# Cheltenham Festival 2027 Extra Places Compared
_Which UK bookmakers pay extra places on Cheltenham 2027's big handicaps, the Ultima to the Grand Annual, and which explicitly don't._
*Source: [https://stablebet.co.uk/bookmakers/cheltenham-extra-places/](https://stablebet.co.uk/bookmakers/cheltenham-extra-places/) ยท last updated 2026-08-24*
## Why Extra Places Matter on Cheltenham's Handicaps
### Cheltenham Festival 2027: the handicaps where extra places decide the profit
*Verified Monday 24 August 2026, around seven months out from Cheltenham Festival week (Tuesday 16 to Friday 19 March 2027).*
Four of the Festival's most competitive races are big-field handicaps: the Ultima on Tuesday, the County Hurdle and Coral Cup around Wednesday and Thursday, the Fred Winter Juvenile Hurdle and the Grand Annual Chase among them. None has a short-priced favourite most years, and National Hunt handicapping means the form book rarely points at a standout. On races like these, standard each-way terms (typically a quarter the odds, four places, on a big enough field) leave real money on the table. Bookmakers that pay extra places, five, six or more, materially change the each-way maths on a horse you fancy each-way rather than to win outright.
Not every operator runs an extra-places programme, and it isn't automatic that a firm which pays extra places on the Flat season's cavalry-charge handicaps (Royal Ascot's Wokingham, Goodwood's Stewards' Cup) does the same on Cheltenham's jumps card. The two are different products for underwriting purposes. Below is what our own operator data confirms, firm by firm, rather than an assumption carried over from a different meeting.
For the wider Cheltenham offers landscape see our [Cheltenham Festival offers hub](/bookmakers/cheltenham-offers/); for BOG and Non-Runner No Bet cover, the other two levers worth checking before Festival week, see our [BOG firms](/bookmakers/cheltenham-bog-firms/) and [NRNB](/bookmakers/cheltenham-nrnb/) pages.
## Which Operators Run an Extra-Places Programme
### William Hill: a real strength, even after the BOG downgrade
William Hill is our clearest case among live partners. Our own research (assessed 23 July 2026) specifically names "generous extra-place concessions" as one of the things partly offsetting William Hill's move to invite-only Best Odds Guaranteed, meaning the operator's own current strength profile leans toward places paid rather than price protection. If your Cheltenham approach is built around each-way value on the handicaps rather than needing BOG on every bet, William Hill is worth a look specifically for that reason.
### Betfred: runs an enhanced-places programme on selected handicaps
Betfred is flagged in our own data as running each-way extra terms, distinct from its standard four-places baseline, on selected big-field races. Combined with BOG retained across the board (see our [BOG firms page](/bookmakers/cheltenham-bog-firms/)), it's a reasonable single-account pick for punters who want both levers covered without switching operators mid-Festival.
### QuinnBet: extra places confirmed, alongside its Irish-market strengths
QuinnBet's own feature set confirms each-way extra terms alongside BOG on both UK and Irish racing, a useful combination given how many of the Ultima, County Hurdle and Coral Cup fields typically include Irish-trained runners.
### Star Sports: explicitly no extra-places programme on Cheltenham's handicaps
This is worth stating plainly because it's the one place our data speaks to Cheltenham by name rather than in general terms: Star Sports' own listed weaknesses include no headline extra-places programme on the Grand National or the Cheltenham handicaps specifically. Where Star Sports competes instead is deep ante-post markets with published maximum liabilities and the 0800 052 1321 phone trader desk for betting at size, not places paid on the each-way side.
### Bet365 and Paddy Power: extra places confirmed, not yet live through us
Both carry each-way extra terms in our research. Neither is a live affiliate partner on Stablebet at the time of writing, so check each operator's own site directly if you already hold an account.
### Ladbrokes, Coral, 10bet, HighBet, Spreadex, BetGoodwin and Fruity King: no standard extra-places programme
Our data flags all seven as not running a standard extra-places programme: Ladbrokes and Coral (neither yet a live partner), 10bet, HighBet, Spreadex, BetGoodwin, and Fruity King, which runs no racing concessions of any kind. LiveScore Bet sits just outside this group: no standard programme, but our research (assessed 2 August 2026) notes occasional extra places on selected feature races via one-off promotions, worth checking on the day rather than assuming either way.
### Summary: where the places actually get paid
- **Confirmed extra-places programme, live partner**: William Hill, Betfred, QuinnBet
- **Confirmed extra-places programme, not yet live through us**: Bet365, Paddy Power
- **No standard programme, occasional feature-race promotions**: LiveScore Bet
- **Explicitly no programme (Cheltenham named directly)**: Star Sports
- **No standard programme**: Ladbrokes, Coral, 10bet, HighBet, Spreadex, BetGoodwin, Fruity King
For the big-field handicap days, William Hill and Betfred are our two live-partner picks specifically for places paid, worth lining up before declarations rather than after.
## Frequently Asked Questions
### What counts as an "extra place" in each-way betting?
Standard each-way terms pay a fraction of the odds (commonly a quarter) on a fixed number of places, usually scaled to field size. An extra-places offer means an operator pays more places than that standard on a specific race, so a horse finishing fifth or sixth can still return the each-way part of your bet where the standard terms would only have paid to fourth.
### Which Cheltenham races benefit most from extra places?
The big-field handicaps, the Ultima, County Hurdle, Coral Cup, Fred Winter and Grand Annual among them, are where extra places matter most: competitive, hard-to-predict fields with no dominant favourite are exactly the conditions where the each-way side of a bet does most of the work.
### Does an operator that pays extra places on the Flat automatically do the same at Cheltenham?
No, and that's worth checking rather than assuming. Extra-places programmes are set per meeting and per race by the operator's trading team, not applied as a blanket policy across the whole racing calendar. Our comparison above reflects what our own data currently confirms for Cheltenham specifically, including one case (Star Sports) where the operator's own published position explicitly excludes the Cheltenham handicaps from its extra-places offering.
### Does Best Odds Guaranteed apply to the each-way part of a bet?
It can, but check the specific operator's terms; some each-way enhancement toggles are excluded from BOG even where the operator runs BOG on the straight win market. See our [Cheltenham BOG firms page](/bookmakers/cheltenham-bog-firms/) for the operator-by-operator BOG picture.
### When are Cheltenham's extra-places terms usually confirmed?
Race-specific extra-places promotions are typically announced in the days immediately before the meeting rather than fixed months out, once field sizes and market shape are clearer. The operator-level pattern in this comparison (whether a firm runs a programme at all) is a more stable signal than any specific number of places quoted before declarations; confirm the live terms on the operator's own promotions page once the Cheltenham field is finalised.
### Compliance and responsible gambling
18+. Significant terms and conditions apply to every offer above; always check the operator's own promotions page before placing a bet, since terms can change without notice. Bet responsibly: [BeGambleAware.org](https://www.begambleaware.org). Take Time to Think.