Understanding SP in Sports Betting
SP is the abbreviation for starting price, which is commonly used in horse and greyhound racing. It’s one way to settle punters’ bets before the race begins, the other being fixed-odds betting. Whether you choose SP depends on various factors, including your knowledge of horse racing, your familiarity with the strengths and weaknesses of the competing horses, the racecourse, odds fluctuations, and ultimately your ability to predict the outcome. Below, you can learn more about SP betting, including how it’s calculated, its pros and cons, who it’s for, and whether this type of bet is available in other sports.
What Does SP Mean in Horse Racing?
In simple terms, the starting price (SP) in horse racing is the official odds on a horse at the moment the race begins. Various factors can influence these odds until the moment the race begins, including weather conditions, injuries, jockey changes, and betting volume.
It’s the bookmakers who determine the starting price before the race begins. This process is overseen by the Starting Price Regulatory Commission (SPRC), an independent body that ensures transparency and integrity to guarantee fairness.
How Is the SP Calculated?
Typically, the process includes collecting odds from selected reputable sports betting sites, such as bet365, Paddy Power, and Ladbrokes, to determine the starting price of a horse race. The odds are then arranged from the longest to the shortest and divided into two equal halves. The shortest odds in the half containing the longer odds are used as the starting price.
Let’s say that a selection of major bookmakers offers odds ranging from 4.00 (3/1) to 8.00 (7/1). After these have been split into two halves, 6.00 (5/1) might be determined as the official starting price just before the race starts.
The Starting Price vs Fixed Odds
Before placing their bets, punters have to choose between the starting price (SP) and fixed odds. Unlike bets at SP in horse racing, fixed odds tell you exactly how much you’ll win if your selection is successful. However, the fixed odds available when you place your bet could be higher or lower than the starting price when the race begins. For this reason, experienced punters may opt for the SP, while those who are new to horse racing may prefer fixed odds.
Best Odds Guaranteed
Taking the standard starting price (SP) alone is often a worse choice than taking a fixed price with a best odds guaranteed (BOG) bookmaker, because SP gives you no safety cushion if the odds shorten. BOG is a type of bet that can provide greater value for punters betting on horse races. In short, it calculates your winnings using whichever is higher: the fixed odds you took or the starting price at the beginning of a horse race. So, if you take fixed odds and the starting price turns out to be more favourable when the race begins, your winnings will be calculated using the SP.
Still, not all horse races offer guaranteed odds. While competitions, such as the Cheltenham Festival and the Grand National, may come with BOG offers, some major racing events may not. In such cases, you may get better value when betting on horses at the starting price. To do so, make sure you study the racecourse, horses, jockeys, and other crucial factors that may influence the outcome of the race.
The Importance of the SP for Horse Betting
Now that you know what SP stands for in horse racing and how it works, it’s easy to see why it may become less common in the future with the introduction of BOG. Still, not all races offer best odds guaranteed, so the starting price may remain the way to go if you believe the odds could become more favourable by the time the race begins. However, this strategy can be a double-edged sword, as the starting price may move either way. But if you’re confident in your selections or prefer the market to determine the final odds, the starting price may prove to be the right choice.
The Starting Price on Horse Races Pros and Cons
The SP comes with its share of strengths and weaknesses, and which of these may prevail depends on your betting strategy and knowledge of horse racing. Note that the following advantages and disadvantages may also apply to greyhound races:
| SP Pros | SP Cons |
| Securing higher odds if the SP increases | Missing out on more favourable odds if the SP decreases |
| Wide availability | You don’t know the exact returns before the race begins |
| No need to track odds | Cannot benefit from best odds guaranteed (BOG) |
Note that the horse racing starting price bets may be included in accumulator bets, which, if successful, can greatly increase your profits compared to individual bets featuring the same stake.
Does the SP Apply to Other Sports?
You typically won’t find the starting price applied to other sports. That’s because it’s usually associated with sports that experience high volatility, such as horse and greyhound racing, where market movements can cause odds to rise or fall significantly. Since other sports rarely feature such fluctuations, they generally don’t offer this particular type of bet.
How to Select the Starting Price When Betting Online
When placing a bet online, you need to tick the SP (Starting Price) box if available. Once you do, you’ve placed the SP bet. If there’s no such box, the starting price bet isn’t available.
SP Horse Racing FAQs
In horse racing, SP stands for the starting price, which may change before the race begins. In other words, you need to be confident in your selections to have a chance of benefiting from higher returns if your chosen horse wins.
Odds collected from around a dozen bookmakers are arranged from the smallest to the highest first. Then, they’re divided into two halves—the shortest odds and the longest odds. The shortest odds in the longer range form the starting price.
It largely depends on your knowledge of the sporting event and confidence in your selections. More experienced punters with in-depth knowledge of horse (or greyhound) racing may prefer the starting price. On the other hand, new punters may choose fixed odds instead. However, if the best odds guaranteed option is available, you’ll benefit from whichever odds are higher if your selection wins.
The starting price is commonly available in horse and greyhound racing. It’s rarely offered in other sports, as market volatility seldom affects their odds in the same way it affects racing markets.
