Best odds guaranteed, or BOG, is one of the few concessions that pays you for nothing. Take an early price on a horse, and if the starting price (SP) drifts out bigger than the price you took, the bookmaker pays you at the larger one. You never get a worse price than you backed, and you keep the upside if it lengthens. It costs you nothing to opt in, yet plenty of punters take an early price without it, leaving money on the table on every winner that drifts. This guide explains how BOG works, where it applies, the small print to watch, and how to turn it into real money over a season.
Key takeaways
- BOG pays you the bigger of your taken price or the SP, automatically.
- It applies mainly to UK and Irish horse and greyhound racing.
- You only benefit when you take an early price, not when you bet at SP.
- It is free money in the long run, so favour bookmakers that offer it as standard.
- Watch the small print: stake caps, eligible meetings and Rule 4 deductions still apply.
How best odds guaranteed works
When you back a horse, you can take the price shown now (the early or board price) or wait for the starting price set at the off. The early price is fixed the moment you place the bet; the SP is decided by the weight of money in the market just before the race starts. Take an early price with BOG and one of two things happens:
- The SP is shorter than your price: you are paid at the bigger price you took. You win.
- The SP drifts longer than your price: the bookmaker pays you at the bigger SP instead. You still win.
Either way you get the larger of the two, automatically, with no need to ask or claim. Say you back a horse at 5.0 (4/1) and it drifts to an SP of 7.0 (6/1). Without BOG you are stuck at 5.0. With BOG you are paid at 7.0. The bookmaker swallows the difference. To see those returns in pounds, run the prices through our odds converter.
Why prices drift (and why that matters)
BOG only ever helps you because prices move between the early markets and the off. Understanding why a horse drifts tells you when BOG is most valuable. A price lengthens when the market loses confidence in a runner: money pours onto its rivals, a stable’s other horse gets the support, the going changes to something the horse dislikes, or simply because the early price was generous and the market corrects towards the off. A price shortens when a horse is well backed, often on the morning of the race or in the final minutes.
The practical point: any horse you back early can drift, and you have no way of knowing in advance whether it will. BOG removes the downside of guessing wrong about the price. You lock in a floor (your taken price) and keep every penny of upside if the horse drifts. That is why taking an early price with BOG is almost always better than taking the same early price without it, and usually better than waiting for SP, where you have no floor at all.
A worked example
Numbers make it concrete. You back a horse each-way is one option, but take a simple £20 win bet here.
- You take an early price of 6.0 (5/1) with a £20 stake. Your guaranteed floor is now 6.0.
- The horse wins, and the SP returns at 8.0 (7/1). The SP is bigger than your taken price, so BOG pays you at 8.0. Your £20 returns £160 instead of the £120 you would have collected at 6.0. BOG just earned you an extra £40.
- Alternatively, the horse wins but the SP shortens to 4.0 (3/1). Your taken price of 6.0 is bigger, so you keep it. You collect £120, exactly what you backed it for, and the shorter SP costs you nothing.
That asymmetry is the whole point: you capture the drift but never suffer the shortening. The price you took is a guaranteed minimum, with a free upgrade attached.
Where BOG applies
BOG is a racing concession first and foremost. It covers UK and Irish horse racing as standard at most bookmakers, and greyhound racing at many. The reason it lives in racing is the SP itself: horse and greyhound racing have an official starting price mechanism that BOG can measure your early price against. Football and most other sports have no equivalent SP, which is why BOG rarely appears there.
Some firms extend a version of it to other events, or run “enhanced” BOG promotions on selected races, but the small print varies, so never assume it applies outside racing without checking. It also only ever helps when you take an early price: bet at SP and there is no taken price to improve on, so BOG does nothing. The same logic means BOG and ante-post betting rarely overlap, since ante-post markets are usually excluded from the concession.
The small print to watch
BOG is genuinely good value, but the terms still bind:
- Stake or payout caps. Some firms cap the extra you can win from BOG per bet or per day. Large stakes may not be fully covered, so check the cap if you bet in size.
- Eligible meetings and times. BOG usually starts from the first race or a set time, and may apply only to UK and Irish racing rather than overseas meetings. Ante-post and futures bets are typically excluded.
- Rule 4 still applies. If a horse is withdrawn, a Rule 4 deduction reduces your winnings even with BOG. The concession improves your price; it does not cancel deductions. The two are applied separately: BOG sets the price, then Rule 4 trims the winnings.
- Early-price versus board-price wording. Some firms guarantee best odds only on prices taken after a certain point in the morning, so an extremely early price might not qualify. Read what counts as an eligible “taken” price.
- Account restrictions. Some bookmakers limit or remove BOG for accounts they judge to be sharp. It is a privilege, not a guarantee for everyone, and consistent winners sometimes find it withdrawn.
Read each bookmaker’s BOG terms once, and you will know exactly what you are getting.
How much BOG is worth over a season
On any single bet, BOG might earn you nothing (the SP shortens) or a few extra pounds (the SP drifts). It feels small. Across a season of regular racing bets, it adds up to a meaningful sum, because a good share of winners drift from their early price. If even a third of your winning bets return a bigger SP than the price you took, you are collecting extra on those winners for free, every time, with no extra risk and no change to your selections.
This is why seasoned punters treat BOG as non-negotiable: two bookmakers showing the same 5/1 are not offering the same bet if only one guarantees best odds. The one with BOG is strictly better, every time. Over hundreds of bets, choosing BOG firms is one of the simplest edges available, and it requires no extra skill at picking horses.
How to make BOG pay
The concession does the work, but a few habits maximise it:
- Take an early price, not SP. BOG only triggers on a taken price, so taking SP throws the benefit away entirely.
- Back early when you expect a drift. If you fancy a horse the market may overlook, an early price plus BOG gives you the floor and the upside. You are protected if you are right about the horse and wrong about the price.
- Bet with firms that offer it as standard. Two bookmakers with the same price are not equal if only one guarantees best odds. Our bookmaker reviews flag who offers BOG and on what terms.
- Combine it with each-way value. On bigger fields, pair BOG with our each-way betting guide to squeeze both the win and place returns, since BOG typically applies to both parts of an each-way bet.
- Do not bet purely to chase BOG. The concession improves bets you would make anyway. It is not a reason to back a horse you do not fancy.
None of this changes which horse to back. It changes how much you collect when you are right, which over a season is real money.
BOG is the closest thing in betting to a free upgrade. Always take it where it is offered, take an early price to trigger it, and read the cap. If betting stops being fun, our responsible gambling tools are there to help. For more on reading prices and spotting value, see our betting odds guide.
Frequently asked questions
What does best odds guaranteed mean?
It means that if you take an early price on a horse and the starting price is bigger, the bookmaker pays you at the larger price. You can never be paid less than the price you took, and you keep the upside if it drifts.
Does best odds guaranteed work if I bet at SP?
No. BOG only improves a taken early price against the starting price. If you bet at SP there is no early price to compare, so the concession has nothing to upgrade.
Does BOG apply to football or other sports?
BOG is mainly a horse and greyhound racing concession, because those sports have an official starting price to measure your early price against. Some bookmakers offer a version on other sports, but the terms differ, so always check the specific bookmaker’s rules before assuming it applies outside racing.
Does Rule 4 still apply with best odds guaranteed?
Yes. If a runner is withdrawn, a Rule 4 deduction still reduces your winnings even when BOG applies. BOG improves the price you are paid at; it does not cancel a Rule 4 deduction. The two are applied separately.
Is there a catch with best odds guaranteed?
Not really, beyond the small print. The main limits are stake or payout caps on the extra BOG can pay, eligible meetings and times, and the fact that some bookmakers may restrict the concession on accounts they judge to be sharp. For ordinary punters taking early prices, it is genuine added value at no cost.
Do I need to opt in to best odds guaranteed?
At most bookmakers BOG is automatic on eligible racing once you take an early price, with no opt-in needed. A few run it as a promotion you must activate, so check the terms. When it applies, the bigger of your price or the SP is paid without you having to claim it.
