Ante Post Tips

One of the most intriguing things for many National Hunt racing fans is the ante post markets for the Cheltenham Festival. For people that like to have a bet this is a fascinating opportunity to try and discover some value in the market months before the action gets under way.

There are several benefits to ante post bets. One of the key aspects is value in the market. A good example can be found in how the market currently stands for the 2012 Arkle. Sprinter Sacre is a warm favourite at the head of the market, best priced 9/4 with Bet365 and a couple other bookmakers. His price came after a comprehensive win over Peddlers Cross at Kempton. The latter had headed the market before the race, whilst Sprinter Sacre was second in the market at around the 6/1 mark. So anybody who fancied Sprinter Sacre to win may well have backed him ante post for the Arkle, therefore getting a price that may be three times bigger – or more – when he lines up in the 2012 Festival. If you are confident about a horse then it can be hugely beneficial to get good ante post value. The bookmakers will be sure to react quickly when a horse puts in a serious performance and that’s something you must factor in to your selections.

Another fascinating aspect of Cheltenham ante post betting is the novice hurdle races. There is always a mixture of horses to look out for in these markets, from useful performers on the flat to French imports that connections hope can be the next Kauto Star. Trying to create an early opinion on these horses starting off over jumps can be tricky as the early form can often not work out particularly well, but that is part of the risk when backing horses at big priced odds. The 2012 Triumph Hurdle has proven to be a rather volatile market so far, with several well touted horses failing to live up to expectations following what appeared impressive early performances. For an example of backing a horse early for value I’m going to use an example from flat racing in Camelot. Camelot is a huge favourite for the 2012 Epsom Derby, available at no bigger than 3/1 from Paddy Power. He made a winning debut at Leopardstown, starting odds-on at 1/3. Clearly there was some positive vibes around for the colt. He won with ease but it was difficult to know what to make of the form of a maiden race. He could be backed for The Derby at 25/1 at this stage. We didn’t see the colt til several months later, lining up in the Grade 1 Racing Post Trophy. In the week before the race he was 16/1. As speculation continued that this horse was a bit special, he shortened to 10/1 prior to the race. After a blistering display, beating several smart types he was slashed in the market, all the way down to 3/1. Many people would have backed him at double-digit odds and will now be looking at those tickets as very good value. That is part of the fun of ante post betting.

There is of course a couple of downsides with Cheltenham Festival ante post betting. The majority of the time you will not get your money back should a horse not take part in the race. This could be either through an unlucky injury or connections deciding on a different race target. With a big selection of races on at the festival it can be tricky sometimes to know what route certain horses will take. This must be remembered when getting involved with ante post markets. For several of the leading races at the Cheltenham Festival some bookmakers such as Ladbrokes offer NRNB. This stands for ‘non runner no bet’, and means you will have your stake refunded if your selection does not line up in the race.

2012 Cheltenham Ante Post Tips

Ante post tips on the site are done as blog posts as we like to provide some good detail and reasoning for the selections. Below you can find links to the posts and confirmation of the selections. This page will be updated as new selections are made.

Remember to bet responsibly. Prices for the bets are advised at the time and may not remain the same if the selection receives market suppoprt.

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