Cheltenham Festival Free Bets and Betting Offers

What are Cheltenham Free Bets?

The most common and popular type of offer available on the Cheltenham Festival is Cheltenham free bets! These free bets allow bettors to place their first bet free of charge and even be in with a chance of keeping the winnings should the bet be a success! Cheltenham free bets boost betting opportunities while significantly reducing risk. This allows for more bets to be placed for less, and bettors can often get any winnings from their free bets back as more credited to their accounts to use to place more wagers at a site on the races. 

Types of Cheltenham Betting Offers

Various Cheltenham betting offers will be available during the build-up to the races and during the event. We have covered some of the most popular in more detail below.

Free Bets

One betting offer that punters can expect to see frequently ahead of and during the event is Cheltenham free bets. These are often part of a bookmaker's welcome offer for new customers and allow users to place bets for free. Free bets provide great opportunities for bettors to try out new markets, place bets risk and worry-free, and even win some more free bets to continue benefitting from at a site.

Bet & Get Offers

A popular and rewarding way to bet on Cheltenham is by claiming Bet & Get Offers. This type of offer can look like ‘Bet £10 Get £30’, where bettors can claim £30 in free bets to use at the site when they claim this offer and place a qualifying £10 bet. Get double or triple your initial bet and make the most of the four days of top horse racing action.

Money Back Guarantees

This Cheltenham festival betting offer is often available when a big favourite is featured in a race. It means that if a bettor's selection finishes second or by a narrow margin, punters can receive their stake back, often as a free bet, allowing more bets to be placed. Money-back guarantees are valuable ways to bet, ensuring fair betting.

Enhanced Odds & Boosts

Enhanced odds and odds boosts are frequently available in Cheltenham betting offers that are run throughout the course of the four days. Often available for a limited time or in the build-up to a race start, punters can place their bets on boosted odds to be in with a chance of increasing their potential winnings should the bet placed be a success. Enhanced odds can be found on favoured runners and often will have a limited maximum stake that can be wagered.

Extra Each-Way Places

Many top bookmakers will offer extra each-way places on several of the races at Cheltenham. This type of bet gives punters the option to increase or decrease the number of places in a race when betting each way. This is particularly good for the big handicaps, where often there are up to eight extra places available as opposed to the usual three.

The Best Cheltenham Betting Sites for 2026

There are some top Cheltenham Festival betting sites that we highly recommend when it comes to your Cheltenham betting. We have looked at the top five in more detail below. 

Betway

Strong and reliable are the first words that come to mind when reviewing this site. Its range of markets is hard to beat, and its consistent competitive odds make it a solid choice for betting on the festival. It has plenty of Cheltenham betting offers, enhancing the excitement and attraction of the site. It also has one of the best selections of live streams available, which allows punters to watch along and see how their bets play out, amending and placing more. It is absolutely one of the best horse racing betting sites on the market.

Bet365

A highly regarded platform for sports betting, the site offers a super user-friendly platform compatible with both desktop and mobile devices. It features highly competitive odds and a wide range of markets and is a go-to for horse racing punters, whether new or experienced. It also features great live streaming, allowing customers to watch races live and place bets live, too, thanks to the range of in-play betting markets available! It is no doubt a great place for fans of the races to have a safe and enjoyable experience.

Copybet

A modern and reputable betting platform, bettors can expect an extensive range of markets and odds across many of the biggest events, including the Cheltenham Festival. Recognised for its appealing and easy-to-navigate interface, it brings a blend of new and traditional betting platforms together, appealing to both new and experienced bettors. It offers top promotions on Cheltenham and even the ability to livestream each race, taking advantage of in-play markets and offers. 

Spreadex

A stand-out choice for Cheltenham betting, this is the site for you if you are after competitive odds, tailored promotions, exceptional user experience and an intelligent, easy-to-use platform. Live streaming and expert insights are also available to customers to enhance the betting experience, ensuring no action is missed across all four days. The site is fully compatible with mobile devices, alongside a dedicated mobile app that is also available to download. 

William Hill

A trusted name in the industry, it is a site well-known for offering a diverse range of betting markets with quality odds to ensure it is a competitive option for Cheltenham bets. It is also recognised for its frequent promotions, including free bets, price boosts, and special offers, enhancing the excitement and attraction to the site for the Cheltenham Festival. The platform is super user-friendly and offers a mobile app for users to take their betting and live streams on the go!

How To Claim Cheltenham Free Bets

Claiming Cheltenham free bets is simple, and we are here to help you get started! Follow the steps below to claim yours!

1. Take a look at the Cheltenham betting offers above and find the one that is the best for you.

2. Once you have decided, click to claim your Cheltenham free bets and head to the bookmaker's website. 

3. Locate the sign up page and enter your details to create an account, including your full name, email address, date of birth and address.

4. Verify your account by clicking the link sent to your email address from the bookmaker.

5. Log in to your account and enter the promo code, if you have one, to claim your free Cheltenham bets! 

6. Go ahead and explore the betting markets, adding your selections to your bet slip.

7. Once you are happy, tick the box on your bet slip that says ‘Use your free bet credits’, confirm and place your bet!

8. Wait for this to settle, and see if your horse has won!

Cheltenham Betting Markets

With plenty of Cheltenham Festival betting markets on offer, it can be difficult to know which is the right one for you. For more information on the most popular betting markets, take a look at the information below.

Win or Each-Way

The most straightforward and simple horse racing betting market, a Win or Each-Way market, involves picking any horse to win or go on to win ‘each way’. Betting on a win and each way market means that even if your selection does not go on to win but finishes second or third, your bet will still be paid out. The each-way places are determined by the bookmaker and can sometimes be extended as far as fifth and sixth place.

Forecast/Tricast

This type of horse racing bet involves bettors predicting the 1-2 or 1-2-3 horses home. Predicting the 1-2 horses is ‘Forecast’ and 1-2-3 is ‘Tricast’. Bettors can also ‘perm’ several horses into combination bets to increase the chances of winning. For example, three horses in a combination tricast is six bets, as there are six possible permutations. Winning one of these, as you can imagine, can have great potential rewards.

Placepot Bets

One of the horse racing punter's go-to wagers is Placepot bets. These involve predicting a horse to finish in a place in the first six races. Your stake goes into a pool, where the prize money is divided between the winners. It is a classic ‘small stakes to win big’ bet and can give punters an interest in almost every race on the card.

Accumulators

Acca bets involve punters adding multiple selections from various races into one larger bet. This means that to win an accumulator bet, all of your selections must win! If just one of the selections is not successful, the bet will lose. There can sometimes be acca insurance offers available when placing your bets, which can mean you can receive your bet back as betting credit if one selection on your acca lets you down.

Best Odds Guaranteed

Best odds guaranteed, Cheltenham betting markets provide bettors with peace of mind that they will get the best odds on their selection even if they change after placing a bet. It locks in the best price on the horse you have backed, so if you place your initial bet on a horse to win 4/1 that later changes to 8/1 and wins, you will be paid out at the 8/1 odds.

Non-Runner No Bet

Often abbreviated to NRNB, this market does as it says on the tin. If, for any reason, the horse you wager on does not go in its race, it provides security for punters to get their stake back as free bets to use to place another bet at no extra cost. It is popularly wagered on the market amongst horse racing punters, especially at Cheltenham.

What is a Non-Runner No Bet?

A particularly valuable one of the Cheltenham offers is a NRNB. It is offered by many bookmakers at major events such as the Cheltenham Festival. When placing a bet under this policy, it means that if your selected horse does not run in the race, your bet will be refunded and issued back to you so that you can place another! It means bettors do not lose out or lose their money due to no fault of their own. It’s a great insurance, too, for bettors who like to place their bet early, providing peace of mind that they will not lose out.

Cheltenham 2026 Schedule

If you want to know what is taking place, when and plan your day, below we have put the timetable ahead of the festival, including each day, each race, timings, and distances.

Day 1: Champion Day - Tuesday 10th March 2026

13:20 - The Sky Bet Supreme Novices’ Hurdle

14:00 - The Singer Arkle Novices’ Chase

14:40 - The Hallgarten and Novum Wines Juvenile Handicap Hurdle

15:20 - The Ultima Handicap Chase

16:00 - The Unibet Champion Hurdle*

16:40 - The Hallgarten and Novum Wines Juvenile Handicap Hurdle

17:20 - The Princess Royal National Hunt Novices’ Handicap Chase

Day 2: Ladies Day - Wednesday 11th March 2026

13:20 - The Turners Novices’ Hurdle

14:00 - The Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase

14:40 - The Coral Cup Handicap Hurdle

15:20 - The Glenfarclas Cross Country Handicap Chase

16:00 - The BetMGM Queen Mother Champion Chase*

16:40 - The Debenhams Johnny Henderson Grand Annual Handicap Chase

17:20 - The Weatherbys Champion Bumper

Day 3: St Patrick’s Thursday - Thursday 12th March 2026

13:20 - The Ryanair Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle

14:00 - The Jack Richards Novices’ Limited Handicap Chase

14:40 - The Close Brothers Mares’ Hurdle

15:20 - The Paddy Power Stayers' Hurdle*

16:00 - The Ryanair Chase*

16:40 - The Pertemps Network Final Handicap Hurdle

17:20 - The Rosconn Group Fulke Walwyn Kim Muir Amateur Jockeys’ Handicap Chase

Day 4: Gold Cup Day - Friday 13th March 2026

13:20 - The JCB Triumph Hurdle

14:00 - The William Hill County Handicap Hurdle

14:40 - The Mrs Paddy Power Mares’ Chase

15:20 - The Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle

16:00 - The Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup*

16:40 - The Festival Challenge Cup Open Hunters’ Chase

17:20 - The Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap Hurdle

*Feature race(s) of the day.

Top Tips for Making the Most of Your Cheltenham Free Bets

There is plenty of opportunity to use Cheltenham free bets throughout the four-day event. So, whether you are new to Cheltenham Festival betting or an experienced veteran, we have provided some top tips for How to Bet on Cheltenham Festival to make the most out of your free bets!

Top tip #1 - Understand your Cheltenham free bets

Before using your free bets, it is important to check on things such as any minimum odds requirements, minimum deposits and bet requirements, eligible races, expiry dates, and how any winnings from the bet will be awarded. This ensures bettors are fully informed of what requirements must be met in order to qualify and claim the bonus, and will prevent any offers from expiring before they have been used.

Top tip #2 -  Applying free bets to your bet slip

Once you have claimed your Cheltenham free bets, make sure that when you are making your selections, you tick the box or select the dropdown on your bet slip to use your free bet credits. Confirm it has been applied before placing your bets so you do not get charged.

Top tip #3 - Spread out your free Cheltenham bets

Instead of putting all of your eggs in one basket, it is worthwhile using your free bets across various races and markets. This increases the potential chances of one of your selections winning and allows you to have a punt on multiple races and results. Place an outright winner bet, accumulator bet, win/each-way, tricast, and so on on the Gold Cup, Champion Steeple Chase, Champion Hurdle and more.

Cheltenham Live Streaming

Punters at the Cheltenham Festival can also enjoy exclusive opportunities to watch the races live. When claiming many of the top Cheltenham free bets offers, customers signing up will receive access to the bookmaker's live stream that will feature every race across all four days of the festival. Often, if there's a race you wish to watch live, all you have to do is place a bet on any of the runners. Cheltenham live streams are available at most of the top bookmakers. Just always ensure to check for any requirements in order to view the streams.

Responsible Gambling

It is important that online betting and gambling are safe and remain a bit of fun and excitement for punters. In order to ensure a safe betting experience, always choose to play at a licensed and regulated bookmaker. It is also beneficial to take the time to sit down and work out how much of your income you can afford to spend on gambling and set yourself a limit, ensuring you stick to it. Avoid chasing losses and spending more than you can afford. Bookmakers also have resources in place for users to take control of their online betting, from setting deposit limits to their accounts, applying time limits, and offering the ability to self-exclude themselves from accessing their account for longer periods of time, should it be needed.

If you ever have a concern over your gambling habits and staying within your limits, there are charities, organisations, and helplines available to provide further support, including the likes of GamCare or BeGambleAware.