LEON: The 2015 Festival was awful for bookmakers. If Annie Power had stood up, it would have been the worst in history. Last year was not as bad but the results were still poor overall for the layers. Quite simply, the bankers have been winning and bookmakers have been too generous trying to win business.

SIMON: Cheltenham is a very special case even in the context of the big racing festivals and is a major trading challenge given the aggressive promotional and pricing approach so many betting firms take to the event. There are so many attractive trading offers flying around over the four days, as well as aggressive price positions being taken, that it is a tough week to make a margin on even when results might appear favourable to bookmakers.

Pat: Yes, last year’s Cheltenham Festival was a disaster. Too many favourites performed in the main races, while we never have a skinner in any of the handicaps. Heavy ground on all four days would throw the form book out the window and be popular with us bookmakers.

Niall: Yes this is true, particularly in the last two years with results being very unkind. The Tuesday at Cheltenham has been carnage for us for both of the last two years, and would have been quite a bit worse had Annie Power not come down at the last in 2015 with the Mares Hurdle at her mercy. With so much competition between firms, the prices being offered are extremely kind to punters and they have most certainly been taking advantage of that over the last few years.

Paddy: I’m not expecting any sympathy, but yes, it’s true. There are a number of factors, the main one being that the form book has stood up and lots of the fancied horses have won. But also us bookies are being more competitive than ever with special offers and extra places trying to get punters to choose us over someone else. I’ll be heading to Cheltenham myself and am fond of a bet, so long may it continue.

Hayley: Yes, the big festivals have proved very tough for bookies of late. Cheltenham, Galway and Punchestown are our best opportunities to attract new business and recreational punters, so the pricing and offers are extremely competitive. This means the margins are much tighter, so you need a whole host of good results to make it profitable – not just the odd favourite being beaten.

Leon: It’s certainly a big factor. No other combination attracts the same weight of money or has anything like their degree of success. We’ve seen them win an ordinary maiden hurdle with Melon and he is now clear favourite for the Supreme. Maybe that is an overreaction but just look at their record in the race. Who can take them on?

Simon: Our Cheltenham Festival will ultimately be determined by the number of winning favourites versus the number of shock results, particularly around the feature races, and as Willie Mullins and Ruby Walsh are responsible for so many of these Festival-defining horses, then it is no surprise that the Mullins-Walsh combination is by far the most damaging to bookies when they do well.

Pat: Paramount in recent years. Annie Power’s final flight fall in 2015 was potentially the biggest losing day in betting history, far bigger than Dettori’s Magnificent Seven at Ascot. “What’s Ruby on?” is the main question all week.

Niall: Extremely significant. Punters have begun to follow the pair blind given their recent success and, with the string they have at their disposal, a good or bad week for them could well decide our fate.

Paddy: In the last number of years it has been very significant. In very simple terms, if the favourite wins, the bookie loses. Even this year, at the time of writing and despite the rise of Gordon Elliott and the Gigginstown split, Willie Mullins still trains seven ante-post favourites. The Irish dominance of recent years has been led by the evil (to bookies) axis of Ruby and Willie.

Hayley: Massively significant – they are household names. I don’t think we realise how brilliant they are, but it means any Joe Soap can go racing and just follow them for the day. More often than not, it will prove a winning formula.

Leon: Yes, all the races used to be more hotly contested but now we’re seeing a lot of short-priced favourites and they deliver. Punters have latched on to that.

Simon: I think the concentration of power in the hands of a few trainers in recent years has been more responsible for a reduction in competitiveness than the increase in races. Willie Mullins, and to a lesser extent Paul Nicholls and Nicky Henderson, have such strength in depth in their teams that they can spread horses around different races that might otherwise be competing against each-other. On the whole, however, the Cheltenham Festival still delivers a good balance between competitiveness and quality, with the handicaps always full to capacity.

Pat: No, we’re just in an era of Willie Mullins domination. Times change though and Gordon Elliott in particular will ensure that other trainers will have greater strength of stable going forward.

Niall: It definitely has had an impact on competitiveness. For example, the mares’ novice hurdle is affecting the other novice races. From my own perspective though, I think the positives outweigh the negatives, as we get more racing to enjoy for the week.

Paddy: Of course it has. There’s good and bad that comes with the bigger Festival. The bad is that there’s loads of speculation as to who will run, and also there is an opportunity for horses to avoid each other and take a safer option, so we sometimes don’t get the clashes we’d love. On the plus side though, it’s easier to back winners, and I can’t remember a Cheltenham where after the last race of the last day I haven’t wished for just one more race.

Hayley: I think overall it has made Cheltenham an even bigger mecca for owners, trainers and jockeys. The hype seems to grow every year.

Leon: It has certainly declined. There are so many unknowns nowadays with horses having multiple targets.

Simon: Ante-post betting has always been a niche activity versus the huge turnover on the four days themselves. However, the increase in races and the concentration of so many top-class horses in a few big yards has created even more uncertainty over targets and running plans, which has led to a regrettable decrease in advance betting in recent years.

Pat: Considerably in recent years, due to Willie Mullins’ success. Punters now recognise that there is simply too much uncertainty and much more value on the day.

Niall: It has certainly made it difficult for punters but I wouldn’t necessarily say it has declined. Our ante-post markets are proving as popular as ever in the lead-up to Cheltenham this year. We try to price horses on their likelihood to run as well as what price they’d be if they did, meaning there is exceptional value there for punters if they can solve the puzzles themselves.

Paddy: I think that’s a bit of a misnomer. In fact, if anything, speculation and ‘talkability’ increases with uncertainty. There are two questions to answer before betting ante-post: firstly, what race will the horse run in, and secondly what else is going to run (or not)? If you can answer those, there’s some cracking value to be had.

Hayley: It is more difficult for ante-post punters now because many horses have multiple entries but what you might lose in ante-post bets, you make up with the additional racing.

Leon: If Altior lines up in the Arkle, he wins. It will take an act of God to stop Douvan and I am very keen on Unowhatimeanharry. He’s unbeaten in four starts at the track and always gets the job done.

Simon: Douvan looks nigh on unbeatable, Altior looks incredibly solid. I’d be tempted to take on Unowhatimeanharry. He’s been brilliant all season but I suspect the likes of Cole Harden and Jezki can give him plenty to think about on better ground in March.

Pat: Altior has only beaten a total of seven rivals in his three novice chase wins so, as good as he is, will find life harder in the Arkle.

Niall: They all look very solid, and trying to find a weakness is difficult when you look at the opposition they’re going to be facing. If I had to pick one of the three I’d say Unowhatimeanharry. He’s been impressive this year but if Jezki shows up in the Stayers Hurdle I’d take him to turn the favourite over.

Paddy: There doesn’t seem to be. But, as they say, there’s no such thing as a certainty. If there was there’d be no bookies. Of the three I think Unowhatimeanharry is the most vulnerable as he’s the biggest price. We don’t know exactly who’ll show up yet but I’d imagine the Stayers will be a more competitive race than either the Queen Mother or the Arkle. Shaneshill could be the fly in the ointment for Harry.

Hayley: Well, the Irish Arkle didn’t throw up an obvious threat to Altior, Douvan is, well, Douvan and Unowhatimeanharry completely fits the bill for the Stayers, so it’s looking like a solid treble.

Leon: Hold on to your money until the final fields are known. Not only is the ground a big factor but also the bookmakers’ raceday offers are so good. I’d also urge punters to respect course form. Certain horses love the place and others don’t act around there.

Simon: Wait for the non-runner, no-bet concession before charging into action. When it comes to the favourites and shorter-priced runners, it will often pay to wait until the day itself, when the bookmakers are most aggressive on price and there may well be tempting trading offers to take advantage of too.

Pat: Don’t bother trying to crack the races now; wait until the day before having your bets. There will be plenty of enhanced-win odds and each-way terms. All bookmakers will be offering excellent value.

Niall: Make plenty of use of the concessions you’re given for the week, particularly extra-place races.

Paddy: If you can isolate likely runners and non-runners early in their races, you’ll end up with a huge price advantage even on horses towards the top of the market. For novice punters, don’t be afraid to follow a tipster, whether from television or a newspaper. It’s their job to be an expert and to do their homework, and if it all goes pear-shaped, you have someone to blame.

Hayley: Don’t be boring. Bankers are often the sensible choice but I always throw in a chancey one now and again. There’s nothing like backing at big-price winner and, of course, bet responsibly. Cheltenham is about having fun, whether you’re winning or losing, and only stake what you can afford to lose.

Leon: I think Djakadam has been overlooked in the Gold Cup. He’s finished second for the past two years and is still a young horse. He goes there fresh this year and I’m hoping for soft ground for him.

Simon: Uxizandre ran a blinder in the Clarence House Chase at the end of January and will strip even fitter come March, so I think he’s the bet to win the Ryanair Chase on the Thursday.

Pat: On The Fringe in the Foxhunters at 2/1 looks very fair. He ran very well at Leopardstown on Irish Gold Cup day.

Niall: I’m quite keen on Peregrine Run in the Albert Bartlett at 25/1. You can put a line through his last run at Warwick where the ground was all wrong for him and he’s already beaten both West Approach and Wholestone at the track, who are both towards the top end of the betting market. He’s definitely the value each-way bet in the race.

Paddy: The obvious one is Altior. Even though I don’t like short prices, Altior will be 1/2 or shorter on the day. At bigger prices, I think Zabana is big each-way player at big odds in either the Ryanair or the Gold Cup.

Hayley: Jezki at 14/1 for the Champion Hurdle could be good. He set a record time the year he won the race. J.P. McManus already has the Stayers favourite, so why not let Jezki have a crack a regaining his Champion Hurdle crown.

Leon: Thistlecrack will be a short-priced favourite for the Gold Cup on good ground but we’ve seen how to beat him. The others will surely make it a stamina test and put his jumping under pressure. He can’t be allowed to go around at his own pace.

Simon: Thistlecrack is probably the horse that bookies might be most excited about taking on. His defeat in January raised genuine doubts about his stamina for the Gold Cup trip and will be the source of more debate than any other horse or issue in the plethora of Cheltenham Festival previews over the weeks ahead.

Niall: I don’t like Bellshill for the RSA at all. He’s been to Cheltenham both of the last two years and run two of the worst races of his career so he just wouldn’t be for me. Finding something to beat him is tricky but if Alpha Des Obeaux can overcome the burst blood vessel problem that affected him at Leopardstown, then I think he’s a big price at 16/1 for a trainer who always has them ready for Cheltenham.

Paddy: He may well win it but Yorkhill looks pretty short for the JLT at this stage.

Hayley: Melon has been extremely popular for the Supreme since his Leopardstown win, displacing Moon Racer as the favourite. But David Pipe’s charge has done a lot more on the track and would certainly be my preferred choice. J