Cheltenham Festival Betting Offers

Once you've claimed your sign-offer, there are also heaps of betting promotions (including free bet offers) that you can take advantage of.

You tend to see a lot of horse racing bookmakers offering very similar deals. However, to stand out and gain an edge, some bookies have a slightly better version of the following promotions:

🏇 Non-Runner No Bet
🏇 Money-Back Specials
🏇 Best Odds Guaranteed
🏇 Extra Each-Way Places

Let's dig a bit deeper into each offer and see which bookies do them best.

The offer: Your stake is returned if you bet on a horse and it doesn’t run. The offer acts as insurance should your selection not race for any reason and is one many racing punters instantly look for in a racing bookmaker.

Which bookies are Non-Runner No Bet?

• Bet365 - Available on every race at Cheltenham
• BOYLE Sports - Available on every race at Cheltenham
• William Hill - Available on every race at Cheltenham (until 12th March)
• BetVictor - Available on every race at Cheltenham
• William Hill - Available on every race

The offer: This type of deal offers punters terrific value. Most often the bookie will give your stake back as a free bet (and sometimes as cash) if a certain outcome occurs. For instance, if your horse finishes second to the favourite or loses by a narrow margin. You may even get your stake back if your horse falls or fails to finish.

Which betting sites are best for money-back specials?

• BOYLE Sports - ‘Money back as a free bet if 2nd to SP Fav’
• Coral - ‘Beaten by a length’
• Kwiff - ‘2nd Place Refund’

The offer: Let’s say you back a horse early doors. You’ve locked in your bet, and you’re happy. But then the Starting Price (SP) ie. the odds assigned prior to the start of the race, turn out to be higher than the initial odds. Well, bookies guard against this with BOG.

No matter the price difference, this offer guarantees you the best odds, as the name implies! Punters tend to look for bookies that offer BOG as early as possible. Given how the odds fluctuate, the earlier you can lock a price in the better the potential payout.

Which bookies are BOG?

• Ladbrokes - from 8am on race day
• BOYLE Sports - from 8am every day
• Betway - from 9am on race day
• Bet365 - from 10am on race day

The offer: More places refer to the number of positions in which a bookie will pay out. ‘Money Places’ alter from race to race but for Cheltenham, there will be extra places than usual for almost every race.

Every top betting site has extra places. But you’re best to check out Ladbrokes, Coral and BoyleSports when the festival comes around. From our experience, these bookies are the most prolific in terms of extra places.

Other Racing Promotions to keep an eye out for during Cheltenham:

First past the Post - Get paid out if your horse finishes first even if the result no longer stands post-race following a Stewards Enquiry. 

Double result - A winning horse, the one that is ‘first past the post’, may end up being demoted following a Stewards Enquiry, with another horse being promoted. In any case, Double Result pays out on both horses.

Enhanced odds - This is where the price for a horse is increased or “boosted” for a period of time, giving you a better potential payout. Most if not all bookies will have enhanced offers. Some will have more than others, however, while others will offer better prices.