Bookmakers Go Non Runner No Bet On Cheltenham Festival

It’s still two months until Cheltenham Festival but four bookmakers have already taken the plunge and gone Non Runner No Bet on every one of the Festival races.

What is Non Runner No Bet?

Non Runner No Bet means that if your horse doesn’t take part in the race you backed it for, you’ll get your money back. Normal antepost bets include the risk that you’ll lose your stake if your horse doesn’t take part, hence the bigger odds. Make sure you check the terms and conditions, as some bookmakers may add extra stipulations – we lay out the key terms below for each bookmaker.

bet365

bet365 have gone Non Runner No Bet for new and eligible customers on every single Cheltenham Festival race, including the big four races – the Champion Hurdle, Champion Chase, Stayers Hurdle & the Gold Cup – as well as all the novice races and handicaps!

Even better, they are also Best Odds Guaranteed on every single race for singles and multiples! That means if you take a price on a horse, and the Starting Price is bigger, bet365 will pay you out on the bigger price. This is a huge offer that no other bookmaker is matching at the moment, especially not with Non Runner No Bet also offered.

Finally, they are also 1/4 odds for a place on all races, regardless of whether the race should be just 1/5th odds because of the number of runners on the day. Between these three offers there is great value to be had.

Paddy Power

Paddy Power have also taken the bold step of going Non Runner No Bet on every Cheltenham Festival race! Like Betfair, this also applies to multiples.

This opens up a great opportunity to back horses early in the day for the big handicaps when you aren’t sure which race is their target. For example, if a horse is declared for 2m and 3m races, and then a month before the Festival hacks up over 3 miles, the price for the latter race will shorten dramatically. Non Runner No Bet means you can back him for both the races and get your money back for the one he doesn’t run in!

Betfair

Betfair were one of the first bookmakers to go Non Runner No Bet, and are offering it on the main four races of Cheltenham Festival – Champion Hurdle, Champion Chase, Stayers Hurdle & the Gold Cup) plus the Ryanair Chase.

This applies to all bets, including multiples. If you put the bet in a multiple such as an accumulator and your horse doesn’t run in that race, it’ll be counted as a voided bet.

William Hill

William Hill have taken their own unique route for Cheltenham Festival and are offering Non Runner Insurance. This is the same as Non Runner No Bet, aside from the downside that your bet is only refunded if it doesn’t run at the Festival at all – not just if it doesn’t run in the race you backed it for.

It does apply to multiples as well as singles and on all races, with no stake limits. If you are confident in backing a horse for a specific race but are worried about injury or a freak accident, you may well get better odds at William Hill than with the other bookmakers if your horse holds multiple potential entries.