Having an ante post bet is having a bet on the race before the day of the race. For many of the very best races, such as the Cheltenham Gold Cup the next years ante post betting market opens up as soon as the race finishes that year. For example when this years Gold Cup is run, the bookmakers will put up a market for next years race. The major advantage of having an ante post bet is that you will get much better odds than on the day of the race as you are taking a price before you know your horse will turn up on the day to take part. So this should explain the one disadvantage as you will lose your money if your horse that you backed does not take part for any reason.
Only the best and biggest races have ante post betting markets including, the Grand National, the Epsom Derby and many races at the Cheltenham Festival. We have put up a list of races that all have an ante post betting market.

You can now watch live horse racing on your PC at the online bookmaker Ladbrokes. Simply create an account and after placing a bet of £5 or more you can watch the racing live on their betting site.
Watch Live Horse Racing at Ladbrokes
Ladbrokes also offer a free bet of £25 for all new clients. Signup today and watch live horseracing and claim your free betting offer.
Partybets are the latest addition to our racing results site and are offering all new clients a free bet of £25. Use the bonus code BETOFFER for your free bet.
Totesport offer free bets of £100 for all new clients. Open a new account and Totesport will match your first stake with a free bet to the same value - upto a maximum of £50. After placing your initial free bet, place a further 5 bets of £10 or more and they will give you a second free bet of upto £50.
Once you have placed your first bet at Sportingbet they will provide you with a free £10 bet. Following this initial bet - if any of your next ten bets are winners they will provide you with another £10 free bet. If all of your first ten bets are winners they will give you an additional £50 in free bets. That's a total of £150 in free bets!
Paddy Power are now offering a free bet of £30 to all new clients. Open an account and you can claim three free £10 bets.
Those of you who are new to Stan James can claim a fantastic free £25 bet when you open an account. Visit Stan James today while their free bet is still available.
Open a new betting account with Bet365 and they will match your first bet with a free bet to the same stake, upto a maximum of £50. After placing your first free bet, place a further 5 qualifying bets to qualify for a second free bet, again up to a maximum of £50. Further free bets will be available on the same basis of 5 qualifying bets after placing your second free bet, third free bet and fourth free bet.
Open an account with Betfair and they will match your first bet with a free bet to the same value - upto a maximum of £25.
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