Cheltenham is an evocative name for fans of horse racing in Britain and Ireland. The annual festival held at Cheltenham Racecourse offers some of the very best horse racing UK punters can enjoy. Races like the Cheltenham Gold Cup occupy an iconic place in the hearts of horse racing fans, and the annual festival in March each year is a real highlight of the racing calendar.
In this guide to Cheltenham races, we’ll give you a useful rundown of why this venue is so important to British and Irish racegoers. We’ll give you a few hints on how to build a successful Cheltenham races betting strategy, and where to find horse racing betting tips that you can use when betting on the bet365 horse racing pages. Read on to find out more!
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What are the Cheltenham Races?
The Cheltenham Races is usually taken to mean the annual festival of National Hunt racing that takes place at the Cheltenham Racecourse each March. Of course, more racing events than just this festival are staged at the venue over the course of the year, but it is this particular event that occupies the primary place in the public’s knowledge.
The Cheltenham Festival includes many iconic races, with the Cheltenham Gold Cup being the most prestigious. The Gold Cup is run on the Thursday of the festival week, and it is considered one of the very top jump races in the UK, and indeed the world. In 2021, the Gold Cup was the most valuable non-handicap chase in Britain, offering a prize fund worth £468,750. Other races that ae packed into the festival’s busy schedule include the Queen Mother Champion Chase, the Ryanair Chase, the Arkle Challenge Trophy, the Stayers’ Hurdle and the Champion Bumper.
Cheltenham Races are about much more than just horse racing!
There is much more than just the fantastic horse racing to enjoy at the Cheltenham Festival, however. The event is known for the exciting social events that complement the racing. Racegoers at Cheltenham can enjoy music at various locations around the course, and there are plenty of other venues where lots of eating and drinking takes place.
The festival also occurs in March, usually around the time of St Patrick’s Day on the 17th. This guarantees large Irish presence at the festival, and visitors to Cheltenham and the surrounding area during the festival will hear Irish accents almost everywhere they go. Fittingly, Irish jockeys and horses have also done well at the festival historically, and we’ll take a closer look at some of those later on for you.
Cheltenham races betting strategies
When you’re trying to put together some Cheltenham races betting strategies it is wise to remain true to the principles that underpin all successful betting: detailed knowledge, experience and bankroll management. Here are some key points about how you can fold these ideas into your plan of action for the Cheltenham races.
- Study the form of the horses riding in races on which you want to bet. This is absolutely essential.
- Do not rely only the form of the horses, though – you also need to look closely at the records of jockeys and trainers at previous editions of the Cheltenham Festival.
- Check the odds carefully and use your knowledge of the horses, jockeys and trainers to spot good value.
- Be prepared to use different bet types on different races to maximise your chances of some kind of success.
- Bet appropriately – make sensible calculations about likely risk and reward and set stake levels appropriately.
Great Cheltenham Races Horses and Jockeys
Best Mate remains one of the most successful horses to have featured at Cheltenham in the 21st century. This great Irish-bred, English-trained horse won three consecutive Gold Cup races between 2002 and 2004, ridden in every one of those wins by the iconic Irish jockey Jim Culloty. Culloty later became, after his retirement as a jockey, one of only four people to have both ridden and trained a Gold Cup winner. He trained Lord Windermere to victory in 2014, with another Irishman, Davy Russell, riding the horse.
Another great horse to have achieved legendary feats in the Gold Cup was Kauto Star, whose battles with Denman are legendary. Kauto Star was a French-bred and English-trained horse who won the Gold Cup in 2007 and 2009, ridden on both occasions by Irish jockey Ruby Walsh. Kauto Star became the first horse to retain the Cup in 2009, beating Denman by 13 lengths after losing to him the year before.
Walsh is among the most successful jockeys to have ridden at the Cheltenham Festival, riding winners in many other races apart from the Gold Cup. Walsh has been named top jockey at the festival on 10 occasions. The top jockey is the jockey who rides the most winners over the four days of the festival.
A Guide to Cheltenham Races 2022
The Cheltenham Festival began on Tuesday, March 15 in 2022 and ran until Friday, March 18. Each day of the festival included superb races, with Tuesday featuring the Unibet Champion Hurdle. Racegoers who visited the venue on Wednesday can enjoy the Queen Mother Champion Chase and the Johnny Henderson Grand Annual Chase. Thursday took the entertainment up a notch with the Ryanair Chase and the Paddy Power Stayers’ Hurdle among the races on offer.
Friday is the highlight of the festival each year, and the Cheltenham races in 2022 followed this tradition. While the undoubted highlight of Cheltenham races 2022 is the Gold Cup, spectators on Friday will also thrill to the entertainment proffered by the Spa Novices’ Hurdle and the Foxhunter Chase.
As well as the racing on offer, spectators will be entertained by jazz musicians The Hipcats, as well as being able to enjoy superb food and drink all around the venue. The course’s Centaur Balcony and the North Entrance are locations where racegoers can take in more live music from artists like Taylor & The Masons and The Brimstones.
Where to find good Cheltenham tipsters
Such is the popularity of the Cheltenham Festival, finding Cheltenham tipsters is probably much easier than you suspect. The issue is, of course, finding tipsters who are knowledgeable and reliable enough for you to be able to trust their tips.
The most obvious source of tips for the Cheltenham races is the horse racing media. You can check horse racing sites like The Racing Post, where expert pundits and journalists share their insight. It is also useful to watch racing-focused content online and on the television to bolster your knowledge further. Make sure to pay close attention to ay interviews from jockeys or trainers who are going to be participating at Cheltenham.
Social media is potentially a great source of useful insight and knowledge about UK horse racing. Following the Twitter accounts of the top jockeys and trainers always brings nuggets of information that can be useful to bettors. Horse racing journalists are another great source of insight that is readily available on Twitter. Twitter even facilitates you being able to ask direct questions at times, so if you have the chance to do this, make sure you take full advantage.
Another useful source of horse racing tips and insight is Reddit. Reddit threads about betting on horse racing can be a great way to tap into the knowledge of more experienced punters who have an instinctive grasp of which horses are likely to do well in certain races. Discussing horses and jockeys with these bettors might just give you the edge for which you are looking when it comes to putting together a strategy for Cheltenham.
Conclusion
The Cheltenham Races is usually taken to mean the annual festival of horse racing that takes place at Cheltenham Racecourse each year in March. Particularly popular with Irish racegoers, the festival features iconic races such as the Gold Cup, which offers the most lucrative prize pot in UK racing. There have been some great jockeys and horses who have enjoyed success at the festival over the years, such as Jim Culloty and Best Mate. You can pick up some leads from Cheltenham tipsters online and in the media, and complement their insight by talking to more experienced bettors on social media channels such as Reddit. They can be a useful source of tips to use next time you are checking the odds on the bet365 horse racing pages. The Cheltenham Festival is a real highlight of the British and Irish horse racing year, and is well worth paying close attention to if you’re a fan of betting on horse racing.