Coral begin Cheltenham countdown with non runner no bet from saturday

Coral will tomorrow become the first major UK high street bookmaker to offer the non runner no bet concession on this year’s Cheltenham Festival, with the offer available in 1745 betting shops nationwide, as well as to online, mobile and telebet customers.

“With ten days to go until the most eagerly anticipated meeting in the racing calendar kicks off, the major trials run, and the Festival preview scene in full swing, we believe this weekend is the time punters will be turning their full attention to the 27 races at Prestbury Park, and we hope the safety net of non-runner no bet will lead to a significant boost in ante-post turnover,” said Coral’s David Stevens.

“We have seen a reduction in ante post interest this year, a fall we can attribute to several factors in our opinion.  Firstly, the increase in the number of the races at the Festival has led to more multiple entries, with connections understandably keeping their options open as late as possible. Also, a lot of leading Cheltenham hopes have been off the track for a while, while those that have been in action have been running on soft or heavy ground that they may not get later this month, so ante post clues have been in short supply,” added Stevens.

“All these things have caused punters to think twice before getting involved this season, but now, with the countdown to the biggest betting week of the year underway, we are sure turnover will pick up from this weekend.  While the Gold Cup and World Hurdle are missing punters’ favourites Kauto Star and Big Buck’s, there are other likely bankers, especially on day one, with My Tent Or Yours, Simonsig, Hurricane Fly, and Quevega likely to feature in thousands of betting slips, and we expect to build serious liabilities on these runners before the tapes even rise for the Supreme,” concluded Stevens.