What Does SP Mean In Horse Racing In The UK

Firstly let’s define what does SP mean in horse racing in the UK. In simplistic terms it is the starting price of each horse before a race starts. We also have BSP - Betfair Starting Price if you use the Betfair betting exchange which is Betfair’s own version of SP.

What Does SP Mean In Betting In UK Horse Races

In my opinion betting to SP in a horse race is not the correct way to profit from horse racing even with best odds guaranteed offers from some bookmakers. I only use the Betfair betting exchange because my style of betting is betting at large odds in-play. I will spread my stake across multiple odds in-play at say decimal odds 10.0 20.0 and 30.0 etc even though the BSP is 3.0. This is the correct way to make a profit when betting on horses. So what does SP mean in Betting, you are taking the price of a horse before a race starts. So let’s say your horse SP is 8.0 and best odds guarantee returns 9.0 and the horse wins the race we are in profit. You might have got decimal odds 13.0 or even larger in-play on Betfair. If you are betting to a £10 stake you have missed out on a great deal of profit yet most punters do not adopt this approach. In a year this lost profit adds up and punters are leaving a great deal of money on the table.

 

Are Punters Lazy Just Taking SP With Best Odds Guaranteed

I think this can be looked at in different ways some punters might not have access to betting exchanges like Betfair for some reason or other.  Some punters like traditional bookmakers with their daily offers drawing the punter into their web. Some punters do not have the time to ask for large prices in-play on betting exchanges as people have busy lives. I hate to say this some punters do not understand traditional odds or decimal odds. So we cannot say punters are lazy for taking SP or BSP.

I do think punters get into a routine with their favourites bookmakers and stay loyal to them.

I hope I have put some clarity on what is SP in horse racing and hope you use betting exchanges like Betfair and take advantage of large prices in-play.