If you like to place bets a few hours before a race starts, you’ll often see that the bookmakers are offering ‘SP’ – although many punters don’t realize what it means.
An SP is the Starting Price of the horse, so in actual fact, it can be a risky way to bet.
For example, you could back a horse that might be around 2/1 in the morning and take the SP with a bookmaker, but if he is well backed and starts the race with odds of 4/6, you get the shorter price as you have back the horse with the price it goes off at.
Even if you the horse drifts out to 4/1 from 4/6, although taking the SP has worked, it’s still risky as you don’t know exactly what’s going to happen in the market.
For that reason, using a bookmakers that have Best Odds Guaranteed, as well as the odds priced up and on display on their site, is the way to go.
So, a tip from us, DON’T TAKE THE SP.
