a feature race, Tuesday has the Champion Hurdle, Wednesday the Queen Mother Champion Chase, Thursday has the World Hurdle and Friday has the big one, the Cheltenham Gold Cup.
The Gold Cup is the Blue Riband of jumps racing with a prize fund in the region of £550,000, it is a race where heroes are born and legends are made. Big name winners the likes of Kauto Star, Arkle, Best Mate, Mill House but to name a few still live in the memory today.
All in all the Cheltenham Festival is the greatest week of the year for many, with help from our Beginners Guide to Cheltenham Festival, compiled by our racing expert Dave Moore; it will soon be a favourite for you too.
Classification of Cheltenham Festival Races
Novices
These races are for young horses who have not won over hurdles/fences at thebeginning of the current season. Usually a horse’s first season racing
Juvenile
These races are for Novices but the horse must have been 3 years old at the beginning of the current season who will be 4 years old come the start of the Festival
Handicaps
These races are for all horses that have either won a race or raced 3 times in Maiden company. Horses are allotted a rating based on their form and this rating is used to provide weight to be carried in the horses’ saddles to give the horse the same chance of winning as the others (in theory). These races are usually very competitive and big fields therefore are the toughest races to predict unless you have some “inside” information.
Championship
These races are the most valuable and carry the biggest prize winnings, they are contested by the best horses in Europe and the races that carry the biggest interest among racegoers.
Cross Country
This is the longest race at the Festival with 3.7 miles to travel and 32 fences to jump. The fences are very different to the normal course and the race is contested largely on a different part of the track. Each fence has its’ own character and although grueling these races are usually intriguing betting heats.
Bumper
This race is for young horses that are yet to jump a hurdle/fence. These can also be very competitive affairs and tough to predict.
You can also find a full list of races and race info further down the page, this will also help you with your selections.
Cheltenham Festival Betting Tips
So, now we know what races are contested but what do we look out for when picking a potential winner?
Our beginners guide to Cheltenham Festival takes things a step further by helping you make your selections, there are hundreds of varieties of theory’s to picking a winner, some good, some bad, some indifferent however there are certain things at the Cheltenham Festival that will help you overall.
Regardless as to whether you are placings singles, doubles, accumulators, a Yankee bet or a Lucky 31 bet, the tips below should help you improve your chances.
Trainers in Form
All trainers aim to bring their horses to the racecourse in peak form; however some trainers are unable to do this no matter how hard they try.
There are certain trainers that hit form at the right time and may have been badly out of form in the months before the festival, you may find that their horses are slightly higher in price than others, as they may not have won this season but their performance could have been whilst the trainer was out of form.
It is certainly worthwhile siding with trainers in good form in the weeks prior to the Festival
Course Form
Cheltenham is a unique course with large fences and a huge hill to climb at the finish; therefore horses that have won or come close already at Cheltenham are worth keeping a close eye on.
Some of the best horses in the Country can struggle to get up the hill at the finish, so if they’ve struggled at Cheltenham before the likelihood is that they will struggle again at the Festival.
This is a tip well worth taking note of, especially in the Handicap races.
Market Vibes
The market can speak wonders for how a horse will perform. Some trainers/owners are not 100% on how a horse will perform until the day as they may need certain ground, be unfit etc. so if a horse gets backed in significantly on the day of racing, it’s worth taking in to account.
Going
The ground at Cheltenham is predominantly good in comparison to what the ground has been over the winter, horses thrive under certain conditions so although a horse may not have performed this season so far, if he/she has raced on soft ground all winter then he/she gets the ground that they thrive on, a big priced winner could be found.
It is worth keeping an eye on how a horse travels through a race. If they travel on the bridle for the majority of a race on heavy ground but then don’t kick on, it can mean that they tire on that going, they may well thrive on good ground.
Handicap Plots
One of my favourite theories that I have found to be quite profitable is a first time handicap form with 3 pieces of poor maiden form that is 5/1 or below. You can usually follow the market when these types of horses are out also as they will be backed in at some stage during the day.
Cheltenham Festival Race List
Please see below a list of races contested over the Festival with Grade, name, fences to jump, distance and age allowance;
1 Cheltenham Gold Cup Chase (22) 3m 2½f 5yo +
1 Champion Hurdle Hurdle (8) 2m ½f 4yo +
1 Champion Chase Chase (13) 2m 5yo +
1 World Hurdle Hurdle (12) 3m 4yo +
1 Ryanair Chase Chase (17) 2m 5f 5yo +
1 RSA Chase Chase (19) 3m ½f 5yo +
1 Arkle Trophy Chase (13) 2m 5yo +
1 Supreme Novices Hurdle Hurdle (8) 2m ½f 4yo +
1 Triumph Hurdle Hurdle (8) 2m 1f 4yo
1 NIM Novices Hurdle Hurdle (10) 2m 5f 4yo +
1 AB Novices Hurdle Hurdle (12) 3m 4yo +
1 Champion Bumper Bumper (0) 2m ½f 4–6yo
2 Jewson Novices Chase Chase (17) 2m 4f 4yo +
2 DN Mares Hurdle Hurdle (9) 2m 4f 5yo +
3 Festival Handicap Chase Chase (19) 3m ½f 5yo +
3 Byrne Group Plate Chase (8) 2m 4½f 5yo +
3 Grand Annual Chase Chase (14) £75,000 2m ½f 5yo +
3 County Hurdle Hurdle (8) 2m 1f 5yo +
3 Coral Cup Hurdle (10) 2m 5f 4yo +
3 FW Novices Hurdle Hurdle (8) 2m ½f 4yo
Listed Pertemps Final Hurdle (12) 3m 5yo +
Listed Centenary Novices Chase Chase (17)2m 5f 5yo +
Class 2 National Hunt Chase Chase (27) 4m 5yo +
Class 2 Kim Muir Challenge Cup Chase (19) 3m ½f 5yo +
Class 2 MP Conditionals Hurdle Hurdle (9) 2m 4½f 4yo +
Class 2 Cross Country Chase Chase (32) 3m 7f 5yo +
Class 2 Foxhunter Chase Chase (22) 3m 2½f 5yo +
So there you have it, all you need to know about next weeks’ greatest meeting on earth, for all the latest news from the festival then why not visit the Jockey Club.