What Does SP Mean In Horse Racing?
I took my son out to the races for his first time the other day, and he had a great time watching all the horses.
I had a bit of a bet on a couple of the races while we were there and he was really curious about how it all worked, so I did my best to explain it to him.
One of the hardest things is all the abbreviations and jargon, so when he asked me what SP meant on my racecard, I had to take a moment to recall.
So, what does SP mean in horse racing?
SP stands for starting price. So, it essentially means the odds available on a horse at the start of the race in which it is running. The odds can change over the course of the day, so a clear starting price needs to be set for betting.
It’s quite simple once you’ve gotten your head around it, then.
But it is important to understand all these terms if you’re to get the most out of your betting.
Let’s look at this in more detail.
How is start price worked out?
The SP is typically worked out by a panel of official judges from a horse racing authority—typically the BHA in Britain, for example.
These are officially licensed judges whose job it is to carry out these kinds of evaluations and having bodies like the BHA is really important to keeping these practises standardized.
The SP that the officials come up with will be based also on the odds quoted that day.
Races will have a few official bookmakers, and the bookies that the judges use will always be fixed odds and onsite, again allowing for standardization and regulation.
They will order all the starting prices from lowest to highest, divide them into equal halves, and the SP is then the lowest price in the half with the longest odds.
As far as you’re concerned, all any of this means is that you get a standardized price at the point of betting.
What does SP win mean?
A starting price win is about the pay-out that a bettor receives, and it essentially means that the bet will pay the fixed odds price the horse had when it started the race.
Regardless of when you place your bet or what the betting was at the time you made your bet, an SP win means that whatever the price is when the horse starts the race is the price.
This is among the most common types of win, and once again is about standardization and knowing what you’re getting.
Betting can easily become a contentious arena, so it’s really important that everyone involved understands fully the stakes and the bet they are making.
Make a note of the SP before you make a bet, and use it to inform your decision.
What does SP favorite mean?
If the SP win is the winnings you make on a bet for the fixed odds the horse had at the start of the race, then an SP favorite is simply the horse that is the favorite to win at the start of the race.
So, whoever has the shortest odds.
Knowing the favorite to win is really useful, so you should again take note of this before the race.
As a bet, it isn’t always the most advantageous, as they will typically have shorter odds and therefore a lower pay out.
Nonetheless, knowing the odds of the best and worst placed horses is always really important to understanding how to place a bet, so this is information you should know.
Understanding the starting price is really important to effectively betting, then.
You need to know what it means, and how it relates to your bet.
You also need to understand it to know that bets can change a lot over the course of the day.
Ultimately, the price is the most important thing in betting, so you’ve got to know what you’re getting.
If you keep what I’ve said in mind, you’ll have no problems.