It was billed as a day for big favourites as Cheltenham Festival 2025 got underway but as the likes of Constitution Hill and Majborough stumbled, so did winning bets according to oddschecker data
The four biggest favourites were the main names on plenty of betting slips ahead of the opening day of Cheltenham Festival 2025.
Kopek des Bordes, Majborough, Lossiemouth and Constitution Hill was an extremely popular acca being pounded by punters, all looking to get their Cheltenham Festival offer to a big start.
The Supreme Novices' Hurdle was Kopek des Bordes hold up its end of the bargain but that four-fold was shattered in the second race of the day, the Arkle.
Heavy Majborough couldn't stop Jango Baie taking the victory. Lossiemouth then followed Kopek des Bordes to cruising to victory, leaving the Champion Hurdle left of the big four.
But Constitution Hill, who had yet to lose a race, fell, as Golden Ace took the most unlikely of victories.
As that drama all unfolded, here's some of the biggest oddschecker data we can reveal from betslip clicks about day 1 of the festival.
Day 1 Data: Winning Bets Down 17% on 2024
Given the shocks that unfolded in two of the major races, it's no surprise that betslip winnings with oddschecker were down 17% on 2024's results.
On top of that, just 15% of betslips on day 1 ante-post markets came through as the bookmakers had a field day with the shocks at Prestbury Park.
Golden Ace was the winner of the Champion Hurdle after State Man fell at the final jump to take the most unlikely of victories.
Our data shows that just 4% of bets backed Golden Ace to emerge triumphant in the Grade 1 highlight of opening day.
On top of that, a whopping 35% of ante-post bets since the 2024 Cheltenham Festival have already bitten the dust after Constitution Hill and Majborough failed to hold up their end of the bargain.
On top of that, over 200, punters bet on the Bet365 Super Boost which gave Constitution Hill odds of 6/4 ahead of the race.
Ballyburn and Jonbon Backed on Day 2
It promises to be another intriguing day of Cheltenham action with two more big names featuring.
Ballyburn goes first in the Novices' Chase and is favourite to win at 4/6 with William Hill.
This would reflect our data which shows over 2,500 betslip clicks just on the Willie Mullins trained horse this month alone.
Then there's the Champion Chase which sees Jonbon go as the clear favourite ahead of Marine Nationale.
Right now, it's hard to look past the in-form Nicky Henderson horse who is at evens for the best prices around. Over 50% of all bets on this race this month have gone to Jonbon. Will it be another shock today or will the favourites reign supreme?
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