What Are ‘Best Odds Guaranteed’

Best odds guaranteed (commonly known as BOG or best price guaranteed) is one of the most valuable promotions in UK horse racing betting, ensuring you always get paid at the bigger price whether you took early odds or the starting price. If you back a horse at 5/1 in the morning and it drifts to 7/1 by the off, you get paid at 7/1. If it shortens to 3/1, you still get your 5/1. It’s a genuine win-win—you get whichever price is better.

But whilst best odds guaranteed sounds universally brilliant, understanding exactly how BOG works, which bets it applies to, the terms and conditions that can trip you up, and which bookmakers offer the best BOG coverage is crucial if you want to extract maximum value from this offer. Not all best odds guaranteed deals are created equal.

What Does Best Odds Guaranteed Mean?

Best odds guaranteed is a promotional offer where bookmakers guarantee you’ll receive whichever is bigger: the price you took when you placed your bet (early price/board price) or the starting price (SP) when the race starts.

Here’s how BOG horse racing works in practice:

The beauty of best price guaranteed is that you’re protected both ways. If the horse shortens in price (indicating increased confidence), you still get your bigger early price. If it drifts, you get the bigger starting price. You literally can’t lose—either the price moves in your favour or stays the same.

How Best Odds Guaranteed Works for Horse Racing

Best odds guaranteed primarily applies to UK and Irish horse racing, though some bookmakers extend it to other jurisdictions and racing types. Here’s the detailed mechanics:

Early Price vs Starting Price

In horse racing betting, there are two key price points:

• Early price (EP): The odds available from when the bookmaker opens the market (often the night before or morning of the race) until shortly before the race starts
• Starting price (SP): The consensus odds at the moment the race starts, determined by on-course bookmakers and betting exchange activity

Without best odds guaranteed, if you take an early price, you’re locked into that price regardless of how the market moves. With BOG, you get the insurance of being paid at whichever ends up bigger.

The Protection Works Both Directions

Let’s illustrate with two scenarios:

In the first scenario, you took 4/1 but the horse drifted to 6/1, suggesting less market confidence. Best odds guaranteed means you still get 6/1 despite taking the shorter price earlier. In the second scenario, the horse shortened to 5/2, but you’re protected with your original 4/1. Either way, you win.

BOG on Win Bets vs Each-Way Bets

Best odds guaranteed typically applies to both win bets and each-way bets, but the mechanics differ slightly for each-way:

Win Bets (Straightforward)

Simple comparison: your price vs SP. Whichever is bigger wins. If your horse wins at bigger SP, you get that. If your horse wins at smaller SP, you keep your original price.

Each-Way Bets (Slightly Complex)

Each-way bets are split into two parts: win and place. Best odds guaranteed usually applies to BOTH parts separately:

• Win portion: Compared to SP as normal
• Place portion: Compared to the place part of SP

This means on an each-way bet, you could theoretically get BOG on the win part but not the place part, or vice versa, depending on how both prices moved.

Terms and Conditions of Best Odds Guaranteed

Whilst BOG is genuinely valuable, bookmakers impose conditions that can catch punters out. Read these carefully:

UK and Irish Racing Only (Usually)

Most best odds guaranteed offers only apply to UK and Irish horse racing. Some bookmakers extend it to international racing or greyhounds, but this is less common. Always check which races are covered.

Win and Each-Way Singles Only

Best price guaranteed typically only applies to single bets. If you include a horse race in an accumulator, BOG usually doesn’t apply to that leg. Some bookmakers do offer BOG on multiples, but it’s rarer and often comes with extra conditions.

Excludes Enhanced/Boosted Prices

If you’ve taken a special enhanced price or promotional odds, best odds guaranteed often doesn’t apply. The enhanced price is already better than standard, so bookmakers exclude it from further BOG protection. Check the specific terms for enhanced price bets.

Excludes Ante-Post Betting

Best odds guaranteed doesn’t usually apply to ante-post bets (bets placed days or weeks before a race with non-runner no bet or without). BOG is for bets placed on the day of the race once the final field is confirmed.

Minimum Odds Requirements

Some bookmakers impose minimum odds for BOG eligibility, typically 1/5 or evens. Very short-priced favourites might not qualify depending on the bookmaker’s terms.

Best Bookmakers for Best Odds Guaranteed

Not all bookmakers offer BOG, and among those that do, coverage and generosity vary. Here’s who offers the best BOG horse racing deals:

BOG on Enhanced Markets and Special Offers

A common question: does best odds guaranteed apply when you’ve taken enhanced odds or a special promotional price?

The answer is almost always no. When bookmakers offer enhanced prices (e.g., “5/1 boosted to 7/1”), these are already promotional odds designed to attract bets. Stacking BOG on top of enhanced odds would be giving away too much value, so bookmakers exclude enhanced prices from best odds guaranteed protection.

However, some bookmakers do occasionally run special “BOG + Enhanced Odds” promotions during major racing festivals like Cheltenham or Royal Ascot. These are rare and explicitly advertised when available.

Calculating BOG Value

How much is best odds guaranteed actually worth? Let’s quantify it.

Research shows that on average, starting prices differ from early prices by about 10-15% in either direction. Roughly:

• 40% of horses shorten from early price to SP
• 30% of horses drift from early price to SP
• 30% of horses have same price (or negligible movement)

When horses drift and you win your bet, the average drift is about 20-30% longer odds. When you capture that drift with BOG, you’re adding roughly 3-5% to your expected returns across all BOG-eligible bets over time.

When to Take Early Prices with BOG Protection

Best odds guaranteed fundamentally changes the strategic calculus of when to bet on horse racing. Without BOG, taking early prices is risky—you might get shorter odds than SP. With BOG, taking early prices is almost always optimal.

The Strategic Advantage

With best price guaranteed:

• If your horse shortens: You keep your bigger early price (BOG protects you)
• If your horse drifts: You get the bigger SP (BOG rewards you)
• If price is unchanged: Neutral, same either way

This is asymmetric value—you have upside with no downside. The only reason NOT to take early prices with BOG is if you think the market is mispricing the horse and it will shorten dramatically, in which case… you’d still want the early price because it’s better value.

Greyhound BOG

Some bookmakers extend best odds guaranteed to greyhound racing, though it’s less common than horse racing BOG. The mechanics are identical: you get whichever is bigger between your price and the starting price (usually called “trap price” in greyhounds).

Greyhound BOG is valuable because greyhound markets can be quite volatile, with significant price movements based on late track conditions or in-the-know money. Having BOG protection on greyhounds is worth seeking out if you bet dogs regularly.

Best Bookies for BOG

If maximising BOG value is important to your betting strategy, these bookmakers stand out:

1. Bet365 (Best Overall)

Bet365 offers the most comprehensive best odds guaranteed coverage. UK, Irish, and international racing. Singles and multiples. Horse racing and greyhounds. No minimum odds restrictions on most races. If you’re a racing bettor, Bet365’s BOG offering alone is worth having an account for.

2. Paddy Power (Best for Multiples)

Paddy Power’s BOG applies to multiples, which is rarer among bookmakers. If you like combining horses into doubles or trebles, Paddy Power’s BOG on multiples is valuable. They also run creative BOG-related promotions during major festivals.

3. Sky Bet (Best Mobile Experience)

Sky Bet’s app clearly shows BOG status on placed bets, making it easy to track whether you’re getting paid at early price or SP. The transparency is excellent for monitoring value over time.

Common BOG Mistakes to Avoid

Even with such a punter-friendly offer, there are ways to mess up best odds guaranteed:

1. Not Checking Terms on Enhanced Prices

You’ve taken a boosted 7/1 on a horse (boosted from 5/1). You assume BOG applies. The horse drifts to 9/1 SP. You expect 9/1 payout. You get 7/1 because the boost excluded BOG. Always check whether enhanced prices qualify for best odds guaranteed.

2. Assuming BOG on Ante-Post

Betting on the Grand National two weeks out at 20/1. Horse is 12/1 SP on the day. You assume BOG gives you 20/1. It doesn’t—ante-post excludes BOG. You get 12/1 (or whatever ante-post terms stated). Only day-of-race bets get best odds guaranteed.

3. Missing BOG-Eligible Bookmakers

Betting at a bookmaker that doesn’t offer BOG when equivalent bookmakers do. If you can get the same early price at a BOG bookmaker vs non-BOG bookmaker, always choose BOG. It’s free value.

4. Not Taking Early Prices

Waiting until 5 minutes before the race to bet because you want to “see how the market moves”. With BOG, you’re protected either way, so taking early prices locks in your position with no downside. Waiting just risks missing value if early prices were better.

BOG During Major Racing Festivals

Best odds guaranteed becomes even more valuable during major racing festivals—Cheltenham, Royal Ascot, Grand National—because these events see massive betting volume and significant market movement.

During Cheltenham Festival, for example:

• Early prices can shift dramatically as informed money comes in
• Horses can drift from 5/1 to 8/1 or shorten from 8/1 to 4/1
• BOG captures these swings when they work in your favour
• The value of BOG over a 4-day festival can add up to hundreds of pounds for active bettors

Some bookmakers even enhance their BOG offerings during these periods—extending it to more races, removing minimum odds restrictions, or offering BOG on special markets that normally wouldn’t qualify.

The Future of Best Odds Guaranteed

Best odds guaranteed has been a staple of UK racing betting for over a decade, but it’s worth asking: will it last?

Bookmakers lose money on BOG. It’s a customer acquisition and retention tool—they accept reduced margins on racing in exchange for attracting bettors who might also bet on other sports at full margin. As the market becomes more competitive and margins tighten, some bookmakers have started restricting BOG:

• Removing BOG from accumulators
• Introducing minimum odds thresholds
• Excluding BOG on certain race types
• Limiting which accounts receive full BOG (restricting winning players)

If you’re a winning racing bettor who heavily uses BOG, you might find yourself restricted or having BOG removed from your account. This is bookmakers protecting their margins against sharp money.

BOG vs Taking Starting Price

Some punters prefer to bet at starting price (SP) directly rather than taking early prices even with BOG protection. The logic is that SP reflects the true market consensus incorporating all information.

But with BOG, this strategy doesn’t make sense:

• If you take early prices with BOG, you get SP if it’s bigger anyway
• You only benefit (never lose) from taking early prices with BOG
• Waiting for SP means you can’t get early prices if they’re longer

The only scenario where betting at SP directly makes sense is if the bookmaker doesn’t offer BOG—then SP betting ensures you’re not locked into early prices that shorten. But if BOG is available, always take early prices.

The Bottom Line on Best Odds Guaranteed

Best odds guaranteed is one of the few genuinely punter-friendly promotions in modern betting. It’s not a gimmick—it’s a tangible advantage that adds real value over time, particularly for regular racing bettors.

If you’re betting on horse racing and not using best odds guaranteed, you’re leaving money on the table. It’s free value that compounds over time, and it fundamentally changes the optimal strategy from “wait for SP” to “take early prices with confidence”. Make sure every racing bet you place is with a bookmaker offering BOG—your long-term returns will thank you for it.