There are many abbreviations in Horse Racing betting SP is one example of that, So What Does SP Mean In Horse Racing?
SP stands for Starting Price, this is the price the horse was at when the race started running or went in play. Should you accept the SP price option when placing your bet you get the price the horse was at the start of the race.
However, if you take the best odds guaranteed option you get either the price you took at the time of placing the bet or the SP price (whichever is higher).
So basically once they are under starters orders and off the price at the moment of the off is the Starting price.
Best Odds Guaranteed Or Starting Price?
Sometimes if you don’t have a bookmaker offering the best odds guaranteed and they only offer the current price or SP it’s a gamble not worth taking.
This is because if you placed a bet on a horse that is currently odds of say 3/1 but you check the SP box, and the horse then gets backed into evens you will get evens and thus not win as much money from your stake.
obviously, this can be worth it the other way too but best odds guaranteed is a far better way to secure an extra profit from your bets.
If you don’t have a bookmaker offering the best odds guaranteed promotion then I suggest you switch bookmakers now or you’re throwing away extra winnings with every bet.
Below is an example of a BOG bet, as you can see this guy would have only won at the odds of 66/1 without best odds and has almost tripled his winnings with it.
Best odds guaranteed
Many bookmakers offer you the chance to take either the SP or best odds guaranteed, it’s always better to take the best odds guaranteed if possible.
This is because if the SP is higher than when you back the horse and take the best odds you will get the SP price and if it’s not you get the price it was when you placed your bet.
For the most part, I do not recommend taking SP prices when you back horses and you can read more below on why I think the best odds are better.
What does BSP mean on Betfair?
BSP is simply Betfair’s starting price it’s just the starting price that the selection was on Betfair when the race went off, as each bookie has different odds for events.
You can add anything before the SP really WHSP could mean William Hill starting price for example.
Often on TV whether it’s ITV Racing AtTheRaces or Sky Racing, they refer to the BSP (Betfair starting price), Betfair being one of the world’s most popular betting exchanges where many place larger bets being the main reason.
Is it profitable to bet on horses when taking the SP?
Well, this very much depends on how good you are at picking a winner doesn’t it but in general, you will make far more profit from your horse racing bets when taking the best odds guaranteed instead of horse racing SP prices.
This is because you get the better price, let’s say for example when you place the bet the horse is 5/1, but then it drifts to 8/1 when the race starts, and you will get 8/1.
On the other hand, if the odds come into 3/1 as the race starts you will still get the 5/1 you took when you placed the bet, that’s why it’s called best odds guaranteed.
It is far more profitable to bet taking the best odds guaranteed than the SP odds or price.
Other related questions and answers
what does sp mean in greyhound betting? – It means the same as horse racing, starting price, or the price the dog is as the race is declared off and running.
what does sp mean on William hill betting? – The same, sp means starting price at any bookmaker including this one.
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