Racing concession explained
Best Odds Guaranteed: paid at the bigger price
Best Odds Guaranteed removes the one real risk of backing a horse early. Take 3/1 in the morning and the horse goes off at 9/2, the bookmaker pays you at 9/2. Take 3/1 and the horse is hammered into 2/1, you keep your 3/1. You are paid at whichever price is better for you, so there is no longer a reason to sit on your hands waiting for the market to settle. Below you will find how it works, which betting sites run it, the terms that decide whether your bet qualifies and the questions punters ask most.
How Best Odds Guaranteed works
The mechanics are simple, and the details that trip people up are the qualifying window and the markets that count.
Back an early price
Take a price on the win market once the bookmaker's qualifying window has opened for the day, which may be from market open or from a set morning time.
Let the market move
Money, going changes, jockey bookings and non runners all push prices around between the morning and the off.
The starting price returns
If the horse drifts and returns a bigger starting price, the bookmaker settles your winning bet at that bigger price instead.
You keep the best of the two
If the horse shortens, you keep the early price you took. Either way you are paid at whichever price is better for you.
A worked example
You stake 20 pounds on a horse at 3/1 in the 14:20 at Ayr at ten in the morning. Word gets round that the yard fancies something else, the horse drifts, and it returns a starting price of 5/1. It wins. Without the concession you collect 80 pounds. With Best Odds Guaranteed you are settled at 5/1 and collect 120 pounds, an extra 40 pounds on one bet for doing nothing more than backing it early. Had the horse instead been backed into 2/1, your 3/1 would have stood and you would still have collected 80 pounds.
The concession only ever moves in your favour. You cannot be paid less than the price you took.
It rewards early opinion, so it suits punters who read the overnight cards rather than betting at the off.
Drifters are where the value sits, which makes bigger priced runners in open handicaps the natural fit.
18+ only. Promotion terms and conditions apply. BeGambleAware.org
Why Best Odds Guaranteed is the most valuable racing offer
A free bet is one off. A price concession applies to every qualifying bet you place, every day of the season.
It pays on every bet
You do not opt in, claim anything or hit a turnover target. Any winning qualifying bet is settled at the bigger price automatically.
It removes early price risk
The traditional cost of backing early was watching your horse drift. That cost disappears, so you can act on an opinion the moment you form it.
It compounds over a season
A few extra points on a handful of winners each week adds up to far more than a one off sign up bonus ever returns.
It suits each way punters
The win part of an each way bet is normally covered, so drifters at bigger prices benefit twice over.
It rewards shopping around
Take the biggest early price you can find, then let the concession protect you if the horse goes off bigger still.
It is not a substitute for price
A bookmaker with short prices and the concession can still pay less than a bookmaker with a bigger board and no concession. Compare the price first.
Betting sites offering Best Odds Guaranteed
Every published Best Odds Guaranteed offer we track, with the operator's own significant terms shown in full.
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Prices still matter more than concessions over a season, so compare the same runner across betting sites before you place the bet, then check member promotions for the rest of the extras your account already qualifies for.
Terms that decide your payout
Wording differs by operator, and these six clauses are where a qualifying bet is won or lost.
Qualifying window
Some bookmakers apply the concession from market open, others only from a set time on the morning of the race. Overnight prices are not always covered.
Win market only
The concession normally covers win singles and the win part of each way bets. Place only markets, forecasts and tricasts are usually excluded.
Meetings covered
Most operators cover UK and Irish racing. Some restrict it to UK only, and a few add selected international or greyhound cards as a separate offer.
Singles or multiples
Plenty of bookmakers limit the concession to singles. Where multiples qualify, each leg is settled at the bigger of the two prices.
Maximum benefit
Caps are common, whether per race, per day or per customer, and some operators pay the difference as a free bet rather than cash.
Exclusions
Ante post bets, bets placed with a free bet or bonus, cashed out bets, non runners and antepost specials are commonly excluded.
Best Odds Guaranteed questions answered
Answers drawn from the published terms of the bookmakers running the concession.
18+ only. Promotion terms and conditions apply. Always check the operator's own terms before betting. BeGambleAware.org