There are a lot of punters around that use ante post betting in order to back winners at slightly inflated prices. It can be a good ploy and events like the Cheltenham Festival and the Grand National always attract a lot of interest. Ante post betting is not without its risks, however, especially when bookmakers bet with an ‘in all’ policy. This means that if your horse is a declared a non-runner – you lose your bet. That’s a hard way to do your hard earned cash.

Of course, that risk is why those prices are a little inflated. In some races, there are still as many as 30-40 horses nominated. With many fields restricted to 24 or less runners, those fields will be culled a little. You just have to hope your horse isn’t one of them.

Using the Cheltenham Festival as a good guide, we know that some horses race better on good tracks while others race better on soft tracks. History also shows that many races are won by horses who have won at their last outing, especially if that outing was within a month of the Festival. Betting too early means you may be missing out on finding a horse that is just coming to hand at the right time.

If you can find a horse at good betting odds, then ante post betting can deliver some decent rewards. I am not sure I would be backing Big Bucks in the World Hurdle at odds of 11/8 when the race is almost a week away. It’s a big risk at short odds. At the same time, Long Run at 11/2 in the Gold Cup could be a value bet, especially if he winds up running as favourite or equal favourite – and he could too with so many tipping him as the danger horse.

Ante post betting can deliver good prices. However, there is an increase in risk and you have to be prepared to accept that risk. There are bookmakers offering no runner – no bet options, but their prices are often a little shorter – but then, there’s less risk of losing your money.