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BETTING TIPS FOR CHELTENHAM FESTIVAL 2023

By HRI Foreign Staff — The Cheltenham Festival has a remarkably long history of hospitality that would make five-star hotels envious, fashion worthy of the most prestigious runways in Milan and Paris and most of all, nailbiting, pulse-raising horse racing. But what you really want to know is how to spot the best offers. How to tell who is going to be the ‘against all odds’ winner? How to read the odds and pick up on the safe bets? Where are the bests odd available? Which races on which days are the most important? These are the things new and experienced equestrian lovers should know to ensure having a good time during the festival.

How To Pick Your Winner

When reading the racing card, a good way to pick a bet is to read the form of a horse. This is a summarised history of the horse’s performance over the past few races reading the oldest races from the left to the latest one on the right. The horse’s performance will be noted by a 0-9 placement. 1-9 is the position the horse finished in for that race unless they finished outside of the top 9, then it will be denoted with a 0. Race or course-specific symbols are also on the card and are represented by C, D, CD and BF. C indicates that the horse has won at that course before, D indicates that the horse has won over the distance before, and CD means it has achieved both. Bf is something you would not want to see on your horse’s card as it means it has been a beaten favourite.

How To Pick and Where To Bet

Choosing the right bookmaker may be the difference between winning big or just getting a nice lunch with your winnings. So here is what offers to look for when choosing your bookies for the big festival. The most common offer you will find when looking for a bookie is that they will bump the amount in your wallet when you deposit your first amount. This ranges from a set value such as getting £60 worth of bonuses when betting your first £10. Alternatively, it could be offered as a percentage match to your initial deposit amount, i.e. we will give you 50% extra up to £50 when you make your first deposit, and in some cases, you may have to use a promo code upon sign-up.

Lastly and one of the most popularCheltenham betting offers is the free bets by some bookies that may look something like this: bet up to £20, and if you lose, we will refund your bet as a free bet.

Which Races On Which Days Are Most Important?

There are a total of twenty-eight exhilarating races spanning across four action-packed days, so it can be a little intimidating to choose the right races to bet on. Not to worry, though, here is a highlight of which races are the most important for each day.

One of the races to watch is the opening race, also known as the Sky Bet Supreme Novices’ Hurdle Race and is where you might find the stars of the future, so it is well worth keeping an eye on. It is also the race worth researching which current feature race participants have won in the past. Other honourable mentions that are outside of the feature races are The Paddy Power Stayers’ Hurdle (Grade 1) on day three and The Brown Advisory Novices’ Steeple Chase (Grade 1) on day two.

The feature race events are usually held around 3:30 PM GMT, so make sure you get your bets in on time.

 Day one’s big race is The Unibet Champion Hurdle Challenge Trophy which is a hurdle-styled race and has the reputation of making and breaking heroes for both horses and jockeys. Day two’s feature race is The Betway Queen Mother Champion Steeple Chase (Grade 1), and as the name implies, it is a chase-styled race. Day three offers another chase race named The Ryanair Steeple Chase (Grade 1). Lastly, day four has the grand finale named The Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup Steeple Chase (Grade 1) this is where legends are made, so do not miss it.

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