It’s that time of the year – the Cheltenham Festival is fast approaching, and the industry’s eyes will soon be fixated on the Gloucestershire racecourse to see who will lift the Gold Cup. 

To give us a run-down of this racing spectacle, Amelco’s Head of Horse Racing Matt Parr takes a look at how the company is preparing for Cheltenham Festival, exploring the key factors that go into creating a leading horse racing service. 

SBC: Cheltenham is, without a doubt, one of the biggest events in the UK and Irish racing calendar. For Amelco, what’s the secret to offering a leading horse racing service throughout the four-day festival? 

Matt Parr: To create a successful racing offering, you firstly need to understand what the audience wants. Horse racing has such a rich heritage in the UK – bettors know what they like, and more importantly, what to expect from a betting experience. Cheltenham Festival can really make or break your engagement with racing fans; mess this up and you’ll face an up-hill battle to get those bettors to return to your website. 

This might sound daunting, but with the right provider by your side, the run-up to Cheltenham can be a very exciting time!  

At Amelco, our success during the Cheltenham Festival has largely stemmed from our unwavering dedication to innovation and customer satisfaction. We utilise advanced data analytics and real-time monitoring to ensure that our platform is robust and responsive – after all, you don’t want it crashing mid-race!  

Our dedicated team works tirelessly to ensure a seamless betting experience, providing competitive odds and a wide range of markets to meet the needs of all punters. 

SBC: Willie Mullins’ Galopin Des Champs is currently the favourite to win this year’s Gold Cup – after its victory at the Irish Gold Cup, could we see Willie Mullins lift the Gold Cup at Cheltenham too? 

MP: Galopin Des Champs has certainly demonstrated impressive form over the last couple of months, and Willie Mullins’ track record at Cheltenham is outstanding – with 103 winners under his belt after last year’s Festival.  

The opposition has a lot to make up on the formbook, and it might just be a matter of how far he wins. 

SBC: How has pre-Festival betting volumes compared to previous years? Can 2025 maintain the same betting momentum that we saw in 2024?

MP: The Cheltenham Festival will always hold a special place in the racing calendar – and I have no doubt that this year’s meeting is going to be even more exciting than years gone by. It is at this point in the year that we start to see some of the favourites emerge, and this year has been no different. 

With several changes at the top of the markets in key races, we’ve seen significant interest in the ante-post markets. Already, we can say that pre-Festival betting volumes for 2025 have been very encouraging, showing a steady increase compared to previous years.   

The excitement around this year’s races, combined with our enhanced betting offerings, have suggested that Amelco and our partners are well on track to match, if not exceed, the momentum we saw in 2024.  

SBC: How is Amelco helping its operator partners to prepare for peak traffic and ensure seamless performance during the Festival? 

MP:At Amelco, we fully understand the importance of reliability during peak events like the Cheltenham Festival. For a sporting event of this magnitude, you need to make sure that you’re deploying the best-in-class technology that maintains uptime across your platform – failure to do so could result in your website crashing, or players being unable to place a bet at a crucial moment ahead of the race. 

Amelco has implemented several measures to support our operator partners, including scalable infrastructure, real-time performance monitoring and dedicated support teams to ensure that we’re operating at full capacity across all four days of the Festival.  

These efforts ensure that our platform can handle increased traffic seamlessly, providing a smooth and enjoyable experience for all users.  

SBC: Looking ahead, are there any outsiders that are catching punters’ attention that trading teams should watch out for this Grand National?  

MP: Absolutely! The Grand National will be the next big, exciting meeting in the UK – it’s never too early to start looking at the runners and riders.  

INOTHEWAYURTHINKIN has certainly captured my attention. This 7-year-old’s fourth place in the Irish Gold Cup at Leopardstown indicates that his preparation for the big race is progressing well, making him a worthy favourite at longer odds.  

Meetingofthewaters is another one worth watching. Priced at 25/1 (at the time of writing), this Willie Mullins-trained runner has a very attractive mark and, despite two quiet runs, still represents excellent value. 

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