It is the time of the year to pick your winner for the Gold Cup day & bet on your favourite race. If you don’t know what we are talking about, all the more reason to open our Horse Racing tab and get some badly needed education.
Over four days in March, from Tuesday 14 to Friday 17, Cheltenham will be the venue of the world-famous Cheltenham Festival, and on the last day, there will be “the showcase race of the showcase meeting” of the National Hunt season: the Cheltenham Gold Cup. Every year, the festival gathers the ablest hurdlers, chasers and cross-country horses to compete for impressive prizes. It features 28 races, 14 of which are Grade 1 races.
It is not only a racing event, therefore, but also a parade of the most beautiful equine superstars. By the way, they are almost all related. In fact, while it may seem that the diversity of modern thoroughbreds isendless, it may come as a surprise that ninety percent of them have originated from a single animal, a 17th-century stallion called Eclipse. It must have been a sight to behold.
But let us get back to the present. You can bet on the Cheltenham Festival 2017 online at William Hill right away, with competitive odds available for all 28 races. We have been covering the festival for decades, but there are many other reasons why you should place your bet at William Hill.
You might be worried about betting on a horse that doesn’t even make it to the festival. Fear not! As a warm-up for the event, William Hill offers a special Cheltenham Festival Non-Runner Insurance: if your horse misses the festival, you get your full cash back; if it runs in a different festival race, you get a free bet.
You can find our Cheltenham tips by checking out our festival page, but also by listening to our free daily horse racing podcasts and out Tip Advisor service, where our customers share tips and betting advice. Check out the Special Markets section, which offers Cheltenham Festival Specials for those in the know, such as “Altior Or Douvan, Who Will Win By The Furthest?” or “Number Of Paul Nicholls Trained Winners”.
Finally, if you need further motivation to place a bet at the festival, let us remind you of two unlikely winners from the past. In 2012, Son Of Flicka won the Country Hurdle. His owner, who backed the horse at all prices from 66-1 down to his starting price of 16-1, earned £900,000 from this monster gamble.
But the Cheltenham Gold Cup had its highest-priced winner in 1990. It was Nortonís Coin, an obscurely-bred gelding, he was owned and trained by a Welsh farmer who had only two other horses in his stable. He was sent off at 100-1!
Miracles do happen… but only to those who take risks. Remember: who dares, wins! And is there a more splendid occasion for a daring bet than the Cheltenham Festival?
