One of the latest trends in the horse racing sector of online gambling is being able to get the best odds guaranteed on your race with most major bookmakers offering it, although with varying terms and coverage.
On the whole it’s been a welcome addition for punters as it means no longer having to make the decision between taking a price or holding out for potentially better odds on the SP.
Hint: Always take a price.
Bookmakers With BOG
What is Best Odds Guaranteed?
Best Odds Guaranteed Examples
| Stake | Early Price | Starting Price | Returns Without BOG | Returns With Bog |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| £10.00 | 2/1 | 9/4 | £30.00 | £32.50 |
| £10.00 | 2/1 | 5/2 | £30.00 | £35.00 |
| £10.00 | 2/1 | 11/4 | £30.00 | £37.50 |
| £10.00 | 2/1 | 3/1 | £30.00 | £40.00 |
| £10.00 | 2/1 | 7/2 | £30.00 | £45.00 |
| £10.00 | 2/1 | 4/1 | £30.00 | £50.00 |
We have a little issue about the name of this promotion and we actually think it’s a little misleading. Many people think that you are getting the best price possible in the industry. But, the concept is that you actually get the best price from that bookmaker if the starting price is larger than the price that you originally took.
So, we know that odds often fluctuate for all sports, but in horse racing they probably put more emphasis on it than most sports. The promotions means that if you take a price at any time and the starting price is bigger than the odds that you took, they will actually pay out at the higher starting price.
For example, let’s say you place a £10 bet on a horse at odds of 2/1 an hour before the race starts. Within that hour the odds on the horse start to drift, before eventually starting the race at odds of 3/1.
The horse then goes on to win the race. If you weren’t using a bookmaker that were offering best odds guaranteed for that race, the payout would be at odds of 2/1 and in this case £30. But, if you were using a bookmaker that had this offer applied, then the odds that you get would be 3/1, paying out £40 for your £10 bet.
The Difference Between Best Odds Guaranteed and a Price Promise
A common mistake that we often see with this offer is the mix up between best odds guaranteed and price promise. Before we go any further, they are totally different offers in their entirety!
The price promise works on the basis of the bookmaker matching and better the prices from other bookmakers in the industry. So, a lot of bookies will use site such as OddsChecker to compare prices from a number of different bookies. At all times they will make sure that their price for that bet will match or better than everyone of the highlighted bookmakers.
The best odds guaranteed offer works solely within the realms of that single bookmaker. We know that with this offer they pay out a higher starting price than the odds that you took, but this doesn’t have any reflection on odds from any other bookmaker.
Should You Ever Take the Starting Price?
A common question that we always get asked is if it’s ever best to take the starting price from any race? The short answer is no, but let’ elaborate a little.
If you have the ability to use best odds guaranteed then the answer is 100% no, but if you aren’t using this, then there is a chance that the starting price might be the best bet for you.
Let’s say that you are using the BOG offer for your bet and you are looking to place your bet 1 hour before that race starts. You are always looking to get the best price for your bet, no matter what. You see, if you backed a horse at 10.00 and it drifted to a starting price of 12.00 then your bet is going to be paid at longer odds.
If you backed the same horse at starting price and the horse was cut into 8.00, then instead of taking the price at 10.00 1 hour previous, you would be losing out on £20 for every £10 staked. By taking the price over the starting price with best odds guaranteed, you always guarantee you get the largest possible odds at the time of you placing that bet.
If you are placing the same bet 1 hour before the start of the race without BOG, then you might (rarely) be better taking the starting price. If you feel that you aren’t going to be around near the start of the race to act on any market movements and you have evidence that it’s likely the horse is going to drift further from the current price, then taking the starting price could be the better option.
BOG and Ante Post Betting
You aren’t going to get best odds guaranteed offers on ante post betting. The main reason for this is that the promotion is often available only on that day of racing, usually on bets placed from 10am onwards.
Ante post markets will close usually the day before or the morning of that race and then they will turn live from there. This means that the timing of these markets and when the offer is available will never overlap, hence not be in available for ante post bets.
Major Terms
As with all offers, a host of terms and conditions are put in place for best odds guaranteed, these will range from bookmaker to bookmaker, but some of the more mainstream ones are listed below.
Selected Races Only
The main thing you need to look out for is that these offers are going to be for selected races only. The bookmakers are likely to have listed the name of the races in question within their site and from there you know that you can use them within this.
The selected races made available by bookmakers will often vary, some will offer a selection of races from the UK & Ireland while others will offer the BOG concession on every UK & Irish race, however each bookmaker will have their own variations so be sure to check their terms & conditions first before placing a bet.
Excluded Markets
As mentioned above, ante post betting is excluded from this offer, but more frequently other markets such as the tote and pari-mutuel markets are also excluded. Some bookmakers might exclude racing from certain countries as well, for example bet365 who excluded all races within Australasia for this offer.
The actually market that you bet with are likely going to be limited to Win and Each-Way markets only. Enhanced place markets will also be included for this.