The Cheltenham Festival is one of the best times of the year if you love betting offers. 

Because so many general sports fans and bettors like to have a punt at Cheltenham, the UK betting sites find themselves competing with one another, and the best way to get the upper hand is to offer Cheltenham free bets and other special betting deals.

Many of the Cheltenham betting offers are for new customers, but many firms make some promotions available to existing players too, such as money-back specials and free bets.

So, just because you already have an account with the biggest and most popular betting sites such as Betway, Betfair and Bet365, that doesn't mean you won't be able to claim offers from those particular online bookmakers.

Betting companies constantly come up with new, lucrative, and creative Cheltenham Festival promotions with several of the more popular types listed below:

• Cheltenham Pot Builder

A recent addition to Cheltenham Festival promotions, with bookmakers offering free bets in the weeks running up to the event. Players must bet a specified amount on racing each week, to receive a free bet for Cheltenham, with the ability to amass a tidy free bet stack for the festival. Bets are usually credited the day before Cheltenham begins or during, with Betway and Livescore Bet among the currently available promotions.

• Cheltenham Free Bets

Cheltenham free bet offers are in abundance all year round, but during Cheltenham, they are ramped up even more. Expect promotions such as Bet £10 Get £30 to be among the main betting sign-up offers throughout Cheltenham.

• Enhanced Odds

Another one of the more common Cheltenham betting offers is price boosts or enhanced odds. The usual formula is that you will get an odds-on favourite at massive odds such as 40/1, with limited stakes only and extra winnings paid in Cheltenham free bets. The best betting sites will also offer plenty of enhanced odds to existing customers throughout the week.

• Money-Back Specials

Some betting sites offer money back if your horse falls, or if it finishes second. Other stipulations pop up on various sites, and your returned stake could be credited as cash or in Cheltenham free bets. QuinnBet and Paddy Power are very good for these types of promotions.

• Best Odds Guaranteed

This means that if you back a horse at the fixed odds offered and the starting price ends up being bigger, you will get paid out at the greater odds if your bet is a winner. The best B.O.G Cheltenham promotions include bets that are placed as early in the morning as possible or, even better, the day before.

Free bets are the hallmark of Cheltenham week on online betting sites.

Whether it's Bet £10 Get £30, or even Bet £10 Get £40 or greater, you'll be in a position to claim massive free bet bonuses for small outlays, across the entire festival week.

Of course, the best free bet offers will be for new customers, and there is genuinely no better time to sign up with a few new bookmakers than the Cheltenham Festival period.

Cheltenham Festival is the ultimate Jump racing event in the UK. It is home to many of the biggest and best races each year, with 265,000 fans in attendance across the four days.

There is an enormous amount of money wagered during Cheltenham Festival, with the event - rather like the Grand National - attracting the casual bettors as well as the experienced ones. It is relatively common for punters that usually wager on other sports to claim Cheltenham free bets and get involved with horse racing for the week.

When betting on Cheltenham, it is important to take in as much information as possible. Simply checking whether or not a horse won on its last outing will not suffice when there are so many other factors to consider, such as;

1. Going - What is the surface like on the day, and how will this affect each runner?
2. Recent Form - They may have won races, but what is their recent form like?
3. Connections - How have other horses from the same stable been faring as of late? Are there any owner, trainer or jockey combinations to look out for?
4. Distance - Is the horse proven over this race distance? Will stamina be an issue?
5. Course Form - It is always beneficial if the horse has had good results at Cheltenham previously.