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What is the starting price (SP) in horse racing?

Betting

Starting price — The official odds returned on a horse at the moment the race starts.

Also: SP

The starting price, or SP, is the official price a horse is returned at when the race goes off, set from the on-course betting market. Place a bet without taking a fixed price, and it’s settled at SP.

It’s the industry’s benchmark — the price a high-street shop pays — which is exactly why we settle our whole tracked record at SP. It’s the honest, conservative measure: no cherry-picking a fleeting best price that nobody really got.

Taking an early price can beat SP, and “best odds guaranteed” pays you the bigger of your taken price and the SP. But for judging whether tips actually make money, SP is the fairest yardstick.

See our SP-settled record →

Related terms

Rule 4A deduction from winning bets when a horse is withdrawn late and the market can’t be reformed. Dead heatWhen two or more horses finish exactly level and can’t be separated, so stakes are split. Ante-postBetting on a race in advance — bigger odds, but you usually lose your stake if your horse doesn’t run.

Frequently asked questions

Is it better to take a price or bet at SP?

Taking a price locks it in and can beat the SP, but SP is the fair benchmark for measuring results. Best-odds-guaranteed gives you the better of the two.

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