---
title: "What is XSP (Exchange Starting… — RatingTheRaces Support"
description: "XSP is the Exchange Starting Price, the price a horse is returned at on the betting exchange as it goes off, the fairest read of its true starting price."
url: https://ratingtheraces.com/understanding-the-ratings/xsp-explained/
date_modified: "2026-08-08"
---

[Help Centre](https://ratingtheraces.com/support/) / [Understanding the Ratings](https://ratingtheraces.com/understanding-the-ratings/) /What is XSP (Exchange Starting Price)?

# What is XSP (Exchange Starting Price)?

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XSP stands for Exchange Starting Price, the price a horse is returned at on the betting exchange as the race goes off, which is why our live Win Odds become the XSP once the race is under way.

**XSP stands for Exchange Starting Price.** It's the starting price a horse is returned at on the **betting exchange**, worked out from the money matched as the race goes off, rather than a price set by a bookmaker.

## Where you see it

The live **Win Odds** column on the ratings shows the current exchange price. Once a race is under way and the odds settle, that figure becomes the **XSP**, the exchange's starting price for the horse. It's the same number the columns reference points to when it notes that "when the brackets are removed this is the XSP". Every column is defined in the [ratings columns reference](https://ratingtheraces.com/understanding-the-ratings/ratings-columns-reference/).

You'll also see XSP used throughout our analysis tools. In [ProStats](https://ratingtheraces.com/tools-features/prostats/) the results carry XSP profit-and-loss and ROI columns, so any back-test is measured at the price you could realistically have got on the exchange.

## XSP vs ISP

You'll often see **XSP** and **ISP** side by side:

-   **XSP**, the **Exchange** Starting Price, set by the weight of money matched on the exchange.
-   **ISP**, the **Industry** Starting Price, the traditional on-course starting price.

The exchange price is driven purely by supply and demand at the off, which is why we lean on XSP as the fairest reflection of a horse's true starting price, and why our [Value Odds and Value %](https://ratingtheraces.com/understanding-the-ratings/value-odds/) are built around exchange prices too.

XSP is only settled once a race is off. Before the off, the Win Odds column shows the live exchange price, which moves as money comes for and against each runner.

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