Non-runner no bet, often shortened to NRNB, is a concession on ante-post horse racing bets where the stake is returned if the selection does not take part. Without it, under normal ante-post rules, the stake is lost if the horse does not run.
What is ante-post betting?
Ante-post bets are wagers placed before the final declarations for a race, often days or weeks in advance. They can secure prices that are bigger than on the day, because the field has not been confirmed and the market has not yet settled.
That price comes with a risk. A horse backed weeks in advance may never make the line-up, and under normal ante-post rules the stake on a horse that does not run is simply lost. Those who plan their ante-post betting carefully therefore keep an eye on the non-runner risk as well as the price.
What non-runner no bet means
Non-runner no bet is a concession where the stake is returned if the selection does not take part. It protects ante-post backers from losing their stake when a horse is a non-runner, whatever the reason it misses the race. The bet is treated as if it had never been struck, so the money comes back rather than being lost along with the chance of a return.
Because NRNB is a concession rather than the rule, an ante-post bet only has this protection when it is offered for that market. It is worth checking whether a price is shown as NRNB before backing it, since the difference only becomes clear if the horse is withdrawn.
For the bettor, NRNB matters most when the view on a horse is strong but its participation is uncertain. With the concession in place, the ante-post price can be taken without the risk of losing the stake to a withdrawal before the race.
How it compares with the day of the race
On the day of the race, the standard rules are different. Bets on a horse that is withdrawn are refunded, so the non-runner risk that ante-post backers face does not apply in the same way. The day-of-race refund is part of the standard rules, while ante-post protection has to come from NRNB.
The remaining bets in that race, however, may be subject to a Rule 4 deduction. So a withdrawal on the day can still affect what a winning bet pays, even for backers whose own horse does run. The refund protects the stake on the horse that is withdrawn, while the deduction affects the bets on the rest of the field.
In the end, whether to take an ante-post price without NRNB is a question of confidence, not just in the horse's chances but in the horse reaching the race at all. Even the best ante-post plan counts on the selection being an actual runner, and NRNB is the concession that covers the case where it is not.
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