Sky Bet are now offering Non Runner No Bet markets on all 28 races at the 2025 Cheltenham Festival and our team of experts offer their best bets.
The offer is live on all Festival races, but if you don’t want the safety net and reduced prices there is still the option of betting in the traditional antepost markets without the concession.
With a little over seven weeks to go until the Festival, Sky Bet's Head of Sports PR Michael Shinners is delighted to announce the offer of both markets, saying: "With the Cheltenham Festival getting closer, we are going Non Runner No Bet on all 28 races from 9am on Friday. Options for many horses are still up in the air, so the safety blanket of getting your money back if you don’t get a run will be appealing to a large number of our customers.
“However, we are also keeping our standard antepost book available for those customers who are prepared to take a risk for bigger prices."
We asked our team of experts to come up with the best NRNB bets they could find...
BETTER DAYS AHEAD – 14/1 Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase
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The Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase market is in flux but it will firm up in the next few weeks, particularly after the Dublin Racing Festival, and now is probably a good time to get involved antepost. The jury remains out on Ballyburn for the Festival this year, especially with the Turners Novices’ Chase no more, as whether he’ll want a gruelling three miles in the Brown Advisory at this stage of his career is up for debate, for all that he is a potential class act in the division. I like my Brown Advisory horses to have racked up a little bit more experience by this point and BETTER DAYS AHEAD has had the two races including in Grade 1 company. He accounted for the Supreme winner on his chasing debut and then was unlucky to be beaten a nose by his stablemate Croke Park in the Racing Post Long Distance Novice Chase in the fog at Leopardstown over Christmas. A Cheltenham Festival winner last season in the Martin Pipe, now improving over three miles over fences, he could enhance his claims at the DRF, even in defeat, making the current 14/1 look big. (Ben Linfoot)
GREY DAWNING – 8/1 Ryanair Chase
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GREY DAWNING was one of the best novice chasers around last season, winning three times, notably Hampton Novices’ Chase at Warwick and the Golden Miller Novices' Chase at the Cheltenham Festival. He had finished runner-up to Ginny’s Destiny over the same course and distance of the Ryanair earlier in the season, though he was unlucky not to win on that occasion, a mistake at the second-last severely hampering his momentum, and he comprehensively reversed that form at the Festival. Grey Dawning wasn’t at his best at Aintree on his final start last season, but a hard race at Cheltenham arguably left a mark on him, and he shaped very well on his return in the Betfair Chase at Haydock in gruelling conditions. He was unable to go past course specialist and strong stayer Royale Pagaille in the closing stages, but travelled like much the best horse at the weights – he traded 1.06 in-running on Betfair – and that race also probably took more than expected out of him. Therefore, it is probably best to forgive his latest effort in the King George, while a mistake at the first fence also didn’t allow him to get into a good rhythm. Grey Dawning also has an entry in the Gold Cup, but the intermediate trip of the Ryanair will likely suit him better. (Andrew Asquith)
KAID D’AUTHIE – 8/1 Turners Novices’ Hurdle
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With Salvator Mundi all but nailed on to run in the Sky Bet Supreme, the first-string spot for Willie Mullins in the Turners over two miles, five furlongs is still up for grabs and the Dublin Racing Festival looks like having a major say. Ballyburn went from winning the two-mile Grade 1 at the DRF to land the Turners last term and it could be worth having KAID D’AUTHIE on side prior to Leopardstown. He was bought out of a hot three-year-old race at Auteuil won by last year’s Triumph hero Majborough in April 2023 and then spent a long time off the track before falling on his debut for Mullins at Navan on December 7. However, he swiftly consigned that mishap to the past with a Leopardstown maiden (2m4f) win and he looked good value for his half-length verdict as he’d been in front for a long way (they omitted the last flight due to low sun) and was idling under Mark Walsh. He’s looks high-class prospect and one we’ll be hearing a lot more about over the next few weeks and months. (Matt Brocklebank)
Posted at 0940 GMT on 17/01/2025
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