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The 2027 Cheltenham Festival runs from Tuesday 16 to Friday 19 March 2027 at Prestbury Park: 28 races over four days, ending with the Cheltenham Gold Cup. The 2026 Festival drew 226,223 racegoers, and the week is widely reported to attract up to £1 billion in bets.
Quick answer: most Cheltenham bets are win or each-way bets on one race. Each-way splits your stake between the horse winning and the horse finishing in the places, and bookmakers often pay extra places during the Festival. Betting weeks ahead (ante-post) can get you a bigger price, but you lose your stake if the horse doesn’t run unless the bet is non-runner no bet (NRNB). In the UK, only bet with a bookmaker licensed by the Gambling Commission.
Last checked: 11 October 2026, when we checked each fact against at least two independent sources. We don’t tip horses on this page: runners and odds will be added closer to the Festival, once the fields take shape.
Cheltenham Festival 2027: dates and the big race each day
| Day | Date | Known as | Feature race |
|---|---|---|---|
| Day 1 | Tuesday 16 March 2027 | Champion Day | Champion Hurdle |
| Day 2 | Wednesday 17 March 2027 | Ladies Day | Queen Mother Champion Chase |
| Day 3 | Thursday 18 March 2027 | St Patrick’s Thursday | Stayers’ Hurdle (the Ryanair Chase is also on Thursday) |
| Day 4 | Friday 19 March 2027 | Gold Cup Day | Cheltenham Gold Cup |
There are seven races each day, 28 in all. Gates open at 10:30, and in 2026 the first race each day was at 1.20pm. The Gold Cup is run over about 3 miles 2½ furlongs (officially 3m 2f 70y) and had a total prize fund of £625,000 in 2026.
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How do you bet on the Cheltenham Festival?
- Check the law where you live. In Great Britain a bookmaker needs a Gambling Commission licence to take your bets; search the public register by company or website name if you are unsure.
- Open an account and verify your ID. You must be 18 or over. In Great Britain you can’t gamble with a credit card (banned since 14 April 2020), so use a debit card or another accepted method.
- Set a budget for the whole week. 28 races is a lot of betting: £50 spread evenly over every race is under £2 a race. Our gambling budget calculator helps you set a limit.
- Pick a race and a bet type (win, each-way, or a multiple such as a Lucky 15; see below).
- Compare prices and take Best Odds Guaranteed where it is offered, so you are paid at the starting price if it beats the price you took.
Cheltenham bet types explained
| Bet | How it works | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Win | Your horse must win. | Simple, but most horses in a big field lose. |
| Each-way | Two bets of the same stake: one on the horse to win, one on it to place. The place part pays a fraction of the odds (often 1/4 or 1/5). | It costs double: a £5 each-way bet is £10. |
| Ante-post | A bet placed at least a day before the race, often weeks ahead. | Your stake is normally lost if the horse doesn’t run. |
| Non-runner no bet (NRNB) | If your horse doesn’t run, your stake is refunded. | Only applies when the bookmaker offers it on that market. |
| Best Odds Guaranteed (BOG) | You are paid at the higher of the price you took and the starting price (SP). | Usually applies to UK and Irish racing and may have limits. |
| Starting price (SP) | The official price when the race starts; you can bet at SP instead of taking a price. | You don’t know the price when you bet. |
| Lucky 15 | 15 bets on 4 horses: 4 singles, 6 doubles, 4 trebles and a fourfold. | A £1 Lucky 15 costs £15. |
Our bet calculator works out returns for a Lucky 15 and every other multiple, and the odds calculator converts fractional odds into decimals and win chances.
Each-way place terms
How many places pay, and at what fraction, depends on the number of runners and on whether the race is a handicap. These are the standard terms:
| Runners | Places paid | Fraction of the win odds |
|---|---|---|
| 1 to 4 | Win only (no each-way) | – |
| 5 to 7 | 2 | 1/4 |
| 8 or more (non-handicap) | 3 | 1/5 |
| 12 to 15 (handicap) | 3 | 1/4 |
| 16 or more (handicap) | 4 | 1/4 (some bookmakers 1/5) |
During the Festival, many bookmakers pay extra places (for example 4 or 5 places instead of 3) as a promotion, so check the terms on your bet slip. Worked example: a £10 each-way bet (£20 in total) at 10/1 with 1/5 terms. If the horse finishes second, the win part loses and the place part pays at 2/1, so you get £30 back, a £10 profit. If it wins, both parts pay: £110 plus £30, £140 in total. Our each-way calculator does this for any price, place terms and dead heat.
Ante-post, NRNB and Rule 4
- Ante-post prices can be bigger because you take the risk that the horse gets injured, runs in a different race or isn’t declared. Without NRNB, that risk costs you your stake.
- NRNB removes that risk: if your horse doesn’t run, you get your stake back. Some bookmakers offer NRNB on Festival races in the run-up to Cheltenham.
- Rule 4 applies when a horse is withdrawn after you have taken a price: your winnings (not your stake) are cut by an amount that depends on the withdrawn horse’s price. A 7/4 withdrawal, for example, takes 35p from every £1 of winnings, and the most it can take is 90p. Ante-post bets aren’t subject to Rule 4.
How often do favourites win at Cheltenham?
Roughly one race in three. William Hill puts the favourites’ win rate over the last five Festivals at 35.5%, and OLBG counted 79 winning favourites from 259 races (30.5%) over ten Festivals. So about two favourites in every three lose, even though they are the most likely winner of each race.
That fits the prices: a 2/1 favourite implies a 33.3% chance of winning, which is about how often favourites actually win. Backing every favourite blindly isn’t a strategy; the bookmaker’s margin is built into every price.
Cheltenham 2026 in numbers
| Race (2026) | Winner | Starting price | Trainer |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gold Cup | Gaelic Warrior | 11/4 joint-favourite | Willie Mullins |
| Champion Hurdle | Lossiemouth | 7/5 favourite | Willie Mullins |
| Queen Mother Champion Chase | Il Etait Temps | 5/2 | Willie Mullins |
| Stayers’ Hurdle | Home By The Lee | 33/1 | Joseph O’Brien |
- Top trainer: Willie Mullins, with 8 winners, top for the eighth year in a row. Gaelic Warrior was his 121st Festival winner and his fifth Gold Cup.
- Top jockey: Paul Townend, with 4 winners.
- Ireland v Britain (Prestbury Cup): Irish-trained horses won 15 races to Britain’s 13.
- Crowds: 226,223 over the four days, up from 218,093 in 2025, with 67,016 on Gold Cup day.
Two of the four championship races went to the favourite. In the Champion Chase, Il Etait Temps beat his odds-on stablemate Majborough, and the Stayers’ Hurdle went to a 33/1 outsider.
Where can you bet on Cheltenham?
In the UK, use a bookmaker licensed by the Gambling Commission. All of them must be part of GAMSTOP, the free self-exclusion scheme, so you can block yourself from every licensed site at once if you need to.
In Ireland, the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland has licensed online bookmakers since 1 July 2026, so look for a licensed operator.
Elsewhere, many international sportsbooks cover Cheltenham. The two we review, 1win and 1xBet, don’t accept players from the UK. If they are available and legal where you live, check their horse racing section before you deposit, because markets vary by country.
Betting from outside the UK?
1win (9.9/10) has a sportsbook and a casino on one account. Sign up with promo code Ultragambler; the welcome bonus and its rules vary by country.
Visit 1win18+. New players only. T&Cs apply. Not available in every country, including the UK. Check your local laws.
Our 1win vs 1xBet comparison sets the two side by side, and our crypto betting sites guide covers sportsbooks that take Bitcoin and USDT.
Cheltenham betting tips that don’t depend on the runners
- Take the extra places. If you bet each-way in a big handicap, an extra place is free value; compare place terms as well as prices.
- Keep multiples small. A Lucky 15 is 15 bets, so a £2 Lucky 15 costs £30. Every extra leg in an accumulator adds another bookmaker margin.
- Use NRNB for early bets. Ante-post fancies don’t always make the race they were aimed at.
- Check how likely a price really is. Our odds calculator turns 9/2 into an 18.2% chance, which helps you judge whether a price is worth taking.
- Watch the races. ITV shows the first six races each day live; Racing TV, a subscription channel, shows all 28.
- Bet with money you can lose. More general advice is in our sports betting tips, and our Super Bowl betting guide covers the year’s biggest American betting event.
If betting stops being fun, take a break. Our responsible gambling guide explains how to set limits and where to get help, and the gambling terms glossary explains any jargon.
Cheltenham betting FAQs
When is the Cheltenham Festival 2027?
Tuesday 16 to Friday 19 March 2027 at Prestbury Park, Cheltenham, with seven races a day and 28 in total.
What is the biggest race at Cheltenham?
The Cheltenham Gold Cup, on the Friday. It is run over about 3 miles 2½ furlongs and had a £625,000 prize fund in 2026, when Gaelic Warrior won it.
How does each-way betting work at Cheltenham?
Your stake is split into a win bet and a place bet. The place part pays a fraction of the odds, usually 1/4 or 1/5, if your horse finishes in the places, and many bookmakers pay extra places during the Festival.
What does NRNB mean?
Non-runner no bet: if your horse doesn’t run, your stake is refunded. Without it, an ante-post bet on a horse that doesn’t run is lost.
How often do favourites win at Cheltenham?
About one race in three: 35.5% over the last five Festivals according to William Hill, and 30.5% over ten Festivals according to OLBG.
Can I bet on Cheltenham with a credit card in the UK?
No. Gambling with a credit card has been banned in Great Britain since 14 April 2020. Use a debit card or another method your bookmaker accepts.
Who is running at Cheltenham 2027?
The fields aren’t set yet: entries and declarations come in the weeks and days before each race. We will add the main runners and odds to this page closer to the Festival.
How we checked this
Each fact on this page is checked against at least two independent sources; the worked examples and percentages from prices are our own calculations:
- 2027 dates, day names and gate times: The Jockey Club (Cheltenham), Cassidy Travel and William Hill.
- 28 races, seven a day, feature races and 2026 first-race time: Wikipedia, The Jockey Club 2026 results and The Scotsman.
- Gold Cup distance and £625,000 prize fund: Wikipedia, The Jockey Club and The Scotsman.
- 2026 winners and prices: Gold Cup Wikipedia and The Jockey Club; Champion Hurdle Wikipedia and Sporting Life; Champion Chase The Irish Field and WLR FM; Stayers’ Hurdle At The Races and The Irish Field.
- Top trainer and jockey, Mullins’ 121 winners and the Prestbury Cup: Limerick Leader, The Jockey Club and Wikipedia.
- Attendance: At The Races and TrueNicks. “Up to £1 billion” in bets is widely reported rather than an official figure: Yogonet and SiGMA.
- Favourites’ win rate: William Hill and OLBG.
- Each-way place terms and extra places: Oddschecker, Sporting Life, Oddschecker betting terms and Planet Sport.
- BOG: TNT Sports and Flashscore. NRNB: Racing Post and Oddschecker. Ante-post: Oddschecker and Oddschecker (Cheltenham guide). Rule 4: Racing Post and Sporting Life. SP: Oddschecker and Wikipedia. Lucky 15: Oddschecker and Sporting Life.
- UK licence rule and register: Gambling Commission, Pinsent Masons and the public register. Credit card ban: Gambling Commission and GamCare. Age 18: Gambling Commission and House of Lords Library. GAMSTOP: Gambling Commission and GAMSTOP.
- Ireland’s online betting licences from 1 July 2026: GRAI and McCann FitzGerald.
- TV coverage: Oddschecker, Sporting Life and Horse & Hound.
- Figures last checked: 11 October 2026.
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