Every year, horse racing fans and punters alike gather at the Cheltenham races to try their luck.

During the event in Gloucestershire, huge sums of money are usually wagered. Jockeys and owners are the ones who usually profit most from these events. However, there have been cases where those placing the wagers have profited significantly.

As well as placing live bets at the races, those who wish to place wagers are also able to use online betting sites like www.OLBG.com to get advice on which bookies to bet with and discover the latest tips. With racing predictions available for over 150 racecourses, it’s no surprise that those betting on the Cheltenham races are coming away with more than they bargained for.

So how much exactly are people profiting? Let’s take a look at the biggest ever payouts for the Cheltenham races.

2019 – punter wins £182,567 from £2 bet

In 2019, one lucky punter came away with far more than they could have dreamed of when they placed a £2 bet on one horse in each day’s race. As a once a year gambler, the individual, who requested not to be named, had placed a bet on the on-course tote placepot.

The winnings you can get from the placepot depends on how many punters enter the pool, in which the prize draw is then split. On this day, there was a total prize pool of £900,000 and just 11 winning entities to share it out between. The winning payout of £182,567.80 was a few hundred pounds shy of making history for the biggest payout at the event ever.

The lucky individual commented that he had been betting on the Cheltenham races for years and usually only won a couple of pounds here and there. When asked what he would be doing with the winnings, he commented that it would be helping his daughter who is beginning university, as well as upgrading his son to first class on his upcoming holiday.

2020 – Cheltenham punter wins £2,625 on a £5 bet at festival

While it’s not such a huge win compared to 2019’s set of events, last year, another lucky winner, Tom,  won over £2k after placing just £5. The 27-year-old had waited until the second from last race to try his luck, placing bets on Samcro. He had previously placed bets on Ferny Hollow and Sir Alex Ferguson’s horse Clan Des Obeaux at 4/1.

When asked how Tom was going to celebrate, he commented that he would be using the money to place more bets. But not before using some of it to celebrate that evening with a lot of Guinness! Tom commented that it wasn’t the largest bet he had ever won but it was the biggest price.

If you’re looking for sources to find tips for placing bets, Tom has recommended AllManKind.

2017 – prize money boosted to record £4.3 million

This one isn’t technically a win but it’s worth an acknowledgement as back in 2017, the prize money for Cheltenham races was increased up to a record £4.3 million. This eye watering amount was an increase of £190,000 for the four-day event. As a result, individual prize money was boosted from £25k to £75k, with the RSA Chase being increased by the same amount too.

The National Hunt Chase increased during this year from £1k to a huge £120 and also became Grade 2 listed for the first time since being registered as a race. In addition, 18 other races received a cash prize increase of £5k.

The only races that did not receive a cash injection this day were the four most famous races of the event.

Why have the Cheltenham races become so big?

While it’s clear that UK punters are spoilt for choice when it comes to their share of horse racing events to bet on, the Cheltenham races is the most prestigious event that takes place during the year. With some of the best known and most classic races, the blue riband event is known to bring out some of the world’s best racehorses.

Not only that, the event brings about some of the best training talent there is. While The Grand National holds a place near and dear to many punters’ hearts in the UK, Cheltenham’s stand out races create a record number of opportunities for punters to place their bets, making the event immensely popular.

Overall, the 5 featured race event is one that goes down in British history for rounding a huge amount of success, not only on the racetracks but with punters too. Time will only tell if the pay-outs will get even bigger as the event grows.

The Cheltenham Festival is the biggest meeting of the year in horse racing as for four days, the best horses in the sport compete across 28 races.

In order to add a bit of extra spice to the meeting this year, there are rumours organisers may be thinking about trying to add something different to the event. Here are a few things that could be trialled in 2021.

New look Gold Cup?

The biggest race of the week at the Festival is the Cheltenham Gold Cup. It is considered to be the Blue Riband event in the sport and as you can see from the Gold Cup results, it has been won by some of the all-time greats, including Arkle and Kauto Star, and current heroes like Al Boum Photo are at the forefront of the favourites already.

What if Cheltenham opted to make the race a cross between hurdles and fences, with a combination of the two types of obstacles. This may attract some of the best hurdlers to the contest in what would be a fascinating watch.

The winner would be regarded as the most versatile winner of the Gold Cup in history. It could also help crown the best horse in National Hunt racing right now.

Cross Country Chase like never seen before

The most unique race of the week at the Cheltenham Festival is the Cross Country Chase. Horses jump all kinds of different obstacles, including a log, water and an open ditch. Maybe this year, these obstacles can be even more exciting.

Some of the fences could be made from balloons. This would allow the shape to be defined into exciting designs, including a Christmas tree, sheep and paddling pool filled with water.

This race has been won twice by the dual Grand National winner Tiger Roll. It would be captivating to see the 11-year-old take on a new look course this year.

Bring back the Charity Race

Unfortunately, the charity race at Cheltenham no longer exists. It would be great to bring this back and invite some really interesting celebrities to take part.

You could have some real fan favourites such as David Beckham, Elton John and Jonathan Ross, alongside pantomime villains like Piers Morgan and Simon Cowell. The crowd would really get into it and it would attract a whole new audience to the Festival.

Camel racing

Ok, hear us out on this one. Camel racing might be something you would be more familiar with seeing in a desert of an exotic country, however, if Cheltenham really wanted to make a splash this year, this would do it.

They wouldn’t need the camels to jump any obstacles, as that might be too much to ask. However, a race in the home straight in front of the grandstand would be some spectacle.

If the weather is chilly, the camels could even be kitted out in different coloured silks and with name tags such as Cammy Star or Red Hump.

With all the above worked into the schedule, this year’s Cheltenham Festival could be the best of all time. It certainly would not lack any drama!

It’s fair to say that the 2021 Cheltenham Festival will be far from normal. There will be a distinct hollowness to proceedings in terms of atmosphere, with the familiar ‘Cheltenham Roar’ a mere memory to be conjured as we watch the action unfold on our TV screens at home.

There will be no clamour for tickets and a chance to see horse racing’s biggest stars in action, but rather the only available seat will be your sofa or favourite armchair. 

It’s strange to think that it’s been almost a year since the last Cheltenham Festival, which was ostensibly the last major spectator sporting event to be held in the UK. Yes, the coronavirus pandemic has taken its toll on the sporting world, and although for a brief period in the autumn fans were allowed back into sports stadiums, the spread of new more infectious variants of the virus have ensured that we are confined to our living rooms as far as watching live sport is concerned. 

The Cheltenham Festival is one of the country’s greatest spectator events — one of those sporting occasions where the occasion itself transcends the sporting action that actually plays out. For those who see Cheltenham as a great day out and a chance to socialise and discuss the Cheltenham races odds, they will cope with the fact that this year’s Festival looks set to be held behind closed doors. But it is the sport’s hardcore fanbase that will suffer most from not being able to attend the Prestbury Park meeting.

All is not lost, of course. While the Festival will be robbed of its spectator presence and vibrant atmosphere for this year, there is still a sense in which we must be thankful that it is taking place at all. Governing bodies, not just in horse racing but across all elite sport, have worked wonders to implement protocols to ensure that events can be run safely for those taking part. When you think about it, it’s a real blessing that we will be able to tune in for four days of world class racing action.

There is plenty to play for, and you can bet that none of the owners, trainers or jockeys involved will be treating the upcoming Cheltenham Festival as a diminished event. The prizes on offer are among the most prestigious the horse racing calendar can boast, and all efforts will be geared towards success at Cheltenham, whether it’s the Champion Hurdle, Queen Mother Champion Chase, or the coveted Gold Cup. If the Cheltenham tips are anything to go by, we’re in for a cracking four days.

Many point to last year’s Cheltenham Festival as a mistake, in terms of the fact that mass gathering should, in hindsight, have been stopped well before the meeting took place. But there is still a strong yearning among sports fans to return to those kinds of scenes. 

Hopefully, things will be completely different in 12 months’ time, and we’ll be back to the kind of packed-house Cheltenham we all know and love. For now, the stands may be empty, and the echoes of voices shouting and hooves thundering over soft turf will ring out around a sports venue that will never have looked larger or more cavernous.

But although the surroundings will be different this year, the heart-stopping action that defines this historic sporting occasion will not be dimmed.