The British and Irish horseracing world stops every March as the Cheltenham Festival takes place at the famed Cheltenham Racecourse at Prestbury Park near Gloucestershire. The race meeting attracts the biggest names in horseracing from top trainers to owners to jockeys to horses.
The Cheltenham Festival and its top races can make or break those who compete in it each year. Many of the horses that have won the meeting’s most prestigious race, the Cheltenham Gold Cup, are long remembered by fans and punters. Not only is the Cheltenham Festival a great event to watch and attend, but it is the perfect horseracing festival for punters to wager on.
In 2019, it was estimated that over £400 million was wagered on races at the festival. The amount in winnings paid out is extraordinary and punters can nab a slice of the pie. Moreover, our staff will keep you up to date about the Cheltenham Festival Races and the horses we believe will run to glory.
The Cheltenham Festival
The Cheltenham Festival is one of the biggest horseracing events in the entire world. It is a prestigious four-day event that is a who’s who of trainers, jockeys, and horses. The race meeting takes place every March at Cheltenham Racecourse. Due to the prestige of the event’s races and the competition on hand, the Cheltenham Festival is a major betting opportunity for punters all over the globe.
The Cheltenham Festival features 28 races spread across four great days of racing. Each day has a headline race that piques the interest of punters.
Our writers follow the horse racing world and are familiar with the horses that will run in the race at Cheltenham. Therefore, our betting tips, odds and Cheltenham races information for the festival can improve your chances of picking a winner. The four-day racing event is a can’t miss sports spectacle, so get ready for the best horseracing in Great Britain and Ireland this March.
How lucrative can winning bets be when wagering on races at the Cheltenham Festival? In 2019, the BBC reported on a punter who won £182,567 on a mere £2 race bet. Could you be a lucky winner in 2020? Follow our racing tips and picks to improve your chances to be a big winner.
When is the Cheltenham Festival
The Cheltenham Festival races will take place Tuesday, 10 March and run until Friday, 13 March. The festival is a four-day event with the top racehorse from Great Britain and Ireland competing for lucrative prize purses.
Each day of the Cheltenham Festival will be headlined by a specific race. These races are ideal for punters to wager on as top-rated horses will compete. The marquee races are also the most bet on by punters.
No race is as important at the horserace meeting as the Cheltenham Gold Cup. The event takes place on the fourth and final day of racing and is known simply as Gold Cup Day. The winner of the race is remembered long in the annals of horseracing and many of the past winners of the event have gone on to even greater heights. Our staff will keep you up to date on Cheltenham races information. You won’t ever miss the chance to wager on the big races.
Cheltenham Festival History
The Cheltenham Festival officially began in 1911. However, there were horseraces that took place in the Cheltenham area for over 100 years prior to the festival’s creation. The creation of the festival coincided with the National Hunt Chase’s relocation to Prestbury Park.
In 1924 Frederick Cathcart, the man who helped establish the Cheltenham Festival, introduced the Gold Cup to the event. Three years later, the Cheltenham Festival added the Champion Hurdle, which is the horserace meeting’s second-most prestigious event.
More people began to learn about the Cheltenham Festival races during the post-World War II years and the 1960s saw the event explode in popularity. Famed horse Arkle became a national hero in the United Kingdom during the decade due to three straight Gold Cup wins between 1964 and 1966.
However for most, the Cheltenham Festival is a four-day behemoth of a horserace meet. No other race meeting in Great Britain or Ireland can match it.
Champion Day
Champion Day will take place on day one of the Cheltenham Festival, Tuesday, 10 Match. The first day opens up the race meeting with the headline event being the Unibet Champion Hurdle. In addition, the race is the last leg of the Triple Crown of Hurdling and offers £450,000 in prize money.
Ladies Day
Ladies Day brings out the best in fashion on day two of the Cheltenham Festival. The headline race on Ladies Day is the Queen Mother Champion Steeple Race. It is always one of the favourite races for punters to wager on as top-class horses including Altior have made a name for themselves by winning the event. Our staff of writers will keep you up to date on the Cheltenham races information on Ladies Day allowing you to focus on the fashion when the glamour and glitz get turned up.
St Patrick’s Day
Cheltenham Racecourse celebrates St Patrick’s Day like no other location outside of the Emerald Isles. The day sees hundreds of thousands of racegoers enjoy St. Patrick’s Day and a full race card. So, how popular is St. Patrick’s Day at the Cheltenham Festival? According to Cheltenham races information from 2015, attendees drunk over 265,000 pints of Guinness across the four days. That’s a lot of Guinness! Not only will the Guinness flow but Irish bands will play at traditional Irish pubs and the racing is excellent too! The Ryanair Chase and The Stayers’ Hurdle headline this day.
Gold Cup Day
The Cheltenham Festival’s first three days simply lead up to the final day, which is the main event of the four-day race meeting. Gold Cup Day is why everyone attends the festival and millions of people watch live on television. The Cheltenham Gold Cup is the marquee event with the best racehorses in the United Kingdom and Ireland facing off. Therefore, the Gold Cup offers big prize money to the lucky winner.
In 2019, the Gold Cup offered £625,000 in prize money with over £351,000 going to the winner.
In addition, our staff of writers will keep you in the know about the Cheltenham Festival races and help you find value in the horses running at the four-day event. Don’t forget to check back with us regularly during the Cheltenham Festival and improve your chances of winning.