William Hill Highlights Cheltenham Festival Opening Day as a Historic Success

British betting operator William Hill has highlighted this year’s Cheltenham Festival as a source of significant success for its business. The evoke-owned operator announced that March 11 was the most profitable Cheltenham Festival day in the operator’s history.

William Hill Expects Players to Wager Almost Half a Billion Pounds

As usual, the Cheltenham Festival remains a time of intense betting activity and the brightest highlight in the UK horseracing calendar. With 28 races over four days, all of which made it into the 31 most bet-on races last year, the festival is a prime time for betting and a huge opportunity for sportsbooks to engage players with their products.

William Hill, which is the current sponsor of the William Hill County Hurdle on Gold Cup Day, projected that bettors in the UK will spend up to GBP 450 million on Cheltenham Festival wagers.

William Hill described the festival as a battle between sportsbooks and punters, with each striving to make the correct predictions and win over the other.

The battle between us and the punters over the four days of the Cheltenham Festival is unrivalled in Jumps racing. We’re expecting around £450 million 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.

William Hill statement

March 11 Was a Historically Successful Day for William Hill

The March 11 races saw several fan-favorites, including Be Aware, Majborough, No Drama This End, and Romeo Coolio, lose, resulting in significant losses for players.

With No Drama This End, Romeo Coolio, Majborough and Be Aware all suffering defeats at the head of the market, the Wednesday of the 2026 Cheltenham Festival will go down as William Hill’s most profitable day at the meeting in the history of the business.

William Hill statement

The company noted that only a few renewals of the Grand National have seen the operator turn a bigger profit on horseracing bets.