New rules for returning starting prices to be introduced in May

New permanent arrangements for returning starting prices using mainly the off-course market are set to be introduced from the start of next month, the Racing Post understands.

The Starting Price Regulatory Commission (SPRC), the body responsible for the integrity and accuracy of the SP, is planning to increase the transparency of the methodology behind the new arrangements, which will take into account issues such as each-way terms that differ from standard and which operators are included in the sample from which the SP is formed.

The on-course market had been the exclusive source for the SP until racing went behind closed doors in June 2020 following the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, with a temporary solution using online operators being introduced.

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In March last year the SPRC decided the SP would be formulated using mainly off-course firms even when racecourse bookmakers returned to the track, citing the on-course market only being responsible for 1.4 per cent of total betting on racing.

The new arrangements leave the door open for racecourse bookmakers to collectively contribute to the sample which forms the SP, and members of the Betting and Gaming Council have promised financial assistance to pay for a technical solution to incorporate on-course information.

However, course bookmakers had previously been paid for their data and that may prove to be a stumbling block to their inclusion in future unless a solution can be found.

There had been fears that overrounds – the bookmakers' built-in profit margin – would increase as a result of the switch to an off-course model.

The SPRC has said the reverse is true, although course bookmakers argue this is because the prices of outsiders have increased to make up for shorter prices among the fancied horses.

It has been estimated that around 50 per cent of bets in betting shops are settled at starting price, while the SP plays a vital role in calculating returns for bets made under the 'best odds guaranteed' offer.

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