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Ante-Post Betting on horse racing is the term used to describe bets placed on a race before the final declarations have been made. Final declarations are generally declared at 10am on the day before National Hunt Races, and at 10am two-days before Flat Races. Ante-Post Rules apply to all ante-post single and multiple bets.
The Advantages of Ante-Post Betting
The main advantage of ante-post betting is that you’ll often get a bigger-price about a horse in an ante-post market than you would in a final-declarations market. The Grand National is usually one of the most-popular ante-post markets as there are usually over 100 horses declared for a race that can have a maximum of 40-runners. This encourages shrewd-punters to place ante-post bets on horses they think may put in a big performance in advance of the race; causing their odds to contract. For example, 2017 Grand National winner One For Arthur was readily available at 40/1 in the ante-post market, and still available at 25/1 after winning the Classic Chase in January. He was then a best-priced 18/1 on the morning of the race, before being sent-off at 14-1 – highlighting the advantage of having an ante-post bet.
One other major advantage can be the each-way terms. For example, if 20-runners were originally declared for a major-handicap which bookies form an ante-post market for, ante-post place-terms would be ¼ odds 4-places. But, if the race cuts-up to 12-runners on the day, place-terms will be ¼ odds 3-places. However, your each-way ante-post bet will still pay out on the first 4-places.
The third big advantage of ante-post betting is that there will be no Rule 4 deductions, no matter how many horses are pulled-out, and regardless of their prices.
The Disadvantage Of Ante-Post Betting
If you’re considering betting ante-post, you should also consider the one major disadvantage of this type of bet – which is you lose your money, without a run, if your horse is one of the horses that gets pulled-out. Therefore, always weigh-up whether the odds you’re getting about a horse are worth risking your stake for – though that is the essence of all gambling.
Non-Runner-No-Bet Ante-Post Markets
To attract customers to bet with them, some bookmakers may offer an ante-post market with a Non-Runner-No-Bet (NRNB) clause. This basically means, if your horse doesn’t run – you’ll get your money back.
Other Rules Of Ante-Post Betting To Be Aware Of
If a race is postponed for any reason, but is then run at a different time or on a different day, all ante-post bets will stand – regardless of whether they are winners or losers.
All ante-post stakes will be returned if a race is abandoned, whether your selection was declared to run or not.
All ante-post stakes will be returned if a race is declared void, whether your selection was declared to run or not.
All ante-post stakes on any horse balloted-out under the Jockey Club’s Rules Of Racing will be returned. Example, the Reserves in the Grand National.
All ante-post stakes will be returned if a race is moved to an alternate venue, whether your selection was declared to run or not.
All ante-post stakes will be returned if a race is re-opened due to insufficient numbers, whether your selection was declared to run or not.
All ante-post stakes will be returned if the conditions of a race are altered according to the Jockey Club’s Rules, whether your selection was declared to run or not.
Horse Racing Correspondent The Tipster League
Harvey is a horse racing writer with vast experience within the publishing industry. He’s worked as a specialist horse racing writer, blogger and tipster for several leading bookmakers.
Harvey has been a regular contributor for Coral, 888Sport and BetVictor and was the author of the Cheltenham Festival and Aintree Grand National blog on Paddy Power for three years.