Start Price, or SP for short, as everyone calls it, is simply the final odds available on a horse when the off is called. Instead of being given a fixed price to bet on, you are betting on what odds they will be when they jump.
It is like asking “I’ll have whatever price this horse is when they jump” rather than being given definite odds hours beforehand.
The beauty of SP betting is that you might be quoted considerably better odds than were available when you first considered the horse. Maybe your selection was 4/1 this morning but stretches out to 6/1 come racing time because nobody else fancies it. Having SP is that you grab the 6/1, as opposed to the 4/1.
Of course, it goes both ways. That same horse can get backed into 2/1 favorite by post time, and you will have much worse odds than expected.
Most bookmakers now offer Best Odds Guaranteed, the best of both worlds. Have an early price and if the SP is larger, they pay out at the SP instead. Really, you can’t lose with an early price with BOG on board.
That has made SP betting unpopular as it used to be because why bet on the final price when you can lock in that you get the best of the two?
The SP itself is derived from what’s occurring on course and on the betting exchanges. The days when it was simply the domain of trackside bookmakers bellowing odds are gone. Now, it’s a sophisticated formula that takes into account exchange prices and a variety of other market markers.
This can result in a bit of a strange situation where the SP is not precisely what you would obtain by tracking the market all day. A horse might be hammered in early bets but the SP will then emerge longer than expected as a result of the majority of the money having been laid prior to the serious punters arriving.
Each-way betting adds another complexity to SP thinking. The place terms are fixed when you place a bet, but your selection may move well in the win market while staying broadly similar for a place. This can create scenarios where SP offers much superior each-way value compared to early prices suggested.
Ante-post stands out because SP doesn’t apply – you’re stuck with the price you originally accepted, even if your horse is favourite on the day of the race. That’s the ante-post gamble, where you’re sacrificing possible better prices for the risk of non-runners and price fluctuations against you.
Some punters curse SP betting because they think the last market provides the best estimate of each horse’s chances of winning. All that stable information, course form, and late odds shifts into that final price.
Others prefer the protection of early prices, especially if they have done their homework and selected something at decent odds before the market finds out.
Weather can have a drastic effect on SP against the early prices. A horse might look fairly well-handicapped on good ground at 8/1 in the morning, but if it rains and the ground is soft, it can easily drift to 15/1 if it doesn’t behave.
The timing element turns SP betting highly tactical. You’re essentially betting the market will turn your way between the time you place the bet and the race taking place. Sometimes that’s from actual knowledge, sometimes it’s simply hoping other people haven’t noticed what you have.
Being aware of SP is making informed decisions about whether to take early prices or wait for the market to come out.
