There’s a reason why bookmakers love big race meetings such as the Cheltenham Festival, which is that lots of punters want to place bets. Some of them won’t necessarily have done a lot of betting before, so the bookies get to compete with each other to woo them and gain their business. Just as the bookmakers love the big meetings, though, so do the punters. Around the big events, such as those held at Cheltenham, is the best time to find exciting offers that you can take advantage of in order to try to get the best chance to win.
There’s no reason to be shy about it, it’s a reciprocal arrangement. The bookies would ideally like to take your money and you’d ideally like to take theirs. It’s all part of the dance and the excitement of the occasion. One of the ways that bookmakers attempt to make themselves appealing is by having great offers and this is where you can look to make yourself some extra money when you win.
What Are Free Bets For Winners?
If you’ve read some of the other pages on this site then you’ll know roughly what to expect here. Different offers work in different ways, so it’s important to have an idea about how the various ones are put together and what you need to do to make the most of them. Here we’ll break down some of the more valuable free bets for winners promotions that will come your way around the time of the Cheltenham Festival, as well as other meetings.
One thing that’s worth pointing out front and centre is the manner in which these sorts of offers differ. The most obvious thing is that they are existing customer offers, so open to everyone. Unlike welcome offers, which are normally specially targeted at new customers, the type of offer that we’re talking about here can be used by anyone with an account. That means you don’t need to panic and think, “But I already have a Betfair account!”.
Best Value Free Bets and Bonus For Winners
Bet365 ITV Racing 4/1 Offer
Back any single winner at 4/1 or more on any race televised live on ITV Racing and you can have a risk free bet to the same stake (up to £50*) on the next race broadcast live on ITV Racing. This offer applies to the FIRST single bet placed by a customer on each race shown live on ITV Racing.
If your risk free bet also wins at odds of 4/1 or more, you qualify for a risk free bet on the next race televised live on ITV Racing. Keep backing those winners and bet365 will keep giving you risk free bets! If your risk free bet loses, your stake (up to £50*) will be refunded to your account.
This offer will not apply where a stake has been fully Cashed Out. Where a stake has been partially Cashed Out, any refund amount or subsequent risk free bet amount will be equal to the remaining active stake. If a qualifying bet is edited using our Edit Bet feature, any refund amount will be equal to the new stake and not the original stake. Where a risk free bet is changed using Edit Bet, no refund will be given and the offer will no longer apply. Where more than one selection in the same race is placed on the same bet slip, the first selection is deemed to be the one which is highest on the bet slip. Offer applies to bets placed on Win and Each-Way Fixed Odds markets and Enhanced Place Terms markets only. All other markets, including adjusted place terms (Each Way Extra), Ante-Post bets and Tote/Pari-Mutuel (bets and dividends), are excluded from this offer.
Bets must be placed in the usual way and can be paid for from either your Withdrawable Balance or Bet Credits. Bets placed from your Withdrawable Balance will be refunded to your Withdrawable Balance and bets placed with Bet Credits will be refunded as Bet Credits.
*or currency equivalent T&Cs apply. Only available to new and eligible customers.
William Hill 3 Bet Boosts Every Day
William Hill bet boost can be applied to up to three racing single bets each day (not multiples), up to £20 (or £20 EW- applies to win part only). Boosts refresh at 12am each day and can be used via the bet slip.
Any winnings and extra winnings are all cash. Cannot be used in conjunction with Flash Odds, Enhanced Odds, any free bet or any other promotion. If the bet is void, the Bet Boost will be cancelled and will not be replaced by another.
Unibet Uniboost Up To 3x Daily
With Unibet's Uniboost you can choose any horse racing or greyhound racing single bets and boost your own odds, with all extra winnings in cash, boosts can be applied from your betslip with three available each day (these refresh at midnight)
The Uniboost applies to stakes up to £20 with no minimum stake. If the race you bet on qualifies for best odds guarantee and the SP is higher than your boosted bet you will get the SP odds instead. If a horse is a non-runner or bet is void you will be given another boost.
Betfair Free Bets For 3/1+ Winners
Betfair really do give you 'free bets for winners'. The only catch is the winner you back must have a price of 3/1 or greater to get your free token, then again except for the really small field races this will cover well over 95% of runners in ITV races at Cheltenham.
In summary the offer works as follows: bet on any horse at odds 3/1 or greater in a live ITV or ITV4 race and if that horse wins then you’ll receive your stake back as a free bet race (up to £25) on top of your normal winnings. If you bet on the SP then the horse will need to be 3/1+ when the race starts to qualify.
The free bet matches your stake up to £25 with no minimum. If you bet more than £25 you will still get a free bet but only up to a value of £25. The free token is awarded for any horse racing the next day, with any subsequent winnings from the free token given in cash, stake not returned of course.
This is, quite literally, rewarding you for winning. You can claim the offer in every single live race, for example, back three 3/1+ winners in one day get three free bets the next day. Great offer that truly will add value for those that bet on top televised racing.
How To Get Free Bets For Winners At Cheltenham
When it comes to taking advantage of these types offer around the time of Cheltenham it’s a bit of a no brainer. Depending on how seriously you’re looking to take your betting over the week of the Festival, you’ll probably be planning to do one of three things:
- Place all of your bets well ahead of time and then forget all about them.
- Place a selection of bets in advance and then place some as each race comes about.
- Place your bets one at a time after the result of the previous one is known.
When it comes to making use of the Free Bets for Winners type of offer, it’s really the second two types of bettors that will benefit. If you’re placing your bets well ahead of time and then forgetting all about them until you look to see how much you’ve won then that’s great, but there aren’t really any offers like this for the ante-post market.
Instead what you want to is place a bet with a bookmaker like Betfair that offers a given amount of your stake back as a free bet or bonus if your horse wins, or wins with certain conditions. Then, when it does win, use the free bet to bet on the next days racing.
A common way to use these offers when it comes to Cheltenham is to have an ‘extra’ bet. Most serious punters know which horses they’re going to bet on and how much they’re going to bet, so being given a free bet doesn’t usually affect that. Instead you can treat yourself to an extra little bit on the side, perhaps opting for the horse you were torn on whether to bet on when you had your initial flutter. If it loses then you’re no worse off, but if it wins then you’ll have a decent bit of added income.
As far as the Boosted Winnings are concerned, it’s entirely up to you how to use them. The races come thick and fast during the Cheltenham Festival, so you might want to use these unexpected winnings to place a bet you weren’t thinking of placing previously. Of course you can just keep hold of the winnings and there’s nothing wrong with that.