Best Ante-Post Betting Sites
The 2026 Cheltenham Festival is fast approaching, and it’s a busy and exciting time for punters and bookmakers alike.
The feature races, such as the Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup and the Unibet Champion Hurdle, are two of the big contests where everyone loves to find the winner, and there are plenty more betting opportunities across the four days of the festival, which runs from Tuesday, March 10, to Friday, March 13.
As usual, it will be a thrilling ride from the roar that greets the start of the opening race, the Sky Bet Supreme Novices’ Hurdle, to the competitive finale on the Friday, the Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap Hurdle.
We’re now into the final few weeks before the biggest jumps fixture of the season and punters will be busy scouring the betting markets for all 28 races of the meeting.
In this article, we’ll focus on ante-post betting and why it is such an important part of the build-up to the Cheltenham Festival. Simply put, ante-post betting involves placing a bet at least two days before the final field is declared.
Picking a winner is where things get interesting. For expert insights, check out our Upping The Ante series, where Racing Post’s tipping aficionados, David Jennings and Johnny Dineen, regularly share their ante-post tips for the Cheltenham Festival 2026.
Top rated Ante-Post Betting Sites for Cheltenham Festival 2026
The best online bookmakers for ante-post betting for Cheltenham Festival 2026
bet365
bet365 are one of the biggest firms offering ante-post betting before the Cheltenham Festival and they provide many different markets over the course of the four days of racing. Punters can now begin placing ante-post bets for each of the 28 races at Cheltenham. Some of the pros include:- Good value on favourites before the final field is declared
- Plenty of options with every race offering ante-post betting
SkyBet
SkyBet, who sponsor the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle, are a high-profile bookmaker at the Cheltenham Festival and each year they offer ante-post betting for all 28 races of the four-day meeting. They will often pay out on extra places in some races, meaning that punters get extra insurance when placing bets. Some of the pros to using the firm are:- Often a popular firm with generous prices
- They have one of the best Cheltenham betting sites
William Hill
William Hill offer ante-post betting for all 28 races at the Cheltenham Festival, including the main feature races of the Champion Hurdle, Champion Chase, Ryanair Chase, Stayers’ Hurdle and Gold Cup. Some pros include:- Competitive prices
- A popular firm that offers other betting markets during the festival
Paddy Power
Paddy Power have activated ante-post betting for the Cheltenham Festival, with prices available for all four days of action. Some of the pros include:- Ante-post betting on every Cheltenham Festival race
- Mobile-friendly app to take advantage of ante-post bets
Ante-post betting: the key factors to consider in 2026
nte-post betting is quite simply a market that opens up before the final field has been declared two days before the race in question. Any bets that have been placed in this market will be settled at the price and place terms that were being offered at the time of the placed bet. Once the bet has been placed, no changes can be made. To help you make up your mind, check to see which bookmakers are offering free bets for the Cheltenham Festival.Pros and cons of Ante-post betting in horse racing
Pros- A better price on the leading horses well in advance of the meeting
- Allows you to be better prepared before the meeting
- No refund if your horse does not run
- Betting on the race without the most up-to-date information on all the runners
Conclusion
The ante-post market is a very popular one and it helps punters get value for money before the race market opens up after the final field of a specific race has been confirmed. Follow our expert ante-post betting tips before placing your bet. A number of bookmakers will be offering ante-post betting for the 2026 Cheltenham Festival. The same ante-post betting rules apply for each firm; the only difference is that the price of a horse running in the race might be different. Therefore, it’s worth comparing the odds in the different ante-post betting markets for each bookmaker.You may also like
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Quite simply, no. If you place an ante-post bet for the Cheltenham Festival, you are taking a chance on the selection running. If the horse does not win, or even run, your bet will be lost and you will not receive any returns.
No. Ante-post bets will be settled only when the race your selection is running in has concluded. If you have more than one horse and the ante-post bet is a double or treble, you must wait until the final bet has finished.