Cheltenham Festival

The Cheltenham Festival is the oldest and most prestigious national hunt meeting in the world. Regarded by many as a showdown between the stars of Irish and English national hunt racing, the Cheltenham Festival meeting is one of the biggest sports events of the year.

To learn more about the exciting world of Cheltenham Festival racing, read our guide to the Cheltenham Festival:

The Cheltenham Festival is held annually at the Cheltenham Racecourse facilities at Prestbury Park in Gloucestershire. The Cheltenham Festival is scheduled over 4 days in March, with 25 national hunt races run during the course of the meeting.

A number of the national hunt season’s most important races are run at the Cheltenham Festival. All of the national hunt racing formats are covered at the Cheltenham Festival, including steeplechases, hurdles, hunter chases and bumper races.

Cheltenham Festival Races

While each of the races at the Cheltenham Festival are fiercely contested by the the biggest names in national hunt racing, it is the meeting’s four feature races that attracts the most interest and the biggest betting markets. These include:

• The Champion Hurdle: Run over a distance of 2 miles 110 yards by 4 year old and above racehorses, the Champion Hurdle is the most important hurdle race of the season.
• The Queen Mother Champion Chase: A Grade 1 national hunt chase run over a distance of 2 miles by 5 year old and above chasers.
• The World Hurdle: The Grade 1 World Hurdle, the most valuable stayers hurdles race in national hunt racing, is run by 4 year old and above hurdlers over a distance of 3 miles.
• The Cheltenham Gold Cup: The highlight of the Cheltenham Festival is this Grade 1 steeplechase run over 2 miles 3½ furlongs by the finest 5 year old and above national hunt racehorses.

Cheltenham Festival Betting

Betting is what Cheltenham Festival racing is all about. Ante-post markets for the most popular Cheltenham Festival races are opened months in advance of the festival, and bookmakers go all out to offer racing fans attractive odds, extra place specials and money back betting specials.

Paddy Power is one of the most popular destinations for racing fans betting on the Cheltenham Festival. Not only does Paddy Power offer great previews and commentary on the Cheltenham Festival, but it also offers the best value for money with an abundance of betting specials, guaranteed prices and and generous extra place specials.