Value betting and shopping around at different sportsbooks are two good ways to secure better odds. For horse racing punters, the first golden rule should be to only place racing bets at bookies offering Best Odds Guaranteed. Doing so ensures payouts on winning bets are always as high as possible.
What Does “Best Odds Guaranteed” Mean
Best Odds Guaranteed (BOG) was introduced a few years ago at some of the major UK and Ireland sportsbooks and is one of the most significant introductions to horse racing betting in recent times.
Best Odds Guaranteed means that the timing of when you back a particular horse to win a race becomes far less important than it would have been before the days of BOG.
That’s because with BOG, the best odds guaranteed bookmakers will make sure that if your horse goes on to win, they will look at which of the two prices was bigger: the one at which you backed it at, or its Starting Price (SP), the official odds the horse went off just seconds before the race gets under way.
Whichever of the two is the higher price, is the one that the best odds guaranteed betting sites will pay you out at.
From the perspective of the Best Odds guaranteed sites, it’s a chance for them to make some noise about this great offer and attract more new customers and more business every day on the back of it. That said, BOG has almost become so commonplace among top bookies offering it, that you’re almost the odd one out if you don’t offer it.
For savvy, value-seeking customers who appreciate the huge difference that always getting the best odds makes to their overall P and L, it’s a no brainer to only bet at betting sites with best odds guaranteed as there’s no downside at all, and only a very big upside.
How Does “Best Odds Guaranteed” Work – Example
On the morning of the day of the race – the 2.40 at Goodwood – you like the chances of Brown Bear winning at odds of 8.0, which to use an alternative odds format, is 7/1, and you decide to back it.
However, one thing to remember about best odds guaranteed online bookmakers is that the offer is only valid if you back the horse after 8am on the day of the race, or in some cases, 9am. Any earlier than that and the Best Odds Guaranteed offer won’t kick in.
In the next few hours, there’s little or no support in the betting for Brown Bear, with the favourite Blue Dog being heavily backed, so Brown Beat drifts in price and it’s Starting Price ends up being 12.0 (11/1). Somewhat surprisingly, Brown Bear wins the race.
The bookie you placed the bet with will look at which of the two prices was bigger: the one you backed it at (8.0) or its Starting Price (12.0). In this case it was the Starting Price, so that’s the one you’ll be paid out at.
Best Odds Guaranteed Shortening
On another day, the betting unfolds in a very different way. You back Brown Bear at odds of 8.0 at (say) 10am but rather than punters giving it the cold shoulder, they start to like his chances as well as the day progresses.
By the time the race goes off, Brown Bear’s Starting Price is just 5.0. It wins. As per the Best Odds Guaranteed offer, the 8.0 available at the time you backed it is the price you’ll be paid out at.
Best Odds Guaranteed Lengthening
The original scenario described, where Brown Bear’s odds drift during the day and it goes off at a bigger Starting Price than the odds you originally backed it at, is a good illustration of the selection lengthening.
It’s not necessarily a good omen when a horse’s odds get bigger as the race approaches, but on the occasions that it goes on to win anyway, you benefit from the SP ending up being bigger.
Benefits of Best Odds Guaranteed Bets
Best Odds Guaranteed certainly brings benefits to punters, with two major ones being the most notable. The first is that customers don’t have to worry about when the best price to back a particular horse is.
In years gone by, horse racing punters might have had to decide which was the best time to back a horse they fancied: well in advance (if they thought the horse’s odds would shorten) or much nearer the time of the race (if they thought the horse’s odds would drift). Thanks to BOG, this becomes somewhat irrelevant.
The second and far more obvious benefit is the bigger payouts. In this respect, it’s similar to the popular Odds Boosts in football betting. You’d probably want to secure the higher price on something you were going to back anyway, so you might as well take advantage, as those bigger wins make a huge difference in the long run.
Best Odds Guaranteed Terms and Conditions
Here are some of the most important Ts and Cs to be aware of when betting at Best Odds Guaranteed bookmakers.
Eligible Races
Most bookmakers only offer BOG for UK and Ireland races meaning those from other countries are unlikely to carry the BOG promise.
The Time at Which You Place Your Bet Is Important
Most BOG betting sites say that only bets placed after 8am on the day of the race are eligible for BOG payouts, whereas others say it’s only bets after 9am. Either way, bets placed earlier than that on the day of the race or on ante-post markets won’t benefit from the ‘best odds’ offer.
It Doesn’t Apply to All Racing Markets
Where the BOG promise is in place, it will always apply to the winner market and in many cases to each-way bets, as well. But it won’t apply to other racing markets like ‘To Finish Top 3’ or head-to-head markets.
Not All Customers Qualify
Customers who are unusually savvy or have a particularly good record when it comes to horse racing betting may be excluded from the ongoing BOG promo, so they will have to make do with the price they get at the time they place their bet.
Free Bets May or May Not Be Eligible for BOG Returns
Some Best Odds Guaranteed bookies will allow you to benefit from BOG when using a free bet to wager on horse racing, whereas others may not, so check the Ts and CS for your chosen bookie and their promotions page carefully.
Where Rule 4 Is in Place
The BOG offer still applies in races when Rule 4 kicks in.
If the Starting Price of your bet is bigger than the price you took (minus the Rule 4 deduction), you will be paid at the Starting Price, as it’s the higher odds of the two.
Best Odds Guaranteed Promotions
No two bookies are the same in general terms, so it follows they’re not all the same when it comes to how they approach the use of bonuses such as free bets as regards Best Odds Guaranteed. But here’s how they generally work.
Welcome Bonuses
A lot of bookies these days give you a welcome offer in the form of a free bet(s). Whereas some of them need to be used on a specific sport (e.g. football) or on a particular type of bet (e.g. an acca with at least three selections), most of them can be used on any sport you like, including horse racing.
In most cases, there’s no reason why that free bet can’t benefit from the BOG promo.
Boosted Odds Bets May Be Ineligible
If a horse has already been boosted from, say, 4/1 to 6/1 courtesy of a daily racing promo, you may be unable to take advantage of the BOG offer on top of that so again, check the sportsbooks’ Ts and Cs for BOG offers carefully.
Reload bonuses
This type of bonus means the bookie gives you extra money to play with when you make your next deposit. Even though winnings from that bonus may carry wagering requirements, there’s no reason why bets placed with the bonus money can’t take advantage of the BOG offer.
The Importance of Betting at Best Odds Guaranteed Sites
For the serious horse racing punter, betting at sportsbooks with the BOG promise isn’t so much an advantage as it is a necessity.
Every time you back a horse (that goes on to win) at 5.0 only to see it have a Starting Price of 8.0 or take the higher early price, only to see the horse go off at a shorter Starting Price, the bigger returns always make something of a difference. Or a huge difference over time. As stated already, it’s a no-brainer to always bet at BOG sites.
The only counter-argument to this is that a few of the very best betting sites as regards bonuses, variety of markets, safety and other factors, don’t offer BOG, for whatever reason. Where that’s the case, the advice is to take advantage of those positives when betting on other sports and use other sites that do offer Best Odds Guaranteed when it comes to horse racing.
