Cheltenham Betting Slip: How to Fill One In, Which Bets to Pick and What Each One Really Costs

Updated 17 Oct 2026 · By the IrishBetGuide Editorial Team

Every March, bookies across Ireland fill up with people who bet once a year, and the same thing happens at every counter: someone writes "Lucky 15, €2" on a slip with three horses on it, or asks for "the each-way double" without knowing it costs four times the stake they had in mind. A betting slip looks simple, but the bet type you write on it decides how much you're really spending and how you get paid. Here's how to fill one in properly for Cheltenham, on paper or online, with the sums worked out.

18+ only. Prices and stakes below are examples, not tips. Cloudbet, which we link to, is licensed in Curaçao and is not licensed by the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland (GRAI).

What goes on a paper slip

A blank slip in an Irish bookies usually has space for the race, the selection, the bet type and the stake. Shops vary a little, but the details the cashier needs are the same:

Two small things save a lot of grief. First, write the race time as well as the horse. Some names look alike and the cashier needs to find the right race. Second, be clear about the stake. "€5 E/W" means €5 on the win part and €5 on the place part, a €10 total. If you only want to spend €5, write "€2.50 E/W".

SP or a taken price?

On a paper slip you can usually bet at the starting price (SP), which is the official price when the race goes off, or ask to "take the price" shown on the board. If you take a price, the cashier records it on your docket, and that's what you're paid at, subject to any non-runner deduction.

Online, you nearly always bet at the displayed price, with an option to tick SP in some apps.

Singles: the cleanest bet on the slip

A single is one horse, one race. If you back a horse at 9/2 (5.50) for €10 and it wins, you get €55 back, which is €45 profit plus your stake. If it loses, you lose €10. Singles are easy to understand, easy to track and they don't multiply the bookmaker's margin across several races. For most punters at Cheltenham, the majority of bets on the slip should be singles.

Each-way: two bets in one

An each-way bet is a win bet plus a place bet of the same stake. Place terms depend on the number of runners and whether the race is a handicap. These are the traditional terms in Ireland and Britain, though bookmakers can and do change them, especially at the Festival:

Worked example: €5 each-way at 12/1 in a 20-runner handicap, four places at a quarter (€10 total). If it wins: win part €5 × 13 = €65, place part €5 × (1 + 12/4) = €20, a €85 return. If it finishes second to fourth: €20 back, a €10 profit. If it's unplaced: €10 lost.

Each-way on a short-priced horse rarely makes sense. At 6/4 in a seven-runner race, the place part pays at 6/16, a return of about €1.38 per €1, so finishing second leaves you down overall.

Doubles and trebles

A double is two selections in different races: if the first wins, the returns roll on to the second. A treble does the same with three. They pay well because the odds multiply, but so does the bookmaker's margin.

Say you put €5 on a double at 3/1 (4.00) and 5/2 (3.50). The combined price is 4.00 × 3.50 = 14.00, a €70 return if both win. If those prices are fair, the chance of both winning is roughly 25% × 28.6% ≈ 7.1%, or about one time in fourteen. That's the honest price of the fun.

An each-way double is two doubles: one on the win parts and one on the place parts. "€5 E/W double" therefore costs €10, and the place double needs both horses to place.

Full-cover bets: Trixie, Patent, Yankee and Lucky 15

These names are where most Cheltenham slip mistakes happen. A full-cover bet is a bundle of every combination of your selections. The number of bets decides the total cost:

So "€2 Lucky 15" costs €30, and "€2 each-way Lucky 15" costs €60. Write the unit stake and the total on the slip if you're unsure, and the cashier will check it with you.

A worked Lucky 15 across Festival races

Here's an invented Lucky 15 with €1 unit stakes (€15 total), four horses in four different races at 3/1, 4/1, 5/1 and 6/1 (decimal 4.00, 5.00, 6.00 and 7.00).

The returns look great when two or more win, and that's why the bet is popular. But even at those prices, landing two winners from four is a big ask in Festival races. Many bookmakers add a consolation, such as double or treble odds on a single winner; read the offer terms because they vary. Our bet calculator guide shows how to check returns before you hand over the slip.

Forecasts and tricasts

A straight forecast predicts the first and second in the correct order. A reverse forecast covers both orders and costs two bets. A tricast picks the first three in order. They're settled using a computer formula (the CSF and Tricast dividend) rather than simple odds, so you won't know the exact return in advance.

In big Cheltenham handicaps, combination tricasts can get expensive quickly. A combination tricast on four horses covers 24 bets, so €1 a line costs €24. Use them sparingly, and only in races where you have strong opinions about more than one horse.

Building the slip online

The online version of the slip is the bet basket. You tap the prices you want, and the app offers singles plus any multiples your selections allow. A few things to watch for:

• Default multiples. Some apps highlight the accumulator or a Lucky 15 automatically. Check the stake boxes before you confirm, because a stake typed in the wrong box can turn into 15 bets.
• Each-way tick box. Ticking each-way doubles the total. The app shows the total, so read it.
• Price changes. During Festival week prices move fast. Apps may ask you to accept a new price; you can usually set a preference to accept higher prices only.
• Same-race picks. You can't combine two horses from the same race in a normal multiple. For that you need a bet builder, which works differently; see our Cheltenham bet builder guide.

Keep the docket and check the settlement

In a shop, the docket you get back is your proof of the bet. Check it before you walk away: the horses, the race times, the bet type, the stake and the total. Errors are easiest to fix at the counter. Keep it safe until the bet is paid, as shops normally won't pay out without it.

Online, open your bet history after each race. If a settlement looks wrong, for example an each-way place not paid, contact the bookmaker with the bet reference. For a GRAI-licensed operator, you can escalate an unresolved complaint through the operator's process and then the regulator's routes; for an offshore book, your options are much more limited.

Common slip mistakes at Cheltenham

1. Confusing unit stake and total. "€5 Yankee" is €55, not €5.
2. Each-way on short prices. The place part barely pays, so second place can still lose you money.
3. Too many selections in one bet. A seven-race accumulator on Gold Cup day is a lottery ticket.
4. Forgetting non-runners. In a single, a non-runner usually means a refund. In a multiple, the bet carries on with the remaining selections. Check how it's handled.
5. Not writing the race time. It slows the cashier down and risks the wrong horse being entered.

A sensible Festival slip, as an example

If you've €40 for a day and three races you like, one balanced approach is:

Most of the money sits in singles you can understand, and a small multiple adds interest without taking over the budget.

Where Cloudbet fits in

Cloudbet's bet slip works like other online slips, with singles and multiples on major racing including the Festival, and it takes crypto. Keep the trade-offs in view:

• It's licensed in Curaçao and not by the GRAI, so Irish regulatory protection doesn't apply.
• Crypto balances can rise or fall in euro value between bets.
• Bet types, each-way terms and non-runner rules differ from Irish high-street books, so check the rules before you build a multiple.

Bet what you can afford

A slip should be a bit of fun on a big week, not a way to win back money. If it's stopped being fun, take a break and talk to someone. Gambling Care is free, confidential and open 24/7 on 1800 936 725 (Northern Ireland: 08000 886 725). Our responsible gambling page has more, our Cheltenham betting guide covers the week, and our page on whether online betting is legal in Ireland explains the GRAI.