What is Ante Post Betting? Ante Post Betting Explained in 2 minutes
Mike Goodpaster Last Verified
31/03/2021
What is Ante-Post Betting?
Ante-post betting is also known as futures betting because it is just that: a bet that is made well in advance of a sporting event taking place and prior to the race course bookmakers opening their market for a particular race.
This is often a day or so before the race and often gives the punter the best chance of getting the best outright price on a horse or greyhound.
However, ante-post betting does come with a risk because if a horse is pulled from a race then the bet is automatically lost as opposed to being returned to the punter in the case of a starting price bet.
How is ante-post betting used in sports betting?
Many people do not realise it but when placing a bet on the Grand National, a majority of people will place an ante-post bet as they often bet online or through a high-street bookmaker a day or two before the race.
This carries with it a risk as mentioned above such as a horse not being unable to run, or they become classed as a non-runner due to the number of the field and clerk of the course needing to reduce numbers.
However, despite the risks, ante-post betting more often than not offers far better odds than starting price betting or just before the race as the bookmaker’s price varies depending on the number of bets laid on each horse.
Did you know…
Ante-post betting prices can vary widely between bookmakers as they cannot fix their prices to the racecourse prices.
This makes it vital to shop around when looking to place an ante-post bet on a horse race as there is significant movement in the profitability of each race and horses chosen.
