Cheltenham Ante Post Betting

With any major festival meeting bookmakers will put up prices a long time in advance. In fact Cheltenham ante-post betting started for 2009 as soon as the previous corresponding race finished in 2008. All the major Bookmakers will have Cheltenham ante-post prices available for the big races at this point.

The Bookmakers put up these prices as they will want to tempt the punters in early so they can get some early money and start there book. The advantage for the punter is that they can get much better prices than on the day itself.

When considering placing a bet in the Cheltenham ante-post market there is one major consideration to take account of and that is will your selection run on the day as if it does not you in most cases will lose your investment. In recent times some bookmakers will offer you a price if your selection runs and the bet will be void if your selection does not run this usually happens in the last couple of weeks before the Festival starts.

It is therefore important that you understand the general Cheltenham Festival Betting rules.

Cheltenham Ante Post prices are those offered on horses prior to the overnight declarations stage (usually 10.00am on the day before the race). Unless otherwise stated at the time of acceptance, ante-post bets are accepted on the basis of 'all-in run or not' and 'all-in enter or not'. Selections not taking part in the race/event concerned count as losers. Bets placed after the overnight declaration stage on selections which do not take part will be void and stakes will be returned.

However, the following are exceptions to this rule;

• If the race / event is abandoned
• If the race / event is declared void
• If the conditions of the race entry are changed prior to coming under starters orders
• If the venue is altered - Cheltenham Racecourse in this instance
• If a horse is balloted out or eliminated under Jockey Club Rule 125, or prevented from running under Jockey Club Rule 1A
• Where you are offered specific terms such as "with a run" at the time a bet is placed and the selection is subsequently withdrawn as a non-runner.

In all the above cases, singles would be made void. Other than the terms shown above, ante post bets are accepted on the basis of all in, run or not, entered or not and therefore an ante post bet on an eventual non-runner is a loser.

Where the above conditions apply to selections in an ante post multiple bet, the selections in question will be treated as a non-runners and the bet settled at the ante post odds laid on the remaining selections.

Paddy Power are our firm number one choice for your Cheltenham Festival bets. When you open an account with Paddy Power you can claim a free bet of upto £250.

Visit Paddy Power for a £250 Free Bet

When the racing starts in March many of the listed bookmakers on our site provide special betting markets and cashback offers. As soon as these are revealed we will be adding them to our site to ensure you have all the latest Cheltenham offers at your disposal.

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