What is Best Odds Guaranteed (BOG)?

How Best Odds Guaranteed works

When you place a bet before the off, you lock in a price — say 4/1. If the horse drifts in the market and its official Starting Price is returned at 6/1, a BOG bookmaker will settle your bet at 6/1. You bear no downside from taking an early price: if your 4/1 holds or shortens to 3/1 by the off, you still collect at 4/1. The bookmaker absorbs any difference.

BOG is usually available on UK and Irish horse racing, and occasionally on greyhound racing, but terms differ between operators. It commonly applies only to bets placed on the day of the race, and individual bookmakers may set maximum payout limits, require you to opt in to the promotion, or restrict and remove the offer from certain accounts. Importantly, Rule 4 deductions can still be applied after BOG is calculated, so a late non-runner may reduce your return even if you received the enhanced SP.

A worked example

Suppose a tipster advises a horse at 5/1 early in the morning. You place £20 on it at that price. By the time the race goes off, the horse has drifted to an SP of 8/1. Under BOG, the bookmaker settles at 8/1: your £20 returns £180 (£160 winnings plus your £20 stake) rather than the £120 you would have received at the advised 5/1.

Now reverse the scenario: you take 5/1 and the horse shortens to an SP of 3/1 at the off. BOG means you keep your 5/1, returning £120. In both cases you receive the better of the two odds. The practical effect is that following a tipster who records advised prices on a BOG-eligible bookmaker will often produce returns closer to — or even above — their proofed results, particularly when selections regularly drift between advice and the off.

Why BOG matters when judging or following a tipster

Tipsters typically proof their selections at the odds available when the tip is issued — the advised price. If a large proportion of their selections drift before the off, a punter without BOG will consistently receive worse odds than those shown in the record, meaning real-world returns fall short of published figures. BOG partially bridges that gap, making it one of the more meaningful terms to check before subscribing to a racing tipster.

Conversely, if you judge a tipster's record and they proof at SP rather than advised prices, BOG gives you an automatic edge over their stated results whenever you beat SP with an early price. Neither scenario tells the full story on its own: account restrictions mean BOG can be withdrawn for successful punters, which erodes that advantage over time. When reviewing any racing tipster on this site, we note whether results are proofed at advised odds or SP, since that distinction significantly affects whether their published yield is replicable.

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