Boylesports Best Odds Guaranteed – Always Get the Best Price on UK and Irish Racing

Last Updated on 24/02/2026 by Andy Clark

Boylesports offer Best Odds Guaranteed (BOG) on all UK and Irish horse racing. If you take an early price and the Starting Price on the day of the race turns out to be bigger, Boylesports pay you at the higher odds. If the SP is shorter, you keep the price you took. You cannot lose by backing early.

Best Odds Guaranteed is one of the most valuable standing features available from any UK bookmaker for horse racing, and Boylesports have offered it consistently as a year-round promotion — not just at the major festivals. It applies from 8am on the day of the race across every UK and Irish meeting.

Back to: Boylesports Existing Customer Offers

---

What Is Best Odds Guaranteed?

Best Odds Guaranteed is a horse racing promotion where the bookmaker guarantees you will always be paid at the best available price — either the odds you took when placing your bet, or the Starting Price on the day of the race, whichever is higher.

Without BOG, backing a horse early is a one-way risk. If you take 5/1 the night before and the horse shortens to 3/1 by race time, you are paid at 5/1 — fine. But if the horse drifts out to 7/1 before the off, you are still only paid at your original 5/1. You have locked in a price that turned out to be worse than what was available on the day.

With BOG, that problem disappears. If you take 5/1 and the horse goes off at 7/1, Boylesports pay you at 7/1. If it shortens to 3/1, you are still paid at 5/1. You get the better of the two prices automatically, with no action required on your part.

This matters because the racing market moves constantly in the hours before a race. Morning prices on significant horses can shift meaningfully between the time markets open and the moment the tapes go up. BOG means you never have to time the market — you can back your selection as soon as you are happy with the price and the promotion does the rest.

---

How Boylesports BOG Works — Step by Step

1. Back a horse at Boylesports after 8am on the day of the race. This can be done online, via the Boylesports app, or by Fon-A-Bet. The bet must be placed on a qualifying UK or Irish race after the 8am activation time.
2. Your bet is recorded at the price you took. Boylesports hold your original odds in their system — you do not need to do anything to activate the BOG protection on a qualifying bet.
3. The race runs and the Starting Price is returned. The SP is the official odds returned at the off, calculated from the on-course market.
4. Boylesports compare your price to the SP. If the SP is bigger than the odds you took, your winnings are automatically recalculated at the higher SP. If the SP is shorter, your winnings are paid at your original odds. The comparison and any top-up is applied automatically — no claim required.

Example: You back Kopek Des Bordes at 3/1 at 9am on the morning of the Arkle. By race time, the market has moved and he goes off at 4/1. Without BOG, you would be paid at your original 3/1. With Boylesports BOG, you are paid at 4/1. On a £20 stake, the difference between 3/1 and 4/1 is an extra £20 in your pocket.

Conversely, you back the same horse at 3/1, and he goes off at 5/2. You are paid at your original 3/1 – the shorter SP does not affect your bet in any way.

---

What Races Does Boylesports BOG Cover?

Boylesports BOG applies to all UK and Irish horse racing, covering every meeting from a midweek evening card at Kempton to a Saturday Group 1 at Ascot. The full list of covered racing includes:

• All Flat racing meetings in the UK and Ireland (turf and all-weather)
• All National Hunt meetings in the UK and Ireland (hurdles and chase)
• Mixed meetings covering both codes
• All major festivals — Cheltenham, Royal Ascot, Glorious Goodwood, York Ebor, Grand National, Punchestown, Galway, Leopardstown Christmas, Dublin Racing Festival

There is no need to check whether a specific meeting is covered before placing your bet. If it is a standard UK or Irish race and you have placed your bet online or by Fon-A-Bet after 8am on race day, BOG applies automatically.

---

What Is Excluded from Boylesports BOG?

While BOG applies broadly, there are exclusions to be aware of:

Bet Type	BOG Status
Win and each-way singles — UK/Irish racing	✅ Covered
Ante-post bets	❌ Not covered
Tote / Pool bets	❌ Not covered
Place Only bets	❌ Not covered
Match Bets	❌ Not covered
In-running / in-play bets	❌ Not covered
Bets placed before 8am on race day	❌ Not covered
Free bet stakes	❌ Not covered
Selected Special markets	❌ Not covered

The most important exclusion for regular racing bettors is ante-post. If you back a horse weeks before Cheltenham at an attractive early price, that ante-post bet does not qualify for BOG — it is settled at the odds you took regardless of what the market does between now and race day. BOG only activates on bets placed from 8am on the actual day of the race.

For ante-post protection, look to Boylesports’ separate NRNB Cheltenham concession on all 28 Cheltenham races, which protects your stake if a non-runner withdraws — a different but complementary form of protection for early bettors.

---

Boylesports BOG at the Cheltenham Festival

The Cheltenham Festival is where Best Odds Guaranteed earns its keep most visibly. Across the four days of the Festival — Tuesday 10th to Friday 13th March 2026 — the market on every race moves significantly in the hours before the off as money pours in from professional punters, syndicates and the on-course market.

Boylesports BOG activates from 8am on each day of the Festival, covering all 28 races. This makes the morning of each Festival day a genuinely valuable window for placing bets. The key dynamics to understand:

Favourites tend to shorten. On a heavily backed favourite, the SP is often shorter than the morning price. BOG protects you here — if you take 2/1 in the morning and the horse goes off at 6/4, you are paid at 2/1.

Each-way plays on longer-priced runners can drift. A 14/1 shot backed in the morning might still go off at 16/1 or 20/1 if the money has gone elsewhere. BOG means you pick up the bigger place-part return without having to monitor the market.

The 8am window matters. Boylesports open their Cheltenham markets at 8am on race day. The first prices posted at 8am are often the longest you will see — the market tightens progressively through the morning as more money arrives. Getting on at 8am and having BOG in your corner is the optimal approach for Festival day betting.

Example from Cheltenham 2025: A £20 each-way bet on a 10/1 shot that went off at 14/1 SP. Without BOG: paid at 10/1 win, 5/2 place (1/4 odds). With BOG: paid at 14/1 win, 7/2 place. On a £20 each-way bet (£10 win, £10 place), the difference on the place part alone is meaningful — particularly if the horse finishes in the places but not first.

For our ante-post selections across all four days of the Festival, see our Cheltenham Festival tips. For new customers yet to open a Boylesports account, their current sign-up offer is Bet £10 Get £40 — giving you a free bet to deploy at the Festival alongside your BOG-protected real-money bets.

---

Boylesports BOG vs Other Bookmakers

BOG is now offered by most of the major UK bookmakers, but there are meaningful differences in when it activates, what it covers, and whether it applies in-shop as well as online.

Bookmaker	BOG Available	Start Time	Coverage
Boylesports	✅ Yes	8am race day	All UK and Irish racing
bet365	✅ Yes	8am race day	All UK and Irish racing
Betfred	✅ Yes	8am race day	All UK and Irish racing (online)
Ladbrokes	✅ Yes	8am race day	All UK and Irish racing
Coral	✅ Yes	8am race day	All UK and Irish racing
William Hill	✅ Yes	9am race day	All UK and Irish racing
BetVictor	✅ Yes	9am race day	All UK and Irish racing
BetGoodwin	✅ Yes	10am race day	All UK and Irish racing

The 8am start time puts Boylesports in the first tier of BOG bookmakers alongside bet365, Betfred, Ladbrokes and Coral — a full hour ahead of William Hill and BetVictor (9am), and two hours ahead of BetGoodwin (10am). On mornings where the market moves quickly — a significant gamble, news of a setback to the favourite, a change in going — the 8am window with BOG active is genuinely valuable.

For a full comparison of all bookmakers offering BOG and their terms, see our Best Odds Guaranteed guide.

---

How to Get the Most from Boylesports BOG

Bet at 8am on race day, not before. Ante-post bets do not qualify for BOG. If you want BOG protection, place your bet from 8am on race day rather than the night before or earlier in the week. For straightforward win singles on races with stable fields, waiting until race day and placing at 8am gives you BOG plus the opportunity to review any overnight market moves.

Use BOG on each-way bets on festival handicaps. Handicap races with large fields at the major festivals are where prices move most. A 14/1 shot in a 24-runner handicap can easily drift to 16/1 or 20/1 by the off — on an each-way bet, this translates directly into a bigger place return if your horse runs into the places. BOG captures that drift automatically.

Check Boylesports’ Extra Place Races on the same day. On days when Boylesports have Extra Place Races active, you can combine the extra place coverage with BOG on the same each-way bet. More places paid, at the better of your price and the SP — the two features work together on qualifying races.

Do not cash out. If you cash out a bet early, it is no longer eligible for BOG — you take the cash-out value and settle out of the BOG protection. If the reason you are considering cashing out is that your selection’s price has drifted, it is worth considering whether the in-running market is undervaluing the position — and whether the BOG uplift at settlement makes staying in the bet worthwhile.

On-course vs exchange price. The SP that Boylesports use for BOG comparison purposes is the official Starting Price returned on-course, not the Betfair SP or any exchange-derived price. These can differ, particularly on well-backed favourites where exchange liquidity concentrates money differently to the on-course market.

---

Rule 4 Deductions and BOG

A Rule 4 deduction is applied to bets when a horse is withdrawn from a race after betting has opened. The deduction reduces winnings to account for the removal of that horse from the market. When a Rule 4 applies to a race on which Boylesports BOG is active, the comparison is made after the Rule 4 deduction has been applied to the original odds taken.

Example: You take 5/1 on a horse. A non-runner causes a 10p in the pound Rule 4 deduction. Your original odds after the deduction are effectively 4.5/1. The SP after the same Rule 4 is 6/1. Boylesports compare 4.5/1 (your adjusted price) against 6/1 (the SP) and pay at the better price — 6/1 in this case.

This means Rule 4s do not eliminate the BOG benefit, but the comparison is made on adjusted prices rather than the original price taken.

---

Boylesports BOG Full Terms Summary

Term	Detail
Sport	UK and Irish horse racing
Bet types covered	Win singles, each-way singles
Bet types excluded	Ante-post, Tote/Pools, Place Only, Match Bets, in-running, free bets
Start time	8am on the day of the race
Eligible channels	Online (desktop, mobile, app) and Fon-A-Bet
In-shop	Not available
Comparison basis	SP vs price taken (Rule 4 applied before comparison)
Action required	None — applied automatically on qualifying bets
Opt-in required	No

18+. UK and IRE customers. BOG applies to online and Fon-A-Bet bets placed after 8am on day of race on UK and Irish racing. Win and each-way singles only. Excludes ante-post, Tote, Place Only, Match Bets, in-running and free bet stakes. Rule 4 deductions applied before comparison. T&Cs apply.

---

Frequently Asked Questions

---

See all Boylesports existing customer offers or check our Cheltenham Festival free bets guide if you are yet to open a Boylesports account.