Cheltenham Festival begins on Tuesday as one of the signature events of the UK racing calendar takes place across four days at Prestbury Park.

Races such as the Gold Cup, the Champion Hurdle and the Queen Mother Champion Chase are among the most prestigious events in the sport, but there are plenty more Grade 1 contests, with 14 in total between Tuesday and Friday.

The first day presents customers with plenty of Cheltenham offers and opportunities for bettors of any experience to get in on the action, from seasoned punters placing a Lucky 15 to newbies staking their first each-way bet.

Here, we’ve taken a look at the best Cheltenham betting offers ahead of the first day of the Festival, stating their advantages, tips on using them and the latest Cheltenham sign up offers.

Below is a quick rundown of the main types of Cheltenham Festival offers that you’ll find on the best betting sites.

Free Bets: These are simply bets offered by bookies in which the customer does not need to stake their own funds. Cheltenham free bet offers may come as part of a welcome offer, though some bookies will hand out free bets if they stake a certain amount on certain races at Cheltenham.

Enhanced Odds/Price Boosts: Enhanced odds and price boosts are simply Cheltenham odds that have been improved (or enhanced) ahead of races. They may also apply to accumulators and specials and typically focus on popular selections.

Non-Runner No Bet: Non-Runner No Bet is a feature that some bookies provide that stipulates that your bet will be voided – and your stake returned – if the horse you wagered on doesn’t run, for whatever reason.

Best Odds Guaranteed: Best Odds Guaranteed is now a widespread offer run by plenty of horse racing betting sites. It guarantees that if you take an early price on a horse and the starting price (SP) is higher, the bookmaker will pay out at the better odds if your horse wins.

Money-Back Specials: Money-back specials are offers that specify that the punter will get money back (usually for use on another stake) if the original bet fulfils certain criteria. For Cheltenham, this is usually something along the lines of ‘money back if your horse finishes second’ for example, or a type of Non-Runner No Bet offer.

Betfred

Bet £10, Get £10 in Free Bets: Bet £10 on the opening race at Cheltenham and receive a £10 free bet once your qualifying wager is settled. Available on all four days of Cheltenham 2026.

Money Back if 2nd: Get your stake back as a free bet, up to a maximum of £10, if your horse finishes second in a selected race on each day of the Cheltenham Festival.

NRNB - Betfred offer outright Non Runner No Bet on every race at the 2026 Cheltenham Festival. All you have to do is place a bet on the Outright NRNB markets on any race at the 2026 Cheltenham Festival and, if your horse does not run, then you’ll get your money back as cash.

Bets placed on specials markets, boosts and Tote will not qualify for this offer, but both new and existing online customers can avail of the promo.

BOG -Take an early price on your selection and if the Starting Price (SP) returned is bigger Betfred pay you out at the bigger price. For example, if you bet on a horse at an early price of 4/1, but the selection returns at 6/1, Betfred will pay you at the bigger price of 6/1.

Multiply Your Odds - Place a Lucky 15, Lucky 31 or Lucky 63 on Cheltenham. If all your selections run and only one of your selections win, get 3, 4 or 5 times the odds of your bet as cash.

10% Winning Tricast Bonus - Place a Tricast on any Cheltenham race. If all your selections run and win, Betfred will pay you a bonus in cash of up to 10 per cent on your total winnings.

Nap of the Day - Betfred’s tipsters reveal the horse they’re most confident in each day of the Festival.

Welcome Offer - Betfred have arguably the best welcome offer in the business. New customers can secure £40 in free bets after signing up, depositing £10 and betting £10 online on any sports market with odds of 1/1 or greater. Your free bets will be credited once your qualifying wager has settled. Be sure to use the Betfred promo code FRED40 when registering.

BetGoodwin

BetGoodwin mainly offer MoneyBack Specials and in some cases a minimum bet of £10 is required to qualify for their Cheltenham promos:

Beaten by a nose – punters can receive up to £100 in free bet refunds if their horse is beaten by a nose (excludes Lucky 15 bets and minimum stake is £10).

Beaten by under half a length in a chase – up to £100 in free bet refunds if your horse loses by less than half a length, including nose, short head, plus head and neck (excludes Lucky 15 and minimum stake is £10).

Beaten by a 50+/1 – Punters can get up to £100 in free bet refunds if beaten by a horse that set off at 50/1 or higher (minimum stake is £10).

Fallen at the fence - up to £100 in free bet refunds if your horse falls at the last fence or hurdle while leading (minimum stake is £10).

Best Odds Guaranteed – BetGoodwin also offer BOG on all UK and Irish races, including at Cheltenham.

Welcome offer: New BetGoodwin customers will qualify for a £25 free accumulator if they sign up and bet £50 at minimum odds of 1/1. Enter the promo code WELCOME25 when registering to claim this offer. Alternatively, if you’re on a lower budget, use promo code WELCOME15 to get a free £15 acca after you register and bet £10.

Unibet

Unibet’s wide variety of Cheltenham betting offers include a tailored racing welcome offer and Best Odds Guaranteed:

Racing Acca Boost - Unibet offers the chance for users to boost three Cheltenham accas daily, with boosts of 40 per cent available with a maximum stake of £20.

UniBoost - With Uniboost, bettors can select three horses per day to boost their odds. It can be on any day or any race with a maximum bet of £20.

Racing Bet Builder - Unibet offers users a bet builder feature specially designed for horse racing. It allows customers to pick multiple bets from the same race into a four-legged bet builder. This is unique and could prove a big hit at Cheltenham.

Super Boost - Along with UniBoost, Unibet also has a wide range of price boosts available on popular Cheltenham picks. Look out for these boosts on the homepage, especially the Super Boost for the leading Cheltenham races.

Money Back Specials - If your horse finishes second or third in an eligible race, you'll receive your stake back as cash up to £10 (or the amount otherwise stipulated when you opt-in on the betslip). If your horse finishes second and you’ve opted in to Unibet’s Money Back if 2nd specials instead, you'll receive your stake back as a free bet up to £20.

BOG - When you place your Cheltenham bet, take the price on your selection and if the starting price is bigger Unibet will pay you out at the bigger odds.

Extra Places - Unibet’s Extra Place races can be identified clearly by an Orange Plus Symbol next to each eligible race. No opt-in is required to qualify.

Ladbrokes

Welcome Offer - Ladbrokes have one of best Cheltenham sign-up offers around. New customers can sign up and deposit and wager £5 on any sports market at odds of 1/2 or greater and receive £30 in free bets paid out in six £5 tranches.

Place Insurance - Ladbrokes gives customers their money back as cash in certain Cheltenham races if your horse fails to win, but places with its Place Insurance promotion.

NRNB - Ladbrokes offers NRNB on all Cheltenham races.

Racing Bet Builder - Build the bespoke bet you want on a single Cheltenham race by combining multiple selections into one price.

Cheltenham Specials: Ladbrokes look at every betting angle at Cheltenham, breaking down each race, including the Gold Cup.

BOG - Take the latest odds - including early prices, board prices, singles and multiples - and if the SP returns greater Ladbrokes pay you out at the bigger price.

Daily Boosts - Log in each day throughout Cheltenham to pick up your daily Odds Boost token to use on horse racing.

Extra Places - Place a single bet on selected races from 3pm the day before the event to qualify for extra places.

Paddy Power

Daily free bet: Get a free bet on the first three days of the Cheltenham Festival just by logging in. Free bet value will vary by customer, ranging from £1 to £50, and can be used on any race that day.

£250,000 Cheltenham Eliminator: Paddy Power are giving away £250,000 every day of the Cheltenham Festival with their free-to-play Eliminator game. Pick the winner of six races on that day’s card to claim the huge jackpot.

Paddy’s Rewards: Opt-in to Paddy Rewards Club and then place a minimum of 5x £5 wager to qualify for a free bet. All Cheltenham wagers will count towards qualification for a free bet.

NRNB – Paddy Power offers NRNB on all Cheltenham races on all cash stakes for outright or EW bets. Bets placed using free bets are not eligible though.

Bet Boosts - Paddy Power has a range of daily Bet Boosts on a wide variety of horses and races. These offer premium value compared to original odds.

Best Odds Guaranteed - Paddy Power offers Best Odds Guaranteed on all UK and Irish racing, including Cheltenham. Just remember to opt in to the promotion. With BOG, if you place a bet on a horse at an early price and its starting price (SP) turns out to be higher, you'll be paid at the better odds.

Welcome offer - Paddy Power have one of the best value welcome offers available with punters able to unlock £30 in free bets just by staking £5. Keep in mind that only deposits made by debit card qualify and that qualifying wagers need to be placed at odds of evens or greater.

Free spins - Paddy Power’s online casino will be offering free spins throughout the Cheltenham Festival, either through casino bet and get style offers or from the free-to-play Wonder Wheel. New customers can also claim no deposit free spins as part of the Paddy Power casino welcome bonus.

Bet365

The main Bet365 Cheltenham offers include:

Bet Boosts - Bet365 offers outstanding value on their sportsbook for a range of Cheltenham races. All races will have price boosts, but look out for the Super Boost of the day that offers even better value than other betting sites on the market.

Extra Place Extra - Bet365 offers extra places on selected Cheltenham races, boosting the possibilities for each-way betting. Bear in mind, this offer is not eligible with BOG.

Sign Up Offer - Bet365 offer a simple bet £10 get £30 welcome offer. It allow users to secure £30 in free bets by simply signing up, depositing £10 and betting £10 on any sport with odds of 1/5 or greater. The low odds threshold stands out to us, making this offer potentially valuable.

BOG - Take a price on your selection and if the SP is bigger Bet365 will pay you at the bigger odds.

Winnings Boost - Enhance your Cheltenham bet on selected races, increasing your winnings without increasing your stake. Available on selected single bets and racing bet builders.

Position Payout - Go to any horse race that offers the Position Payout market. Each selection will display a return for finishing 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th etc. Place your bet, and the higher your selection finishes, the higher your payout. This is available on selected single bets and racing bet builders for featured races.

With so many Cheltenham offers around, it can be difficult to settle on one or two promotions.

Nevertheless, there are some factors to keep in mind when choosing between offers:

There are several things to consider before wagering on any given horse or race:

Betting should only ever be considered a form of entertainment and not a way to make money.

When taking advantage of Cheltenham festival betting offers, only bet what you can afford.

Betting can also be addictive, so please take steps to remain in control of your time and budget.

Make sure you use the safer gambling tools offered by betting companies such as deposit limits, reality checks, loss limits, time-outs and self-exclusion.

The same applies if you’re gambling on casino apps, poker sites, bingo sites or any other type of betting site.

If you have gambling-related concerns, then seek independent help. There are several UK charities and institutions that offer support, advice and information, with a few listed below:

We may earn commission from some of the links in this article, but we never allow this to influence our content. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent.

Read More