What is Ante Post? Ante Post Explained in 2 minutes
Jesse M. Cox Last Verified
19/04/2026
Ante post is a particular type of betting that is placed at least 24 hours before an event. These longer-term bets are sometimes known as futures betting, as they are regularly selected well in advance of a race or match.
A bettor may choose an ante post bet – as opposed to a starting price bet – as they will more than likely receive more attractive odds, as there are a number of variables that can still affect the event. The ante post bet is placed before the final declarations are made – meaning that the final participants will not even have been confirmed.
How is Ante Post used in Sports Betting?
Used traditionally in horse racing, ante post betting can be very profitable due to the longer odds – but there is the obvious increased risk as well. Bettors can really use their skill and judgement with an ante post bet as they can use the limited knowledge they have about a particular race – course, distance etc – and predict a winner. As other indicators such as weather, course conditions and other riders will be unknown the odds can be very attractive.
Ante post betting is also fairly in common with football events with bettors predicting the outcome of all sorts of leagues and tournaments. The World Cup is a perfect example of this and although the teams for the 2018 tournament are now known it would have been possible to place an ante post bet before the end of qualification to get the best possible odds.
Did you know…
‘Ante’ comes from Latin, meaning ‘before’. But the ‘post’ part is not Latin. It derives from the 19th century betting post – a stake that was placed at the course to signal the beginning of fixed betting.
