William Hill has forecast that more than £450m will be staked on this year’s Cheltenham Festival with bookmakers across the UK.
The four-day meeting gets underway on Tuesday, 10 March, and will run until Friday, 13 March, with William Hill set to sponsor the County Hurdle race on the last day.
Last year’s edition of the Country Hurdle made it onto William Hill’s list of the 31 most-bet-on races of 2025, with the Festival accounting for 28 entries.
The only other races to make it onto the list were The Grand National, the Derby and Scottish National.
William Hill spokesperson Lee Phelps spoke of how the Willie Mullins-trained Bambino Fever is presenting a headache for the bookmaker going into the Festival.
He said: “Of the shorter-priced favourites at the meeting, Bambino Fever is a really bad result. She’s been well-backed in singles but is also a key leg of a lot of multiples.
“She looks a typical Willie Mullins hot pot at just 4/5 and continues to be backed with plenty of confidence.
“Other bad results would be the Dan Skelton-trained handicappers Supremely West and Kateira. Kateira has been smashed in the last week or so from 40s all the way into 15/2 second favourite for her race on Wednesday.
“The battle between us and the punters over the four days of the Cheltenham Festival is unrivalled in Jumps racing. We’re expecting around £450m to be wagered over the four days, which makes it the most bet-on racing festival of the year, and it’s a hugely important week for us.
“One day the fancied runners can get beat and everyone on the trading floor is cheering, and the next it can swing right back to the punters.”
In the run-up to Cheltenham Festival, Betway launched its new ad campaign promoting the event.
The campaign features champion jockey Paul Townend and racing commentator Richard Hoiles, who offer up commentary on Betway’s various promotions alongside a regular punter.
The ad was produced by Manchester-based creative agency McCann, and follows on from Betway’s Christmas Rewards campaign.
In addition to Betway’s efforts, Novibet has launched its own marketing campaign in Ireland in anticipation of the action at Prestbury Park.
The operator arranged for a bright blue, three-metre-tall Trojan horse to be parked in the middle of Dublin city centre, with the words “fancy a ride?” written on it.
Alongside the horse, Novibet also launched its own TV ad campaign, produced by digital marketing agency Escalate.
The series features five different characters representing the different types of punters one might come across during Cheltenham week.
They include a man who books a week off work to watch races in the pub, a person who pretends to work while streaming races, a man who constantly gives bad tips, a man who secretly wins without telling anyone, and someone who only stakes low amounts on races.
Elsewhere, Optimove analysis of the 2025 meeting has showed that daily active bettors ran 178% to 189% above baseline across all four Festival days.
Additionally, first-time depositors hit 310% to 417% above baseline, peaking on St Patrick’s Thursday at more than four times a typical January day.
Average wager per bettor climbed 109% to 133% above baseline, peaking on Gold Cup Day. Optimove said activity swiftly returned to normal following the final day of racing.
The post William Hill forecasts more than £450m to be staked on the Cheltenham Festival first appeared on EGR Intel.
Operator anticipates significant action across the much anticipated four-day meeting, which kicks off on 10 March, while Optimove reports on the “scale of the opportunity” amid increased customer attention
The post William Hill forecasts more than £450m to be staked on the Cheltenham Festival first appeared on EGR Intel.