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The Cheltenham Festival 2025

How to Bet on Horses at Cheltenham
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Very good. I particularly liked Nick Luck.

Anyway, to change tack...

I see the Tuesday entries are at the RP site but I don't think they are the 5-days. They're the same as published in the Weekender which would have gone to press yesterday.
 
Tanlic said:
She's 8 from 9 her one defeat came at Cheltenham in the Mares Novice when she was beat fair and square with no sign of her cocking her jaw.
Her recent win in the Hotel Hurdle could just have been one of those flukes never to be repeated again.
I am not convinced by her as a superstar cocked jaw or no cocked jaw. The Champion Hurdle is about whether Constitution Hill is as good as he was or not...Not about her.
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She was beaten because they crawled around and She was done for a turn of foot and She was giving 5lbs to a very good mare. Her last run didn't come out of nowhere, her last 4 runs have all seen her get a new career high RPR. she is clearly a mare on the upgrade.
 
Alex said:
Thanks, would I be right in thinking if you have not confirmed a horse for a race on Tuesday now, the horse cannot run on Tuesday ?
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Correct. Not sure if you can supplement a horse after today's stage and it would make connections look very silly indeed to take one out today and supplement it back in at a substantial cost at the 48h (ie final) stage.
 
Desert Orchid said:
Correct. Not sure if you can supplement a horse after today's stage and it would make connections look very silly indeed to take one out today and supplement it back in at a substantial cost at the 48h (ie final) stage.
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Cheers, it makes more sense to me now. The difference between confirmed and declared.
 
A touch semantic on the part of the BHA imo. They've been called 'the five-day declarations' for years by the racing media and punters alike.
 
Desert Orchid said:
Correct. Not sure if you can supplement a horse after today's stage and it would make connections look very silly indeed to take one out today and supplement it back in at a substantial cost at the 48h (ie final) stage.
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I think that supplementing a horse can only be done at the six day entry stage. Looking at racingpost.com/racecards/11/cheltenham/2025-03-12/at-a-glance, and at the Queen Mother Champion Chase in particular, tomorrow ( March 6th ) is designated as the confirm/supplement day. There are unlikely to be any supplementary entries for this race anyway.

The fee for supplementing Joyeuse for the Mares' Hurdle was £4,800 which is conveniently 4% of the total race value of £120,000. That's peanuts for her connections. I haven't been able to find out if this is the standard calculation for all supplementary entries, but there was a hint elsewhere that the fee for the Derby would be £75,000 on a race value of £1.5m.
 
The 48h decs at the RP site will also include the UK ORs for the Irish runners. They're not there at the 6-day dec stage today in the non-handicaps. (Obviously they need to be there for the handicaps.)

However, if you want an idea about what those that don't have a rating will be this link will take you to the Irish ratings and from there you can tweak them to something close to what they will ultimately be over here.

Those at 150 and above are likely to be the same as the handicappers usually agree these together. Kopeck Des Bordes, for example, is likely to be on 157 here too.

140-149 are likely to up two or three pounds.

120-139 are likely to go up around 6lbs.

Below 120 could go up more than that.

Good luck.
 
Cheltenham asked for this and maybe the fact that it has made the RP will get them to bump their heads together (but it might end up sounding like a set of bongos).

I've mentioned on here more than once the time I came across a large group of guys in Wales rugby shirts in Benidorm. It might even have been in the bar mentioned in the RP article since it's one I frequent when there's racing on.

I asked if Wales had a match somewhere nearby. They told me they were playing England at Twickenham but that it was much cheaper to come to Benidorm for the weekend and watch it on the big screen while enjoying the sunshine and cheap sustenance.

Now it seems erstwhile Cheltenham attendees are doing likewise:

www.racingpost.com

'They really welcome us there' - the punters heading to Spain for a Costa del Cheltenham getaway

Giant screens and 12 TVs dominate the Winning Post bar in Benidorm, which is preparing for its busiest week of the year as punters flock to watch the... Read More
www.racingpost.com www.racingpost.com
 
I get what it’s like “being there”, but I have been twice and it wasn’t that big a deal for me. Benidorm sounds good, but it’s big crowds again, which I don’t like much. A great atmosphere in a local pub is far more my cup of tea these days. I do like “going out” to watch Cheltenham.
 
Len, what's the difference between the 'big crowd' in a Benidorm sports bar and a 'great atmosphere' in a local pub?

Personally, my preference is for watching it all at home on my own with my own thoughts but I spend so much time in the form book working on the 48h decs it suits me better just to be at home in my den.

Next best would be watching it with the brothers, with salmon sandwiches and plenty of tea to keep us going.
 
Desert Orchid said:
Len, what's the difference between the 'big crowd' in a Benidorm sports bar and a 'great atmosphere' in a local pub?

Personally, my preference is for watching it all at home on my own with my own thoughts but I spend so much time in the form book working on the 48h decs it suits me better just to be at home in my den.

Next best would be watching it with the brothers, with salmon sandwiches and plenty of tea to keep us going.
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I suppose it’s a numbers thing. I’m imagining queues to get into these pubs, queues for the toilets ie, what you might get at Cheltenham; especially as you are buying a ticket to reserve a table in these pubs.

Whereas, a crowd in a local pub is easier to navigate. It’s fine margins, Dessie, I agree.
 
I have stopped going to racecourses, my last visit was to Haydock and it was a nightmare, weather did not help and everyone was inside, I felt more like a sardine than a human being. Saying that I still might get tempted by Aintree my local course, on the Thursday, if this weather keeps up.
 
Len Madeiros said:
I suppose it’s a numbers thing. I’m imagining queues to get into these pubs, queues for the toilets ie, what you might get at Cheltenham; especially as you are buying a ticket to reserve a table in these pubs.

Whereas, a crowd in a local pub is easier to navigate. It’s fine margins, Dessie, I agree.
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Maybe things have changed since my last visit but I don't recall queues to get into the toilets or having to reserve tables in any of the sports bars. The WP isn't the only sports bar in Benidorm. Plenty are much quieter.

I also don't know if the local laws have changed but they used to operate a bookmaking service in the Winning Post (and one other bar, if memory serves).
 
A group of us went to Benalmadena last year; golf in the morning and watch the racing in the afternoons and I was on the front page of the RP then. I know Grass has done it the past few years too but more Ronda direction IIRC.

I really enjoyed it and despite arranging it I said No to going back this year (good job as weather looks shite) even though some of the others are and the group has extended.

The reason ? as you can probably expect, the days without golf in the morning were just one long p*ss up from 10:30 AM until end of racing and beyond and with the 1 hour time difference racing didn't start until 2:30. The Wednesday when the ground got really bad and they cancelled the x country, racing started about 3:10 PM Spanish time and we'd been drinking since 10:30 AM (well solid since 5:00 AM Monday tbh) and it was just all a bit too messy, with some of the group not really caring about the racing.

The problem is, you need to be at the bars that early to get a decent table and while some pubs charge for a reserve others don't. There was a group of lads rocked up about 2:00 PM (1:00 PM GMT) on Gold Cup day hoping to get a table and we saw them wandering around for ages trying to find somewhere.

I'll do it again but will plan differently.
 
wilsonl said:
A group of us went to Benalmadena last year; golf in the morning and watch the racing in the afternoons and I was on the front page of the RP then. I know Grass has done it the past few years too but more Ronda direction IIRC.

I really enjoyed it and despite arranging it I said No to going back this year (good job as weather looks shite) even though some of the others are and the group has extended.

The reason ? as you can probably expect, the days without golf in the morning were just one long p*ss up from 10:30 AM until end of racing and beyond and with the 1 hour time difference racing didn't start until 2:30. The Wednesday when the ground got really bad and they cancelled the x country, racing started about 3:10 PM Spanish time and we'd been drinking since 10:30 AM (well solid since 5:00 AM Monday tbh) and it was just all a bit too messy, with some of the group not really caring about the racing.

The problem is, you need to be at the bars that early to get a decent table and while some pubs charge for a reserve others don't. There was a group of lads rocked up about 2:00 PM (1:00 PM GMT) on Gold Cup day hoping to get a table and we saw them wandering around for ages trying to find somewhere.

I'll do it again but will plan differently.
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I can see the pull of doing what yourself and Grasshopper did, if you play Golf in the morning.
I think if I was ever going to do it, I'd have to go East so then the festival is the centrepoint of each evening,
 
I did a lot of resorts during my younger days
First trip was St Helier in Jersey.
Then Benalmadena been to most of the Canary Islands..Gran Canria 3 times Lanzarote and Tenerife twice
had a ball in Acapulco for 4 weeks ...great holiday
Then I moved forward to the Greek Islands Rhodos three times was my favourite...Stayed in the Rhodos Palace a great hotel
The I went to Sardinia and Stayed in the Forte Village Resort which is in Calgary right down at the bottom of the country on the Mediterranean with the best beach I ever saw
Then Came Thailand
 
Just been looking at today's confirmations, I was surprised not to see Croke Park down for the Brown Novice Chase. I have just had a small ew on him NRMB at 16/1 for the Jack Richards Novice H'cap Chase on Thursday. I thought he had an ew chance in the Brown, but have not got a clue when it comes to handicaps. Do you think he is worth a bigger bet with NRMB proviso ?

Also I have backed Inothewayurthinkin for the Gold Cup on BF Ex, he was taken out of the race but the bookies have reintroduced into the market thinking he will be supplemented. If he does run, does anyone know if my original BF Ex bet will stand ?
 
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How to Bet on Horses at Cheltenham
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