The Cheltenham Festival brings together the best horses from Britain and Ireland in championship races over hurdles and fences. The four-day meeting in March also features some of the most competitive handicaps of the season. The entries and weights have been announced and one of the standout bets is La Bague Au Roi at +2500 at Bovada to win the Plate Handicap Chase. We also like Lady Buttons at +1600 in the Grand Annual Chase.

There are 28 races over the four days of the festival. The graded races are run off level weights, except for allowances for mares and young horses, and the form is often quite reliable because the best runners tend to prevail. In handicaps, horses are allocated a weight based on past collateral form. The job of the handicapper is to give each runner an equal chance of winning the race. Weights are allocated in a range which means some horses carry more weight than their true handicap mark.

Here are the Cheltenham Festival handicaps:

• Ultima Handicap Chase – Tuesday
• Northern Trust Company Novices' Handicap Chase – Tuesday
• Coral Cup Handicap Hurdle – Wednesday
• Boodles Juvenile Handicap Hurdle – Wednesday
• Pertemps Network Final Handicap Hurdle – Thursday
• Brown Advisory and Merribelle Festival Plate Handicap Chase – Thursday
• Kim Muir Handicap Chase – Thursday
• County Handicap Hurdle – Friday
• Grand Annul Handicap Chase – Friday
• Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys' Handicap Hurdle – Friday

These races are always oversubscribed, which means there are often more than 16 runners. Online bookmakers settle each-way bets at one-quarter the odds for four places, but they may offer extra places due to the high profile and competitive nature of these handicaps. Shopping around could uncover some bookies going down to sixth place. Other betting concessions may include a full refund if a horse does not get a run due to refusing or falling at the first obstacle.

The weight range for Cheltenham handicaps is often narrow, which means the races are more akin to graded races. A horse must be relatively unexposed and have a few pounds in hand to win one of these races. The employment of a competent claiming jockey is another factor. The seven-pound claim could be crucial, but the jockey must be good enough to place the horse in a decent position in the hurly burley of a big handicap run at a relentless pace.

The Plate Handicap Chase is for horses that have not qualified for other handicaps because their official rating is too low. Horses aged five and older are eligible for a race run over two miles, four-and-a-half furlongs and 17 fences on the New Course at Cheltenham. La Bague Au Roi has some decent form at graded level but runs in a handicap for the first time. The horse was not totally out of his depth in the Grade 1 Irish Gold Cup at the start of February. The trainer thinks La Bague Au Roi is ready for a handicap and the 11-03 weight means he could be a blot.

Lady Buttons runs off 11-02 in the Grand Annual Handicap Chase, which is open to horses aged five and older. The race distance is two miles and half a furlong and there are 14 fences. Lady Buttons is a versatile horse that has won a mares' hurdle and mares' chase on her last two starts, both at Class 1 level. She has 15 wins from 32 races, which include a National Hunt Flat race and regular Flat race. Lady Button is now one of the most popular horses in training, but she would take her fame to a new level by winning one of the most competitive handicap chases of the season.

A horse must have a manageable weight in any handicap, but more so at Cheltenham. La Bague Au Roi and Lady Buttons seem to be well in based on past form.