Bet365
Founded in 1974, Bet365 is one of the largest bookies in the world. Thanks to their variety of promotions across the Festival, Bet365 is one of the best Cheltenham betting sites.
- Loads of live streaming for Cheltenham
- Rapid deposits and withdrawals
- Competitive odds
Bottom line:
Bet365 has a very strong reputation and highly regarded brand along with live streaming, audio coverage and a catalogue of Cheltenham Festival promos.
Why we like Bet365
The Bet365 website is functional and quick to load, both on the desktop and the app,with concise menus and straight-to-the-point promotions. You can clearly see when odds have been boosted, and Bet365 remains one of the leaders in live streaming with just a small qualifying bet required.
What Bet365 offers you
- Non-runner no bet insurance: Wagers will be cancelled, and the stake refunded if your pick doesn’t start the race.
- My Horses: You can develop a ‘stable’ of your favourite horses and get updates when they are due to run.
- Price Promise: Bet365 will not be beaten on price for any race shown on ITV Racing, providing the wager is placed from 10am on the day of the race.
- Comprehensive Antepost markets: Whether after an antepost on the Gold Cup or wanting to find Cheltenham Festival specials, Bet365 has more than got you covered.
- Live streaming: bet365 is one of the best Cheltenham bookies for live streaming.
- User friendly website/app: Browsing and betting at bet365 is a smooth and hassle-free experience.
Unibet
Popular for their appealing website interface and with an extensive list of markets, Unibet is one of the best Cheltenham betting sites for the UK market. Unibet always have some decent sign-up offers if you are yet to give them a try.
- Money back as bonus if first bet loses
- Consistent promos for customers new and established
- Broad range of antepost markets throughout the year
Bottom line:
Unibet mixes a modern-looking website with regular and rewarding promotions. Regular horse racing gamblers will be familiar with their impressive range of antepost markets.
Why we like Unibet
Unibet is a contender to be considered the best Cheltenham betting site for the UK. The horse racing section of the website is well-structured, with the use of colour contributing to a good customer experience. You can delve deep into antepost odds, where there is a great range of markets, or pick out any race from around the world and give the bookie’s enhanced odds feature, Uniboost, a go.
What Unibet offers you
- Uniboost daily for enhanced odds: You can boost horse racing odds three times per day at Unibet, which will be popular during the Cheltenham Festival.
- Frequent and rewarding promos: Unibet often introduces new promotions for both new and current customers.
- Looking to the future: With antepost markets available months in advance, you can back your pick early to unlock the best value price.
- Live Streaming: Unibet’s streaming is up there with the best.
- Cheltenham-specific offers: Unibet typically brings out promotions specifically for Cheltenham, including Gold Cup free bets.
AK Bets
AK Bets began life as an on-course bookmaker. They developed very quickly and now provide an online betting service through their website and mobile apps.
Bottom line:
AK Bets has a great service for punters with competitive odds and a great website and app.
Why we like AK Bets
Using the AK Bets website or app is a relaxed experience and horse racing punters can benefit from their price movement graphic.
What AK Bets offers you
- Good value odds: You will often find AK Bets have competitive odds..
- Odds shift graphic: AK Bets keep you up to date with the latest price shifts.
- Great app: AK Bets have a user friendly app and a great website. The bookie offers a fantastic betting platform whether on the app or the website.
- Strong reputation for horse racing: Established as an on-course bookie, AK Bets are well respected within betting and horse racing circles.
- Live Streaming: Live streaming of horse racing
Star Sports
Brighton based Star Sports was launched in 1999 as Star Racing in 1999. Originally an on-course bookmaker, grew quickly. soon outgrew its on-course roots. Star Racing was rebranded as Star Sports in 2009 to reflect the wider portfolio of services offered to its clients. They now provide an online betting service through their website and mobile apps, however, they boast a number of exclusive services which allows them to brand themselves as a luxury bookmaker.
Bottom line:
Star Sports has a great service for punters with competitive odds, a great website and app and a fantastic blog-
Why we like Star Sports
Using the Star Sports website or app is a relaxed experience and horse racing punters can benefit from their price movement graphic. They have a great social media presence and a great blog.
What Star Sports offers you
- Good value odds: You will often find Star Sports have competitive odds..
- Odds shift graphic: Star Sports keep you up to date with the latest price shifts.
- Great app: Star Sports have a user friendly app and a great website. The bookie offers a fantastic betting platform whether on the app or the website.
- Strong reputation for horse racing: Established as an on-course bookie, Star Sports are well respected within betting and horse racing circles.
- Live Streaming: Live streaming of horse racing
- Luxury bookmaker: Star Sports take on large bets and ensure that they look after regular customers.
SpreadEx
Best known for its spread betting service, SpreadEx also offers fixed odds for the core sports, helping it to become a favoured site among horse racing punters.
- Often has better odds than bigger name bookies
- Spread betting
- £50 bet bonuses available for new customers
Bottom line:
SpreadEx gives great welcome bonuses and provides excellent odds throughout the horse racing schedule, including the Cheltenham Festival.
Why we like SpreadEx:
SpreadEx covers everything you would want from a bookie. Punters are after value first and foremost, which SpreadEx has thanks to their high odds. Promotions are easy to find and use, plus the website is hard to fault. The option to switch between spread betting and fixed odds is a nice bonus for some bettors, too.
What SpreadEx offers you
- Exceptional fixed Cheltenham Festival odds: When pitted against the more well-known names in the industry, SpreadEx’s odds often compare favourably.
- Informative website: You will find a lot of detail on a SpreadEx betting page, including form and weight, which are helpful when making your Cheltenham picks.
- ‘2nd to a rag’ insurance: If your horse finishes second to a 33/1 or longer outsider, you will receive money back as a free bet.
- Spread betting available: It is easy to switch between the sportsbook and spread betting at SpreadEx.
Check out the best betting sites in the UK and the best horse racing bookies with Betting.com.
How our experts choose the best sites to bet on Cheltenham Festival
There is a lot to consider when deciding the best Cheltenham betting site in 2024, with odds, website interface, reputation, promotions and customer service all factors. The premier Cheltenham online betting sites cover all bases from sign-up to live chat systems and payouts.
Sam Cox: In my opinion, the best Cheltenham betting sites need to have a reliable, and quick-to-load website, ideally complemented by live streaming services with low qualifying stakes. Also, a range of promotions is important, particularly paying out extra places on each-way wagers.
Compare the best Cheltenham betting sites of 2024
Bookies go all out with their Cheltenham Festival promotions, which can make it difficult to identify the best Cheltenham betting site. Each Cheltenham bettor will value different things from sign-up offers to streaming and website functionality.
For many, it’ll come down to which bookmaker provides the most value through their odds and promos. To help compare the leading options in 2024, here are the top Cheltenham Festival betting sites:
| Site Name | Betting.com Rating | Best For | Full Review |
| Bet365 | 4.8/5 | Live streaming | Bet365 Review |
| Unibet | 4.7/5 | Antepost betting | Unibet Review |
| AK Bets | 4.3/5 | Great website and app | AK Bets Review |
| Star Sports | 4.2/5 | Odds shift graphic | Star Sports Review |
| SpreadEx | 4.2/5 | Spread betting | SpreadEX Review |
How to choose the best site for you
It is important to try out a range of Cheltenham betting sites to identify the best platform to place your bets. We have experimented on a collection of Cheltenham online betting sites to provide some conclusions, but only through using them can you decide for yourself.
Here are a few criteria to keep in mind when looking at betting sites:
- Prioritise safety: It is important to make sure you are playing on a licensed betting site. This is the only way to be certain your financial details, money and data are safe.
- Evaluate sign-up bonuses: There are a lot of different welcome offers. Go with a bookmaker which has a sign-up bonus suited to you.
- Compare their Cheltenham odds: Every bookie claims it has the best odds. All punters want the best prices, and it is vital to compare odds before placing a wager to make sure you are getting the top value for your bet.
- Check for up-to-date security with payments: Protecting your money and bank details is important. Make sure each bookmaker has a range of deposit and withdrawal options along with updated security systems.
- Read reviews from other punters: Reputation matters in sports betting. Check out what others are saying about a bookmaker to get an idea of their customer service, reliability and whether it is worth using them in the future.
- Try the mobile app: Mobile betting is a huge part of modern-day betting, but not all apps are created equal. Some are easier to use and quicker to load than others.
- Sign-up process: Signing up to a new bookmaker has become more time-consuming over the last few years. How long this takes varies depending on the bookie, but it is worth seeing how laborious registering for a new Cheltenham betting site is.
Betting on Cheltenham Festival explained
Cheltenham Festival attracts punters from all over the UK, with the four days of the Festival jam-packed with racing.
Odds
Cheltenham Festival odds are often available well in advance of the Festival itself. Punters should shop around for the best value prices before and during the Festival, as the markets can move considerably.
Picks
Form, conditions, history and odds movement are all factors to consider when making Cheltenham Festival picks. Some will prefer outsiders for the higher prices, while others will lean towards the favourites.
Types of Cheltenham Festival bets
Alongside plenty of Cheltenham-specific specials provided, punters can choose from a lot of other bet types. Win bets are the most straight-forward. Each-way and sizeable accumulators are popular options, too.
Win
A win bet does what it says on the tin. Simply pick the winner and receive a payout if your prediction is accurate. Some bookies will offer insurance for these if your horse is a narrow loser.
Each Way
Splitting your wager between a win and a place bet, each way winnings are calculated using a fraction of your selection’s price.
Trifecta
Trifectas, sometimes known as a tricast, are bets which predict the top-three finishers in their correct order.
Lucky 15
Lucky 15 includes 15 bets of four singles, six doubles, four trebles and four four-fold accumulators, which enables a return if just one selection lands with the potential for larger winnings.
Cheltenham Festival betting strategies
There are a variety of Cheltenham betting strategies to research before the Festival. Following trends is an important element when devising your favoured Cheltenham betting strategy, and it is key to get an understanding of what kinds of wagers you prefer.
Get to know more about Cheltenham to bet smarter
The Cheltenham Festival first took place in 1860, and has the second-highest prize money of any racing event in the UK. Until the mid-2000s, it was a three-day affair, but it was extended to a four-day event with the iconic Gold Cup taking place on the Friday of the week.
The Gold Cup is the headline event at Cheltenham. It is accompanied by several other Grade I races, including the Stayers’ Hurdle, Queen Mother Champion Chase and Champion Hurdle.
While Ruby Walsh has the honour of being Cheltenham’s most successful jockey, Walsh was also at the centre of one of the biggest Festival shocks in 2015 when Annie Power fell at the final hurdle after starting as a 1/2 favourite.
Willie Mullins is Cheltenham’s most successful trainer with 88 wins, which is 16 more than anyone else.
Who is the favourite to win the Cheltenham Gold Cup in 2024?
This information will be published at the start of 2024.
Who is competing at Cheltenham Festival in 2024?
The horses who will contest the 2024 Cheltenham Festival will be posted nearer the time.
What are the key dates to keep in mind?
- Tuesday, March 12th 2024 – Cheltenham Festival Begins
- Wednesday, March 13th 2024 – Ladies Day
- Thursday, March 14th 2024 – St. Patrick’s Thursday
- Friday, March 15th 2024 – Gold Cup & Final Day
Check out the best betting sites in the UK and the best horse racing bookies with Betting.com.
