Best Cheltenham Betting Sites UK for 2026 - New Offers & Odds

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Cheltenham is the first major horse race of the year, with races taking place in late March. That feels far away, but the talk about this event happens all year round. If you’ve never bet on the horses before, then it’s a great place to start. Here’s everything you need to know about Cheltenham, and how the betting works here.

What Is Cheltenham Festival?

The Cheltenham Festival is one of the most prestigious horse racing events in the UK. There’s a long gap between large events like this, and after a long winter punters are always excited to get involved. Some of the best competitors come together to race here too, as it’s such a high profile event.

Cheltenham takes place at Prestbury Park in Cheltenham, Gloucester, and is the highlight of the National Hunt season. Typically, it’s regarded as one of the very best horse racing events in the world.

The event is focused around four main Championship races, with competitors looking to take home the winning title from each one. These are the Champion Hurdle, the Queen Mother Champion Chase, the Stayer’s Hurdle, and the Cheltenham Gold Cup. The latter is the most prestigious event, and the one that most people will turn out for.#

Betting On Cheltenham Trials

Are you too excited to get into horse betting? Then you don’t have to wait until March for the event proper. You can check out the Cheltenham trials, where many competitors will be racing to secure a spot in the final event.

This is a great event to follow, as you’ll be able to get a good idea of how the horses are shaping up and who’s looking good to win. If you want, you can simply watch and take notes, which you can then use alongside other sources to inform your bets in March. However, there’s nothing stopping you from getting involved in betting. Many sites will be offering odds on these races, so you can jump right in and have fun with it.

Best Cheltenham Betting Sites

bet365

Pros

• A very informative & relatable news section
• Large collection of betting markets
• They have a great live streaming service for the races
• They have lots of welcome offers for new customers

Cons

• They happen to block and restrict accounts quickly
• They don’t have many promotions for existing customers

When looking for a bookmaker to use for your Cheltenham horse race betting, Bet365 is a solid choice due to the news section on their site. What this does is allow users of the site to keep up to date with all relevant news relating to the Cheltenham festival which can in turn help you to make successful bets. They also have a large collection of betting markets available to bet on as well as a great live streaming service which means this site should be considered for your Cheltenham bets.

Betfred

Pros

• They often have generous welcome offers for new users to the site
• Very easy to use website
• Fantastic mobile app for bettors to use on the go
• Lots of coverage for betting on the Cheltenham horse races

Cons

• Much slower registration and verification process compared to competitors
• They have slightly higher withdrawal fees than expected
• Can be slow to withdraw your funds from your account

Betfred is always a great choice in the UK betting industry due to their positive reputation amongst existing punters. They have a wide array of betting markets available and the yearly Cheltenham festival is no different. They always make sure to have coverage of the most popular races so that their punters don’t miss out on the fun. If you want to follow along with the entire festival this bookmaker makes it very easy to do so!

Unibet

Pros

• Known for rewarding users with generous promotions and offers
• Strong reputation within the horserace betting industry
• Have a sponsored race within the Cheltenham festival

Cons

• Much stricter than other sites with regards to country restrictions
• Not the most options available to contact customer service

Unibet may not be as well known as some other bookmakers on our list but let me show you why they should be considered when betting on the Cheltenham festival. Not only do they have one of the simplest websites to use, but they take the festival very seriously with their own sponsored race. You may have heard of the Unibet Champions hurdle which takes place alongside the other races of the event. Having a sponsored race shows this brand is very invested into the event so they are a strong contender to receive your bets too.

William Hill

Pros

• They allow bettors to cash out during live events (in-play)
• Their website has a great online live streaming service

Cons

• Welcome offer is not too competitive in the industry
• Their mobile app does not allow any live streaming of sports
• Have been known to restrict accounts that win too much

William Hill is one of the UK’s oldest bookmakers and their reputation is up there as one of the best. They have a successful live streaming service on their website however it is not usable on their app at present. They allow in-play betting and live cash outs which gives punters the opportunity to cash out their potential winnings before an event has completely finished. This can work in the bettors favour if their team is doing well up until that point and could get you more winnings than if you waited until the end.

Ladbrokes

Pros

• Lots of offers for existing users of their site
• Lots of opportunities to use price boosts throughout the year
• Great welcome offers for newcomers to Ladbrokes
• They cover most of the Cheltenham races and events

Cons

• Their mobile site has many technical issues
• Maximum payout for many sports is on the lower end

When looking for a strong contender of bookmakers to make bets on the horse racing, Ladbrokes should be compared to the others. Not only do they have lots of lucrative welcome offers for their new customers, but they also regularly hold generous reload offers for their existing customers to maintain their loyalty. They always make sure to be on top form when it comes to the coverage of large events and the Cheltenham festival is no exception with many of their races having betting ability.