CheltenhamRacecourseCourse guide

How a race unfolds here

The tape goes up and the field sets off. It turns left at the first bend, as it will at every bend.

The ground climbs to the top of the hill, the point furthest from the stands. From there it falls towards the home turn. Horses speed up going downhill, so a fence on that stretch is met faster than any other.

Then they swing left into the straight. On the New Course two fences are still to come. After the last there is the run-in, and it goes uphill. Tired horses slow down here.

What the ground does

Before racing, the course gives the going. The going is the official word for how soft or firm the turf is.

On soft ground every stride takes more effort. Add a hill at the end and three miles here can feel much further. So check the going on the morning of the race. Then look for horses with good runs on the same sort of ground.

How to read form from this track

You open a racecard and see a row of numbers beside each name. That row is the form. It shows where the horse finished in its latest races, with the newest run on the right.

A good run at Cheltenham is worth more than a good run on a flat track. The horse has shown it can handle the hills, the stiff fences and the climb. Check which course the run came on, too, because the Old Course and the New Course suit different types.

Runs at other tracks need more care. Kempton Park is flat and right-handed, so a win there answers a different question. It does not tell you the horse will last up the hill.

The history in brief

Racing at Cheltenham began in 1815 with minor Flat races on Nottingham Hill. It moved to Cleeve Hill in 1818. The course you see today, at Prestbury Park, has been in use since 1902.

The Gold Cup was first run as a steeplechase in 1924. A steeplechase, or chase, is a race over fences. The Champion Hurdle followed in 1927, and the Gold Cup moved to the New Course in 1959.

The Festival grew from three days to four in 2005. The meeting was lost in 2001, when an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease stopped racing.

How to get a bet right here

It is the week before the Festival and the prices are already up. A bet placed days or weeks ahead is called ante-post. The odds can be bigger, but with an ante-post bet you usually lose your stake if the horse does not run.

Many Festival races are handicaps. In a handicap the better horses carry more weight, so the whole field has a chance on paper. Fields are big, and that is where an each-way bet earns its keep. Each way is two bets, one on the horse to win and one on it to be placed.

One catch can cut your return. If a horse is pulled out after you bet, the bookmaker may take a slice off your winnings. That is called Rule 4. The Cheltenham Festival betting guide walks through the week race by race.

Who it does not suit

Some good horses never win here. A horse who jumps out to its right loses ground at every left-hand bend. A horse who is at its best on a flat track can tire on the climb.

A careless jumper has a hard time too, because the fences are stiff and some are met at speed. Such a horse can still win big races elsewhere.