Best odds guaranteed (often shortened to BOG) is one of the most useful concessions in UK horse racing betting. Say you take a fixed price on a horse and it wins at a bigger starting price. A bookmaker offering best odds guaranteed pays you at the bigger price. This guide explains how it works, where the catches are and how to get the most from it.
How best odds guaranteed works
When you back a horse before the off, you can usually take the early price on offer, for example 5/1. Or you can bet at the starting price (SP), which the market sets when the race starts. With best odds guaranteed, you take the early price. If the SP turns out to be longer, the bookmaker pays your winnings at the SP instead.
A simple example: you back a horse at 5/1 with a £10 stake. The horse drifts and starts at 8/1, then wins. Without BOG you get 5/1, a £50 profit. With BOG you get 8/1, an £80 profit. If the horse shortens to 3/1 instead, you still get your 5/1, so the concession only ever works in your favour.
Where best odds guaranteed usually applies
Most UK bookmakers that offer BOG apply it to win and each-way singles on UK and Irish horse racing. Some extend it to greyhounds or to multiples. Others only switch it on from a set time on race day, such as 8am or 10am. Always check the bookmaker’s own terms, because the details vary from one site to the next.
- Bet types: BOG almost always covers singles, but often not doubles, trebles or accumulators.
- Timing: a bet you place the night before may not qualify if BOG starts on the morning of the race.
- Caps: some bookmakers cap the extra amount BOG can pay out.
- Account restrictions: bookmakers can remove BOG from individual accounts. They often do this for customers who regularly beat the SP.
Best odds guaranteed and each-way bets
If you bet each way, BOG applies to both parts of the bet. If the horse wins, the bookmaker settles the win part at the bigger price. If it places, you get the agreed fraction of the bigger price, such as a quarter or a fifth. If you are new to each-way betting, our guide to each-way betting explained covers place terms in detail.
Is BOG worth looking for?
For anyone who bets on racing regularly, yes. Prices move a lot between the morning and the off. BOG removes the risk of taking an early price that later drifts. It costs you nothing, so if two bookmakers offer the same price and only one offers best odds guaranteed, the BOG bookmaker is the better place to bet.
It is not a reason to bet more often or to stake more. BOG improves the price you get on bets you were going to place anyway. The bookmaker still builds a margin into every market.
Best odds guaranteed and free bets
Bookmakers build many racing sign-up offers and free bet promotions around BOG markets. Using a free bet on racing? Check whether BOG applies to free bet stakes as well as cash stakes, as some bookmakers exclude them. Our horse racing free bets page lists current racing offers, and how free bets work explains stake-not-returned rules.
Quick checklist before you bet
- Confirm the bookmaker offers best odds guaranteed on the race you want to bet on.
- Check the time BOG starts on race day and which bet types it covers.
- Take the early price if you like it, knowing the bookmaker will pay a drift at SP.
- Keep stakes within the budget you set before you started.
18+. Gambling should be fun. Set a budget you can afford to lose, and if it stops being fun, visit BeGambleAware.org or call the National Gambling Helpline on 0808 8020 133.
