Ante Post Betting Odds. Sharper.

How to Bet on Ante Post Horse Racing

The bookies will have antepost betting markets available for some of the big horse races throughout the National Hunt and Flat horse racing season. You can visit a bookmaker website to see which horse races have been priced up and you'll generally find the opportunity to bet on the Cheltenham Festival races throughout the year.

Antepost betting is a really simple process and it simply involves picking the horse that you want to back for a race and nominating your stake at the available odds. Please note that you have to take the available price and that will be the odds that you have all the way through until the day of the race.

When to Place Antepost Bets on the Big Horse Races

Some punters love to have an antepost bet on a particular horse winning a big race like the Cheltenham Gold Cup and there's often the opportunity to back a runner at a huge price before it has a prep run where a victory could see the prices shorten significantly.

It's important to be convinced that the horse in question is going to line up for that particular horse race. Beware of the fact that some horses have multiple entries, especially something like the Cheltenham Festival where you will find a runner could be entered in a number of different races.

While it might be tempting to bet on the Cheltenham Gold Cup or Champion Hurdle months in advance, there's the obvious fact that your money is tied up for that period of time before you get a potential return. The more in advance you place your bets, the more riskier those selections tend to be.

It's also worth noting that Best Odds Guaranteed isn't something that is going to apply for Antepost horse racing betting, so you need to take the price on offer and work on the basis that you're getting the value well in advance.

Placing your bets ante post often gives you much better prices than betting on the day of the race or even in the days before it runs. But there are risks to consider too and here we outline the information you need to know when placing ante post horse racing bets.

Ante Post Odds Comparison

As you will understand if you are already familiar with our site, our odds comparison makes finding the best horse racing betting odds a quick and simple process. We compare the odds from the top bookies in the business in real time to ensure you can swiftly find the best betting odds for the race or horse you are considering betting on.

Here we bring you the ante post odds comparison for the biggest races. Whether you are seeking to get your bets on early for the Grand National, the Cheltenham Gold Cup, the derby at Epsom or the 2,000 Guineas, you can place your bets for the next renewal almost as soon as the latest has finished.

Risks and Benefits of Ante Post Betting

Where horse racing is concerned, ante post betting refers to bets placed any time before the final field is declared. This generally happens the day before the race is set to run, but sometimes there is a 48 hour declaration in place, for instance for the biggest races at the Cheltenham Festival.

Given that you are placing a bet on a horse before the final declarations have been made, there is clearly the risk that your horse will not make the final cut. There are ways to mitigate this risk, which we will explain below. But if you are placing ante post bets you should be aware that there is a chance you literally won't get a run for your money if the horse you back doesn't make the final field.

Of course, this risk is what accounts for the bigger odds and extra betting value ante post bets give to the punter. Imagine you backed Sprinter Sacre for the 2013 Queen Mother Champion Chase. If you would have put your bet on just before the race ran you would have got odds of just 1/4. If you had been a little cannier, though, and got your bet on months before, you could have got odds of around 4/1 or more. That's a huge difference and handsomely rewarded those who knew the equine great had what it took to charge back to the top of the sport.

Ante Post - Tactics and Offers

Of course there is no accounting for bad luck with betting in general and having your ante post bet blown out of the water by an injury is something that sometimes simply cannot be avoided. Here are few things that can help give your ante post bets the best chance of success though.

• Non-runner, no bet - Some bookies apply a non-runner, no bet (NRNB) offer to some of the biggest races, and this is a fantastic deal for fans of ante post betting. This means that if you place your bet on a horse in advance of the final declaration at given betting odds, you will receive a refund (as cash or a free bet, depending on the offer details) if your horse does not make the final cut.
• Pick a horse nearer the top of the field - The entries to a given race are generally whittled down in stages, and those given the lowest numbers from the initial card are more likely to make the cut. For instance, in the Grand National there are a number of declaration stages where the initial entries of 100 or so are cut to 70 and then to the final 40. If you pick a horse numbered 99, it's unlikely he or she will be in the final 40, whereas one in the top 10 should be (barring injury, a change of trainer or a change in the owner's plans).
• Hedge Your Bets - If you are placing ante post bets, it is sometimes a good idea to pick two or three horses so that you keep an interest even if one or two drop out. This can be especially good if you are using a NRNB offer which will refund your bets on the non-runners.

In short, ante post racing bets can be a great way to get extra betting value for the biggest horse races, but it pays to be aware of the risks as well as the benefits.