Cheltenham Free Bets 2026

Cheltenham Betting Offers & Free Bets 2026

Our Cheltenham offers guide breaks down all the best promotions for the Cheltenham Festival and how to claim them with ease. Once you claim your Cheltenham Free Bets, sit back and watch all the racing drama unfold with oddschecker by your side – our odds comparison grids always ensure you'll get the best value for your bets.

Biggest Cheltenham Free Bets for 2026

Below you will find the biggest Cheltenham Free Bets for the 2026 Festival.

1: William Hill: Bet £10 Get £60

One of the most respected and trusted bookmakers on the market, William Hill's sign up offer is one of the most generous that you can use on the 2025 Cheltenham Festival, starting March 11.

The William Hill sign up offer for Cheltenham Festival gives new customers the chance to use £40 in free bets at the races and £20 to use on casino markets.

Once you sign up to William Hill, making sure to use the promo code T60, you must then make a qualifying bet of £10 in order to unlock £60 in free bets. Once you’ve done that, the first £20 in free bets must be used on casino markets. You will then receive 4x£10 in free bets to be used on any sporting market you like, including the Cheltenham Festival.

2: Betfred: Bet £10 Get £50

Betfred's bet £10 get £50 in free bets offer is perfect for Cheltenham today and will provide new customers with huge value. All new users have to do is sign up using any oddschecker link, register their details, and bet £10 on any race to get £50 in free bets.

To claim this offer, it is important to use the promo code BETFRED50 as this will ensure eligibility for the £50 bonus. The qualifying bet must be £10 or more on any market at odds of Evens or greater.

The value of this Betfred sign up offer is huge, and will come in incredibly useful for the Cheltenham Festival. Ensure you don't miss out on this offer by following all the necessary steps to get your £50 bonus.

3: Paddy Power: Bet £10 Get £40

Paddy Power’s new offer gives customers £40 in free bets after making your qualifying wager of just £10 on any race at this week's Cheltenham Festival.

To access Paddy Power's sign up offer, you must use their promo code, which is currently YHRCHH. Adding this when filling in your details plus making your bet on Cheltenham will give you the £40 in free bets, which you can also use on football markets as well as the festival.

4: BetMGM: Bet £10 Get £40

New users to BetMGM are in for a treat in March when you can go big on the Cheltenham Festival with this exclusive sign up offer. All a new customer needs to do is sign up to BetMGM, place a qualifying wager of £10 and they will receive £40 in free bets, which you can use on any race at Cheltenham.

There’s no bonus code or anything else to remember, simply signing up and placing the bet of £10 on odds greater than evens (1/1) will unlock that £40 prize. These free bets will come in the form of four £10 free bets and you must use them within seven days of signing up. This is a must-claim during of the biggest event in the horse racing calendar and is one of the best offers out there on the market.

5: Unibet: Bet £20 Get £40

Unibet customers can enjoy this bet £20, get £40 offer, as you can use your £40 free bets on the 2025 Cheltenham Festival.

The bookmaker will also likely offer Best Odds Guaranteed, Extra Each Way Places, and Money Back if Your Horse Finishes 2nd.

6: Bet365: Bet £10 Get £30

The bet365 sign up offer is perfect for the Cheltenham Festival as it requires new users to sign up using the promo code ‘ODDSCHECK' and bet £10 in order to claim £30 in free bets! This gives new customers a very generous bonus to use on the Cheltenham races.

There is a minimum odds requirement of Evens when placing the qualifying bet, so as long as this step has been met and you have entered the bet365 promo code ‘ODDSCHECK' when signing up, you will be eligible for the £30 bet365 sign up offer.

This bet365 sign up offer is a must-claim during the Cheltenham Festival, as the bonus on offer gives you a chance to win big during the festival on one of the UK's top betting apps.

Types of Cheltenham Betting Offers

When it comes to the 2025 Cheltenham Festival, there are so many ways you can get excellent value with a variety of betting offers. No two bookmakers are the same and that can also be said with the offers they're providing new and existing punters.

Many bookies will offer improved odds on particular horses in the biggest races, with other dishing out extra places, meaning you can get more for your money on your Each Way bets. Below are a list of option that you will become familiar with during the four-day festival at Cheltenham.

Best Cheltenham Festival Free Bet Types

As you approach the Cheltenham Festival, you will be offered a variety of different free bet types, depending on which bookmakers you sign up with for the horse racing extravaganza.

Below is a selection of free bet types that you will typically see when signing up for a new bookmaker before the Cheltenham Festival. This will allow you to work out which offer is best for your needs.

Qualifying Free Bet

Potentially the most comment type of free bet, almost every bookmaker will promote free bets which you can access after making a qualifying wager.

That wager will vary from book to book. For example, Sky Bet requires a qualifying wager of £10, but some require you to bet as much as £20 in order to get free bets. There are often requirements surrounding your qualifying bet, such as minimum odds or a specific market, such as accumulator or win market.

Matched Free Bet

Similar to the qualifying free bet above, a matched bet sees you make a qualifying wager when you sign up and the bookmaker will match the bet in free bets, for example, bet £25 and get a £25 free bet. While this offer isn't as popular as it once was, you may see this crop up around the Cheltenham Festival.

Risk Free Bet

Many bookmakers will dish out risk-free bets during the Cheltenham Festival. This means that if you bet on a horse and it doesn't come in, you will receive free bets, allowing you to go again on the very next race.

No Deposit Free Bets

As you will see in this section, many bookmakers require you make a deposit before you can unlock those free bets to use on the Cheltenham Festival. However, some bookmakers are even more generous, delivering free bets just for signing up.

Enhanced Odds Offer

An extremely popular free bet offer throughout the festival, many bookmakers will provide an odds boost on a particular horse in one of the biggest races at Cheltenham.

The likes of Galopin Des Champs are expected to be heavy favourites in their respective races. However, some bookmakers may provide an enhanced odds boost on a heavy favourite to come out on top. If your odds boost comes in, you will then receive your winnings in free bets, which you can then use on the remainder of the festival.

Best Cheltenham Offers for Existing Customers

Heading into the Cheltenham Festival, it's important to know all about the existing customer offers at each bookmaker, not just the Cheltenham sign-up offers.

Here are some existing customer offers that we predict will be available for Cheltenham 2025:

Sky Bet: Get a £5 free bet for each day of the Cheltenham Festival

Existing Sky Bet customers can get a free £5 bet for every single day of the Cheltenham Festival, starting t.

William Hill: Top Price Guarantee

William Hill is offering a top price guarantee on the first race and feature race of day three. The Top Price Guarantee will run from 12:00 (UK time) the day before the respective Top Price Guarantee race, until the official off time of the race.

Bet365: Super Boosts

Every year at Cheltenham, bet365 offers their famous super boosts for each day of the festival. For a short period of time, existing customers will be able to back the hot favourites at boosted odds each day of the Festival.

Bet365: Price Promise

At Oddschecker, we always encourage you to find the best odds for your bet at the Cheltenham Festival. On the morning of the races, bet365 will offer the best odds on the market for every horse in every race!

Paddy Power: Power Prices

If you're looking for boosted odds each day of the Cheltenham Festival, Paddy Power is the place to go. Each morning, Paddy Power will boost the odds of certain horses, doubles, trebles or accas and give existing customers huge value!

Cheltenham Enhanced Offers

At Cheltenham, particularly the Championship races, you'll see a lot of betting offers boosting the price of a particular horse (normally the favourite) to give your first bet, as a new customer, much higher returns should the horse win the race.

These offers are plentiful with Festival week upon us and bookies will be looking to boost the odds on a number of the favourites! The strongest favourites to look out for this year are currently: Fact to File and Galopin Des Champs.

Cheltenham Through the Card Offers

These offers provide you with an interest in all of the day's racing, only requiring you to place a bet on the first race. A bet through the card offer begins with you signing up to a bookmaker ahead of the day's racing, placing a bet on the first race of the day, and then 'unlocking' a free bet on each of the subsequent races throughout the day.

Look out for offers of this nature on the first day of the festival, with bookies looking to make a splash on day 1!

Cheltenham Free Bets - Stand-Out Offers

Some bookies will choose to improve their existing free bet on offer to new customers to use at Cheltenham as opposed to creating offers specific to the racing. For example, a bookie normally offering bet £10 get £30 in free bets could enhance those terms to offer a bet £10 get £50 in free bets. This will give you the opportunity to claim more in free bets to use during the Festival this week than at any other time of the year!

Faller insurance has been a staple for bookies over the years at Cheltenham, which is designed to soften the blow if your horse falls while in contention to win the race. Another similar type of offer is refunds as free bets if a particular horse wins or by the distance they win by.

The Best Cheltenham Betting Sites for 2026

Every bookmaker will have a slightly different offering for your Cheltenham Festival experience. Here, we list out some of the very best and why they will provide you with everything you need to have a 2026 festival to remember!

BetMGM

BetMGM launched their betting operators in the US a number of years ago and quickly became one of the leading sportsbooks stateside. It's not taken them long to take the UK by storm either. Launching in 2023, this will be BetMGM's second Cheltenham festival and they'll be looking to make a splash in 2026. With their Bet £10, Get £40 promo, BetMGM will certainly have one of the most popular welcome offers out of all the Cheltenham betting sites.

bet365

bet365 is one of the leading UK bookmakers and has been one of the leading Cheltenham betting sites for many years. Their new customer offer for Cheltenham certainly reflects that. You can get £30 in free bets to use during Cheltenham with just an initial £10 deposit via bet365.

Sign up to bet365 here

BetUK

Bet UK are one of the newest and best bookmakers to the UK market and they have a fantastic offer for new customers during Cheltenham. You can unlock £30 in free bets to use throughout Festival week by initially depositing £10.

Sign up to Bet UK here

Betfred

Betfred are one of the oldest and most established Cheltenham betting sites in the UK and they have a great offer for new customers. You can get £50 in free bets from a £10 first bet.

Sign up to Betfred here

Cheltenham Festival 2026 Sign Up Offers

Bookmakers are all jostling for your bets and in doing so, have produced a plethora of new customer offers just for the four-day festival, starting today. Below are all the latest sign up offers exclusively being delivered for Cheltenham Festival.

Sky Bet - New customers can get £30 in free bets for betting 5p. This comes in the form of 3x£10 in free bets for all new punters to Sky Bet.

Paddy Power - One of the biggest bookies around. Paddy Power is welcoming new customers with an excellent sign up offer geared towards Cheltenham Festival. New customers can get £40 in free bets when they place a bet of £10 on any of the 28 races or special Cheltenham markets Paddy Power is providing.

Betfair - The bookie is giving away a £20 free bet to use on Cheltenham Festival 2026 when you spend £5 at odds of 1-2 (1.50) or greater.

Virgin Bet - Virgin Bet has slightly altered its generic sign up offer to give you cash back if your horse loses at Cheltenham 2026. With the bookie, you will get £20 in free bets when you sign up and make a £10 qualifying wager. You will then also get up to £10 in free bets if your horse loses in selected Cheltenham Festival races.

The Online Sports Casino - Another bookmaker giving away free bets to new customers is The Online Sports Casino. This Cheltenham, get £30 in free bets when you sign up and make a bet of just £10 on any of the 28 races at Prestbury Park.

talkSPORT BET - The bookmaker has pivoted from its sign up offer on football to fully focus on providing a Cheltenham offering to new customers. The bookmaker is giving away £20 in free bets, solely on Cheltenham markets, when you spend £10 on horse racing.

LiveScore Bet - Lastly, LiveScore Bet is giving away more free bets when you wager on certain markets at Cheltenham Festival. On top of its bet £10 get £30 in free bets sign up offer, new customers will also get a £10 Free Bet when you place a racing multi of a minimum of three selections on certain races.

Cheltenham Best Odds Guaranteed

Best Odds Guaranteed essentially means bettors don't miss out on a bigger starting price (SP). Securing the bigger price means you'll be paid the maximum amount for a winning bet, instead of taking lower odds at the time the bet was placed.

Best Odds Guaranteed also works in the reverse scenario. If a bet is placed at bigger odds than the SP and it wins, you'll always receive the greater price.

This will come in especially handy for the more noteworthy horse racing events during the year such as the Cheltenham Festival, Grand National, and Royal Ascot. Odds fluctuate all the time so when a bookmaker offers Best Odds Guaranteed, you are ensuring you are getting the best value when placing your bets on these flagship events.

The below table shows if each bookmaker provides BOG for the Cheltenham Festival and when this becomes available.

Cheltenham Non-Runner No Bet

If you're looking to place ante-post bets, Non-Runner No Bet (NRNB) is a great way to reduce your risk and get better odds.

A number of bookies offer this to punters from the start of the year and as the Festival approaches more and more will make the switch to NRNB.

How to Use Your Cheltenham Festival Free Bets

Claiming your Cheltenham offers throughout the 2026 Festival is a straightforward process, but it’s important to follow the guidelines available as they do differ depending on the bookmaker you're claiming free bets with. A general step-by-step guide is below:

1. Qualification: After registering through one of our promotional links with your chosen bookmaker from this page you will need to meet the qualifying requirements outlined to claim your Cheltenham free bet, such as a minimum first deposit, a specific type of bet or a promo code.
2. Selecting your Qualifying Bet: Navigate to the Cheltenham Festival section or the specific race/event eligible for the offer you've signed up for. Select the market and horse you'd like to bet on. You will then need to place your bet according to the bet requirements of the offer (usually minimum odds) and there will often be handy walkthroughs as part of the betslip journey.
3. Receiving your Free Bets for Cheltenham: Once you’ve met the requirements, your bookmaker will credit your account with the free bets outlined with the offer you've taken for Cheltenham. This may be credited in the form of a specific amount or a matched value based on your qualifying bet or deposit. Depending on the bookmaker you've signed up with the amount(s) will be added to your account in cash or free bet tokens. You can then spend your free bets on any sport/market available and withdraw any future winnings according to the terms of the offer.

What are the rules for free bets?

Free bets can come in a number of ways for the Cheltenham Festival, with each bookmaker setting its own guidelines around free bet offers. Free bets can be used to place a bet in part or full, up to the total value of the free bet bonus you have been awarded, which will vary from bookmaker to bookmaker.

If your free bet wins, the original wager, as well as the Free Bet, will be paid into your account. If your hand loses, you only lose the original bet. Winnings from free bets will vary depending on the bookmaker you sign up with, as well as the amount of time you get to utilize your free bets.

Useful Cheltenham Festival Links

There are plenty of ways to enjoy the Cheltenham Festival 2026. Here at oddschecker, we have provided extensive guides, tips and explainers on all things Cheltenham 2026. Below are a selection of our best pages, including tips, runners and a day-by-day schedule:

• Cheltenham Festival odds
• Cheltenham Festival Betting Guide
• Cheltenham Festival Horses
• Cheltenham Festival Tips
• Best Horse Racing Betting Sites
• Gold Cup Runners
• Non-Runner No Bet
• Best Horse Racing Sites for Extra Places
• Best Odds Guaranteed

Cheltenham 2026 Race Schedule

The 2026 Cheltenham Festival will consist of 28 races across four days of non-stop action, with the first race, the Supreme Novices' Hurdle, on Tuesday, March 10.

As you can see from the list below, races are graded from 1 to 3. Grade 1 is considered the most elite racing, however, that doesn't mean Grades 2 and 3 are lacking quality, far from it. The Cheltenham Festival boasts 14 of the season's 30 Grade 1 races, including the Gold Cup, the Queen Mother Champion Chase and the Champion Hurdle.

Below you will find a list of every single race, the number of jumps, the distance and the type of race.

Day One: Tuesday, March 10th

Day Two: Wednesday, March 11th

Day Three: Thursday, March 12th

Day Four: Friday, March 13th