Product
Starting Price (SP)
Last reviewed 24 September 2026
What is SP?
The odds at which a horse or greyhound is returned at the start of a race, determined from the prices available in the on-course or designated market at the off, and used to settle bets placed "at SP" without a fixed price taken. The reference price of racing betting.
Key takeaways
- The SP is the official price returned at the off from a designated market sample, settling bets taken without a fixed price.
- It is the benchmark for early prices and the reference behind best odds guaranteed.
- Its compilation has been reformed when the sample was thought manipulable or unrepresentative; integrity of the SP is a regulatory concern.
- Rule 4 deductions do not normally apply to SP bets, because the SP already reflects withdrawals, unless a horse is withdrawn too late for a new market to form.
Why it matters
Racing has a price that does not exist in other sports: an official closing price, returned after the off, that settles every bet taken without a fixed price and against which every fixed price is measured. Historically the SP was compiled by press representatives sampling on-course bookmakers at the off; in Britain it is now returned under rules set by the Starting Price Regulatory Commission from a sample of off-course bookmakers' prices, a basis adopted after on-course betting was suspended during the 2020 pandemic, and in other racing jurisdictions equivalent mechanisms exist. A bettor who backs a horse "at SP" accepts whatever price is returned; a bettor who takes a fixed price early gets that price, unless the operator's best-odds-guaranteed concession pays the SP when it is longer.
The SP matters to the industry for three reasons. It is the settlement price for the large volume of retail and online bets placed without a price, particularly on multiples and in betting shops. It is the benchmark for the value of early prices, and the industry's argument with sharp bettors about early-price restrictions turns on how often they beat the SP. And it is the price around which racing's promotional economics are built: best odds guaranteed, which pays the better of the price taken and the SP, is the sector's most expensive standing promotion.
The integrity of the SP has been contested whenever the sample used to compile it was thought to be manipulable or unrepresentative, and reforms to the compilation process in Britain in the 2010s and 2020s followed exactly that concern. For the trader, the SP is also where in-race pricing starts: in-play racing markets are priced from the SP as the horses jump.
Sources
- Rules for Returning the SP - Starting Price Regulatory Commission
- The SPRC: press releases on the rules for returning the SP - Starting Price Regulatory Commission
SP elsewhere on iGaming Times
In the news
Frequently asked questions
Should I take a price or bet at SP?
If you expect the horse to shorten, take the price; if you expect it to drift, bet at SP. With best odds guaranteed you get the better of the two on a price taken, which is why the concession is valuable.
Who decides the starting price?
In Britain, the SP is returned under rules set by the Starting Price Regulatory Commission from a sample of off-course bookmakers' prices at the off, a basis adopted when on-course betting was suspended during the 2020 pandemic. Other racing jurisdictions have their own compilation mechanisms; pari-mutuel systems have no SP as such, only the final pool dividend.
Does the starting price exist for sports other than racing?
Not formally. Other sports settle at the price taken, and the nearest equivalent is the closing line, the last price before an event starts, which is used as a benchmark rather than a settlement price.