Big Races and ante-post: an ante post racing app

What does Big Races cover in RaceWatch?

Big Races is the part of RaceWatch for the season's major races, with Prep Watch and Pattern Watch alongside it. The free roll of honour and the live panel on this page add the Group and Grade 1 picture.

Big races do not appear out of nowhere. Entries are made weeks or months ahead, owners pay at forfeit stages to keep horses in, handicaps have their weights published, and the field shrinks until final declarations. Following that process is the heart of ante-post study, because the field on the day can look very different from the first entries.

Prep Watch and Pattern Watch sit alongside Big Races in the member app. The free data pages add a roll of honour for recent Group and Grade 1 winners and a list of the top level races coming up, shown in the live panel on this page.

How can I follow ante-post prices weeks before a race?

Ante-post prices move for weeks before a big race. A horse shortening steadily has growing support; one drifting may have a setback, a change of target or simply fading interest.

Exchange markets are a useful guide to ante-post opinion because they are set by customers on both sides rather than by one bookmaker's view. Comparing the exchange with bookmaker prices shows whether a move is shared across the market or confined to one firm.

Read price moves alongside the entries. A move often has a reason you can find, such as a rival being taken out at a forfeit stage, a trainer confirming a target or a change in the ground forecast.

What are the rules of ante-post?

An ante-post wager is struck before final declarations, usually at a bigger price than on the day. The trade off is that if the horse does not run, the stake is normally lost.

Ante-post prices are bigger because the risks are bigger: the horse may be injured, switched to another race or taken out because of the ground. Bookmakers sometimes offer non runner no bet, which refunds the stake if the horse does not run, and that concession changes the value of an ante-post price considerably.

Two other rules matter. Ante-post wagers struck before the final declaration stage are not subject to Rule 4 deductions when other horses are withdrawn, and each way terms are fixed by the bookmaker at the time. Always check the terms before comparing prices.

• Struck before final declarations
• Stake normally lost if the horse does not run
• Non runner no bet refunds non runners where offered
• No Rule 4 deduction for withdrawals before declarations
• Each way terms set by the bookmaker at the time

How do I judge the risk that an entry will not run?

Check the horse's other engagements, its going preferences and its trainer's usual plan. A horse entered in several big races, or one that needs ground the forecast may not bring, carries more risk.

Check where each horse is still entered, because a runner with two options at the same meeting is a bigger risk. Trainers often keep options open until the last moment, and the choice can depend on the ground or on which rivals stand their ground.

Trial races help here. A horse running in a trial while holding a big race entry is in the middle of its plan, and the result of that trial often decides whether it goes on to the main target.

How do past runnings help with this year's field?

Past runnings show what kind of horse wins a race: its age, rating, weight and preparation. Setting this year's entries against that profile narrows a big field quickly.

Every big race has a pattern. Some reward horses coming off a recent run, others reward freshness. Some handicaps are won by horses near the top of the weights, others by those lower down. The roll of honour for Group and Grade 1 races, shown on the free data pages, lists recent winners with their age, trainer and starting price.

Use trends as a filter, not a verdict. A race that has favoured a certain profile for a decade can still be won by an exception, and small samples of ten or twenty runnings can produce patterns that mean very little.

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