What is BSP?
Betfair Starting Price (BSP) is the price every horse settles at the moment the race goes off. It's the closest thing the betting world has to a 'true' market price — and it's the benchmark every serious bettor should care about.
How BSP is calculated
BSP is set by Betfair's own algorithm at the off. It balances every unmatched back and lay bet remaining in the exchange queue, then settles on a single price that clears the maximum volume on both sides.
The result is a price that reflects the collective opinion of every bettor and every model in the market at the moment the gates open. It's commission-free liquidity, available to everyone.
Why BSP is the fairest benchmark
- It's not set by a bookmaker. No margin, no shop floor, no shortening because they took a big bet.
- Everyone gets the same price. Whether you stake £2 or £2,000, you're matched at the SP.
- It's a closing line. Closing prices are the sharpest, because all the money has spoken.
What 'beating BSP' means
If you back a horse at 8.0 and it goes off at BSP 6.0, you beat BSP. Your price was bigger than the closing market.
Over a large sample, consistently beating BSP is the gold standard proof of edge. Bookmakers ban accounts that do it. It means you're getting on before the market wakes up.
How Odds Father uses BSP
- Every selection is published before 10am, hours before BSP forms.
- P&L is tracked against BSP — not against early prices that punters can't actually get.
- Currently 63% of selections beat BSP, which is the structural foundation of the system.
Why this matters for you
Anyone can show a profit at "best price". Almost nobody can do it at BSP. Tracking against BSP keeps the system honest and proves the edge is real — not an artefact of cherry-picked bookmaker odds.
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