The Cheltenham Festival is the pinnacle of the National Hunt game, providing four spectacular days of jump racing. The iconic Cheltenham Racecourse at Prestbury Park plays host to the meeting as racing fans, trainers, owners and punters make the annual pilgrimage to Gloucestershire.
The 2020 Cheltenham Festival takes place between March 10 and March 13 with a total of 28 races – including 14 Grade 1s and a host of competitive handicaps. Each day features a Championship race, with the Cheltenham Gold Cup on Friday being the Blue Riband event of the festival.
Latest Cheltenham Betting Tips and Predictions
Races by Day
Cheltenham Racecourse
Evesham Rd, Cheltenham GL50 4SH, United Kingdom
Day 1: The Champion Hurdle
Tuesday, 10 March 2020
| Start Time (GMT) |
Race |
| 13:30 |
Supreme Novices’ Hurdle |
| 14:10 |
Arkle Challenge Trophy |
| 14:50 |
Festival Trophy Handicap Chase |
| 15:30 |
Champion Hurdle |
| 16:10 |
Mares’ Hurdle |
| 16:50 |
Close Brothers Novices’ Handicap Chase |
| 17:30 |
National Hunt Challenge Cup |
- Day one features the Grade 1 Champion Hurdle over two miles – recent star winners include Hurricane Fly, Istabraq and Buveur d’Air.
- The most prestigious hurdle race on the calendar has eight hurdles to be jumped over 2 miles and half a furlong.
- Nicky Henderson is the winning-most trainer of the race with seven victories while jockey Ruby Walsh has four victories including 2016 on the mare Annie Power.
- Champion Hurdle Day boasts four Grade 1s, with the opening Supreme Novices’ Hurdle getting under way to the famous Cheltenham roar.
- The Arkle Challenge Trophy – for two-mile novice chasers – and the Mares’ Hurdle over 2m4f complete the Grade 1 quartet.
- The brilliant Quevega – trained in Ireland by the great Willie Mullins – made the Mares’ Hurdle her own by winning six times between 2009 and 2014.
- The National Hunt Challenge Cup can often point to future Grand National winners – dual Aintree hero Tiger Roll scored in 2017.
Champion Hurdle: Last Year’s Winners
- Horse: Espoir d’Allen
- Jockey: Mark Walsh
- Trainer: Gavin Cromwell
Day 2: The Queen Mother Champion Chase
Wednesday, 11 March 2020
| Start Time (GMT) |
Race |
| 13:30 |
Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle |
| 14:10 |
RSA Novices’ Steeple Chase |
| 14:50 |
Coral Cup Hurdle |
| 15:30 |
Queen Mother Champion Chase |
| 16:10 |
Cross Country Chase |
| 16:50 |
Juvenile Novices’ Handicap Hurdle |
| 17:30 |
Champion Bumper |
- Day two sees the two-mile chasers to take centre stage in the Queen Mother Champion Chase, won by Nicky Henderson’s brilliant Altior for the last two years.
- Henderson boasts the most winners alongside Tom Dreaper with six apiece. Famous recent victors include Master Minded, Sizing Europe and Sprinter Sacre.
- Two Grade 1s kick off the day with the Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle often producing future Champion Hurdle winners while the RSA Chase can throw up future Gold Cup horses – Might Bite won in 2017 before finishing second in the Gold Cup in 2018.
- Trainer Enda Bolger has won the unique Cross Country Chase five times, but that race has been won for the last two years by Gordon Elliott’s Tiger Roll en route to Grand National glory.
Queen Mother Champion Chase: Last Year’s Winners
- Horse: Altior
- Jockey: Nico de Boinville
- Trainer: Nicky Henderson
Day 3: The Stayers’ Hurdle
Thursday, 12 March 2020
| Start Time (GMT) |
Race |
| 13:30 |
The Marsh Novices’ Chase |
| 14:10 |
Pertemps Final |
| 14:50 |
The Ryanair Steeple Chase |
| 15:30 |
Stayers’ Hurdle |
| 16:10 |
Brown Advisory & Merriebelle Stable Plate Handicap Chase |
| 16:50 |
Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle |
| 17:30 |
Fulke Walwyn Kim Muir Challenge Cup |
Day three features two open Grade 1s, with the Stayers’ Hurdle traditionally the headline event boasting notable winners such as Big Buck’s (2009,10,11,12) and Inglis Drever (2005,07,08).
- The three-mile hurdle race has arguably been usurped now by the Ryanair Chase, a 2m5f Grade 1 over fences which has its own illustrious roll of honour.
- Despite only being founded in 2005, the likes of Imperial Commander, Cue Card, Vautour and Un De Sceaux have all won the Ryanair.
- The Marsh Novices’ Chase (formerly the JLT Novices’ Chase) kicks off the card, while it may be worth sticking with Willie Mullins in the Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle. He has won all four runnings since 2016.
Stayers’ Hurdle: Last Year’s Winners
- Horse: Paisley Park
- Jockey: Aidan Coleman
- Trainer: Emma Lavelle
Day 4: Gold Cup
Friday, 13 March 2020
| Start Time (GMT) |
Race |
| 13:30 |
Triumph Hurdle |
| 14:10 |
County Handicap Hurdle |
| 14:50 |
Novices’ Hurdle |
| 15:30 |
Cheltenham Gold Cup |
| 16:10 |
Foxhunter Chase |
| 16:50 |
Johnny Henderson Grand Annual Handicap Chase |
| 17:30 |
Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap Hurdle |
- The final day is arguably the best day of racing on the National Hunt calendar.
- The card boasts three Grade 1s including the 3m2f Cheltenham Gold Cup. Widely regarded as the most prestigious event in jump racing, it had a prize fund of £625,000 in 2019 and has had several multiple winners including Golden Miller, Arkle and more recently Kauto Star.
- Willie Mullins finally won the Gold Cup for the first time in 2019 with Al Boum Photo scoring under Paul Townend.
- The Triumph Hurdle kicks off Gold Cup day, a Grade 1 for four-year-olds.
- The Foxhunter Chase – for hunter chasers and amateur jockeys – tends to throw up plenty of repeat winners including Salsify, On The Fringe and Pacha Du Polder recently.
- The final race of the day used to be the Grand Annual – named after Nicky Henderson’s late father Johnny – but now the Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap Hurdle rounds things off.
Gold Cup: Last Year’s Winners
- Horse: Al Boum Photo
- Jockey: Paul Townend
- Trainer: Willie Mullins
Cheltenham Promotions
At MansionBet we have plenty of exclusive offers and promotions across the Cheltenham Festival which are well worth checking out:
- Best Odds Guaranteed – we offer Best Odds Guaranteed on all UK and Irish Racing from 10am on the day of race, allowing you to take a price – if it returns at a bigger price we will pay out at the increased odds. This means you don’t need to take SP and can win extra money even if your horse drifts.
- Faller Insurance – take advantage of our Faller Insurance offer, giving you a second chance if your horse is a faller. In every race at the 2020 Cheltenham Festival, you can get up to £25 as a free bet if your horse falls, unseats or is brought down. Just place at least a £5 bet (single or each-way) on any race, and we will give you another chance if you are unlucky in running.
- Enhanced Odds and Price Boosts – throughout the four days, we will also have several enhanced odds and price boosts on various horses, giving you the best possible chance to make a profit.
- Cash Out – our Cash Out option means you can now claim some of your potential winnings before your bet is even settled. This includes our partial Cash Out, where you can use the Cash Out slider to determine how much money you want to bank and how much you want to let ride.
Check out all of our latest Cheltenham offers on our regularly updated promotions page before placing a bet.
Why MansionBet?
MansionBet aims to provide the best betting experience, the most competitive odds and a world-class Customer Support. That will be no different throughout the 2020 Cheltenham Festival.
We can guarantee a fair, responsible and secure betting environment which is licensed and regulated by the UK Gambling Commission, who are renowned for their high standards of practice. As always, our Responsible Gambling Team are there to make sure you have an enjoyable and safe gambling experience, and have various tools and measures in place to make sure that happens.
Our professional Customer Support Team are on hand to help with any questions or issues that you may have. Punters should not hesitate to contact us via email, telephone (UK and International) or Live Chat.
