BOG explained: how best odds concessions pay out on horse racing

How does BOG pay out on a horse racing bet?

Under BOG, if you take a fixed price and the horse wins at a bigger starting price, you are paid at the starting price; if the starting price is shorter, you are paid at the price you took.

Take a £10 win bet at 5/1 in the morning. If the horse drifts to 8/1 and wins, BOG pays at 8/1, returning £90 instead of £60. If the horse is backed into 3/1 and wins, you are paid at your 5/1, returning £60. Either way you receive the better of the two prices, which removes the risk of taking a price too early.

The comparison is made against the official industry starting price, not the exchange SP. Only bets that take a fixed price benefit, because a bet placed at SP is already paid at the starting price.

Which horse racing bets does the BOG concession cover?

BOG usually covers win and each way singles and often multiples on British and Irish horse racing, from a set time on the morning of racing, but each bookmaker publishes its own list of eligible bets and races.

Typical exclusions include bets struck before the concession starts, ante-post bets, some specials and, occasionally, particular races or meetings. Some bookmakers offer the concession on every UK and Irish race, while others limit it to certain times of day or remove it for specific events. Always check the bet slip, which normally shows whether the concession applies.

• Usually covered: win singles, each way singles, often multiples
• Usually covered: British and Irish racing from a set time on race day
• Often excluded: ante-post bets and specials
• Settlement against the industry SP, not the exchange SP
• Terms vary by bookmaker and can change

Does BOG apply to each way bets and Rule 4?

BOG normally applies to both parts of an each way bet, so the place part is paid at the place fraction of whichever price is bigger, but the treatment of Rule 4 deductions varies and should be checked in each bookmaker's terms.

If you take 10/1 each way and the horse drifts to 14/1 and places, the place part is paid at a fraction of 14/1, not 10/1. Rule 4 is where terms differ: when a late withdrawal triggers a deduction on your fixed price, some bookmakers reduce the price you took by the deduction before comparing it with the starting price. Reading the rule once saves surprises later.

How often does the SP end up bigger than the early price?

A starting price bigger than the early price is common for horses that drift, and drifters are usually the horses the market has turned against, so the concession adds most value on the minority of drifters that go on to win.

Price moves run both ways. Well-backed horses shorten and their fixed-price backers already have the better odds, while drifters lengthen and fixed-price backers would lose out without BOG. Over many bets, the concession adds a small amount of value to the fixed-price approach by removing the cost of backing a horse that later drifts and wins.

Why do some bookmakers withdraw BOG from accounts?

Because BOG is a voluntary concession, bookmakers can restrict or remove it from individual accounts, usually when a customer consistently takes early prices that shorten or benefits heavily from drifters that win.

A restricted account may still be able to bet, but at the price taken only, or with lower stakes. This is part of the bookmaker's commercial choices rather than a rule of racing, and terms and conditions set out their right to vary the concession. If the concession matters to you, check your account settings and the bet slip before each bet.

Does BOG change a horse's chance of winning?

No. BOG changes how a winning bet is settled, not the probability that the horse wins, so it does not make a poor bet into a good one and it pays nothing extra on losing bets.

The concession improves the maths only on winners that drift. It is worth having, but it should not be the reason for a bet. The key questions are still whether the horse's chance is better than the price suggests and whether you have taken the best price available across bookmakers.

It also pays to separate the two decisions. Decide first whether a horse is worth backing at all, then decide when to take a price. BOG makes the second decision easier by removing the fear of taking a price too early, but it cannot rescue the first.

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