Starting Price in Betting: How SP Is Set and When It Applies

The starting price, usually shortened to SP, is the official price of each runner at the moment a horse or greyhound race begins. If you place a bet "at SP" rather than taking the odds shown at the time, your bet is settled at that official figure once the race is off. You do not know your exact return when you place the bet; you only know it will match the price the market settled on at the start.

How the starting price is produced

In British and Irish racing, the SP is not chosen by the bookmaker who took your bet. Independent officials at the course watch the prices offered by on-course bookmakers in the betting ring and record what was available as the race starts. From that sample they return one official price per runner. Off-course and online bookmakers then use the returned figure to settle every SP bet.

Because the number comes from the ring at the off, it captures all the late money, late news and late withdrawals. That is its main appeal and also its main uncertainty.

SP, early prices and taking a price

There are three common ways a racing price reaches a bet slip:

A fixed price can turn out longer or shorter than the eventual SP. If plenty of money arrives for your selection, its price shortens and the earlier fixed odds look generous. If the horse drifts in the market, the SP ends up bigger and the SP bettor gets the better deal.

Why someone would choose SP

• Uncertain news. If the going, the draw or a rival's participation is still unclear, waiting for the market to absorb that news can feel more comfortable than locking in a number early.
• Withdrawals. When a runner is pulled out and the market has time to re-form, SP bets already reflect the smaller field. A fixed-price bet would instead face a Rule 4 deduction on its winnings.
• Simplicity. Multiple bets and combination bets on several races are often struck at SP so the slip can be settled without tracking each price separately.

Where SP tends to cost more

The ring at the off is a market like any other, and its prices carry a margin. The overround on an SP market, which is the total of the implied probabilities across all runners minus 100%, can be larger than the margin a bettor could find by comparing fixed prices earlier. That margin is not spread evenly either. Prices on outsiders tend to be cut more heavily than those on favourites, a pattern explained in our piece on why long odds often cost more. A long shot backed at SP can therefore return less than its real chance deserves.

SP and finishing-order bets

Some racing bets have no single price of their own. Forecasts and tricasts are usually paid out by formulas based on the starting prices of the runners involved, which is why the return on a bet that calls the finishing order is only known after the race.

Best odds guaranteed and similar offers

Some bookmakers run promotions on selected races that pay the bigger of your fixed price and the SP if your selection wins. The terms vary: some apply only to certain races, some cap the extra amount, and some exclude particular bet types. Reading the conditions before relying on such an offer avoids surprises at settlement.

SP is not used everywhere

In North American racing, most betting runs through pool (pari-mutuel) wagering, where all stakes on a race go into a pool and the payout depends on how much was bet on each runner once the pool closes. That system has no starting price in the British sense, although the final pool odds play a similar role: your exact return is only known after betting closes.

Judging SP against the price you took

Comparing your fixed odds with the SP is one of the simplest checks on your own timing. Consistently getting a bigger number than the SP suggests you are taking prices before the market moves against them, which is the same idea behind judging a bet by its final price. It still says nothing about whether a single bet wins.

Racing bets are for adults only, and the rules on who can bet, where and how differ between countries, so check what applies locally and keep stakes within a budget meant for entertainment.