What Does SP Mean? – Guide to When You Bet at Starting Price

If you’ve ever wondered what does SP mean, then this article explains it all. SP is an abbreviation of the term ‘Starting Price’. This guide to the subject will explain exactly what SP is and how you can make the most of it when betting.

What Does SP Mean in Betting Markets?

SP refers to the price available on a horse at the start of a race, which those giving horse racing tips can only guess beforehand. Traditional bookmakers offer an SP option for punters when they place a bet.

They can either take the odds that are currently available when they put on their wager, or they can take the SP. That means that the punter rejects the current price and instead chooses the SP odds.

This was once set by appointed bookmakers at race tracks. A change was necessary in 2020 when Covid hit the nation. The Starting Price Regulatory Commission conducted a review of how SP was determined.

As a result of the review, SP is now set based on off-course odds from a selection of bookmakers who hold the most significant share of the entire market for any race.

You might assume they use average Starting Prices of the top bookies to determine the SP. Instead, the prices from the leading bookmakers are ranked from highest to lowest and the shortest odds offered in the upper half of the rankings are selected as the SP. This is similar to but different from a median average.

Why Take SP in Horse Racing?

So why would a bettor choose to take the SP? They do so in the hope that the official Starting Price will be bigger than the current odds on offer.

Bookmaker odds in general and certainly horse racing odds fluctuate. Sometimes they get shorter and sometimes they get longer.

You take the SP in the hope that the latter is the case. Sometimes a racing tipster might suggest this course of action.

The rise of off-course bookmakers and in particular horse racing betting sites, has seen the option of taking the SP, become less relevant.

Many online bookies offer Best Odds Guaranteed, which is where the betting site will pay out at SP, if it turns out to be bigger than the odds that you take when you place your bet.

However, BOG offers aren’t available until the morning of a race, with the precise time different depending on the bookmakers in question. This means that many punters wishing to bet beforehand, are still left with the decision of whether to take the available odds, or the SP.

What Does SP Mean in Horse Racing Offers?

Best Odds Guaranteed is one of the most common offers available at online bookmakers. As we mentioned, taking the SP is not compatible with BOG, at least on the day of the race, for those sites that offer this promo.

There are many other common offers however, such as Extra Place races for each way bets. These are completely unaffected if you choose to take the SP. There is also a common promotion that is dependent on the concept of SP.

Many bookies have an offer where if your horse finishes second to the SP favourite, you receive your money back in the form of a free bet. You don’t actually need to take the SP to get this deal.

Pros & Cons of Taking SP

No examination of SP meaning in betting would be complete examining the pros and cons. Here are the advantages and disadvantages of taking the SP:

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