2027 BetMGM Cup

Previously known as the Coral Cup, the race was first introduced into the Cheltenham Festival in 1993. After six renewals, the race was promoted to a Grade 3 in 1999.

The race is a Grade 3 National Hunt Hurdle race that consists of ten hurdles over a distance of 2 miles and 5 furlongs.

Horse ages four years or above can enter the race that is run on the Old Course at Cheltenham. On one occasion, back in 2008, the race had to be run on the new course. This was due to high winds and the race having to be rescheduled.

The BetMGM Cup is a handicapped race, and it takes place on day 2 of the festival.

Betting company Coral sponsored the race until 2026, when BetMGM took up the mantle; hence the name.

PRIZE MONEY

The very first winner of the Coral Cup was Olympian. The then six-year-old was trained by Martin Pipe and ridden by Peter Scudamore and beat the 20/1 priced Sillars Stalker by just over two lengths winning £36,546 as a result.

Olympian was also awarded a bonus of £50,000 for winning the Imperial Cup the weekend prior.

When the race was moved to the New Course for the first and only time in 2008, Davy Russell rode Naiad du Misselot to victory. They were priced at 7/1 and beat Kick For Free at 11/1 to by a nose to land the first place prize of £45,616.

Dame De Compagnie won the race in 2020, beating Black Tears by 2.25 lengths. The purse was £100,000, and connections of Dame De Compagnie received £56,270 for winning.

For 2021, the prize money was reduced as racing was held behind closed doors. Heaven Help Us, from trainer Paul Hennessy, was the 33/1 winner. Jockey Richard Condon led from the start and ultimately won the race by 9L, taking home £42,203.

Commander Of Fleet won the Coral Cup in 2022 for trainer Gordon Elliott and jockey Shane Fitzgerald. The prize money had returned to its normal value of £100K with the winning team taking home £56,270.

Keeping up with the statistic that no horse has won this race more than once, Langer Dan won in 2023 for trainer Dan Skelton and jockey Harry Skelton.

FAMOUS WINNERS

Though it is a Grade 3 race, the BetMGM Cup still attracts some of the best up and coming horses in training. While no horse has won the race more than once, some of the past winners have gone onto win other notable races.

The 2000 winner, What's Up Boys, trained by Henrietta Knight went on to win the Hennessy Gold Cup and placed second in the 2002 Grand National.

2017 winner Supasundae went on to race in other big festival races such as the Sun Bet Stayers Hurdle and the Champion Hurdle. He also won the Irish and Punchestown Champion Hurdles - two of the biggest races in Ireland.

BETMGM CUP RECORDS

Only one horse in the race's history has won the race twice, and that was Langer Dan in 2023 and 2024 for trainer Dan Skelton, though most of the winners have gone on to race in higher graded races at subsequent festivals.

The leading jockey accolade is shared between Barry Geraghty and Davy Russell. They each have three wins.

Davy Russell won on Naiad de Misselot (2008), Carlito Brigante (2011) and Diamond King (2016).

Barry Geraghty won most recently on Dame De Compagnie in 2020. He also rode Sky's The Limit (2006) and Spirit River (2010) to victory.

Nicky Henderson is the leading trainer in Coral Cup history. He has five winners to his name, winning with Dame De Compagnie in 2020, as well as with Spirit River (2010), Whisper (2014), William Henry (2019), and Jinko Blue (2026).

Established in 1993, there have been a few changes to the race layout over the years. All renewals, except for one in 2008, have been run on the Old Course. The race was promoted to Grade 3 status in 1999 and was sponsored by Coral bookmakers until 2026.