Best Odds Guaranteed and NRNB at Cheltenham: Two Features Every Punter Should Know
Among the dozens of bookmaker features, promotions, and tools available during Cheltenham week, two stand apart for the quiet, structural advantage they provide: cheltenham best odds guaranteed and Non-Runner No Bet. Neither sounds exciting. Neither generates the kind of marketing fanfare that “Bet £10 Get £50” commands. But together, they change the maths of your Cheltenham betting in ways that compound across every wager you place during the four days.
BOG protects you against price movements. NRNB protects you against non-runners. Both are available from most major bookmakers, but neither is universal, and the terms attached to each vary between operators. This guide explains the mechanics, identifies which bookmakers offer what, and highlights the conditions that can limit or void these protections at the worst possible moment.
Best Odds Guaranteed: How It Works and Why Cheltenham Is Different
Best Odds Guaranteed means that if you take a price on a horse and the starting price (SP) on race day is higher, the bookmaker pays out at the better price. If you back a horse at 5/1 in the morning and the SP is 8/1, you are paid at 8/1. If the SP is 3/1, you keep your 5/1. You always get the better of the two prices.
The value of BOG becomes apparent over a full Festival. Across 28 races, the probability of at least some of your selections drifting from the price you took to a higher SP is significant. A single-race BOG benefit might be small — a point or two of odds — but accumulated across a week of active betting, the cumulative advantage is meaningful. It eliminates the downside of taking an early price while preserving the upside of market drift.
What makes BOG particularly resilient at Cheltenham is the UK horse racing tax exemption. From 1 April 2027, a new remote betting duty of 25% will apply to most online sports betting — but bets on UK horse racing are explicitly excluded, because operators already pay the 15% General Betting Duty plus the 10% Horserace Betting Levy, which produces a de facto rate of approximately 25%, as outlined in GOV.UK legislation. This exemption means the economics of offering BOG on horse racing are less affected by the tax reforms than equivalent promotions on football or other sports — which is why BOG on Cheltenham races is likely to survive even as other promotional features are scaled back.
BOG at most operators applies to bets placed on race day or from the morning of the race. Some extend it to bets placed the evening before. Ante-post bets placed weeks in advance are almost never covered by BOG — the feature is designed for day-of-race pricing, not long-range speculation. Check your bookmaker’s specific BOG terms: most apply it automatically, but a few require you to opt in or restrict it to certain race types.
Non-Runner No Bet: Protecting Your Ante-Post Stake
Non-Runner No Bet is a feature offered on selected ante-post markets that refunds your stake in full if your horse does not run in the race. Without NRNB, a non-runner on a standard ante-post bet means your stake is forfeited entirely — the bookmaker keeps the money as if the bet had lost.
The value of NRNB has grown as the jump racing calendar has become more volatile. Total betting turnover on British horse races fell 9% year on year in the first three quarters of 2024, according to the BHA Racing Report 2024. Part of that decline reflects punter caution driven by high-profile non-runners at major festivals — a trend that has pushed bookmakers to offer NRNB on more markets as a way of rebuilding customer confidence in ante-post betting.
NRNB at Cheltenham is typically available on the major championship races — Gold Cup, Champion Hurdle, Champion Chase, Stayers’ Hurdle — and sometimes on the larger supporting races. It is less commonly offered on handicaps, where the field is larger and the non-runner risk is higher from the bookmaker’s perspective. The availability and timing of NRNB vary by operator: some offer it from the moment the ante-post market opens; others introduce it only in the final weeks before the Festival.
The trade-off is price. NRNB odds are shorter than standard ante-post odds because the bookmaker is absorbing the non-runner risk. A horse available at 10/1 without NRNB might be offered at 8/1 with NRNB. Whether the reduced price is worth the protection depends on the specific horse and the likelihood of withdrawal. For a well-established contender with a clean training record and a committed trainer, the difference may feel like unnecessary insurance. For a horse with a history of minor setbacks or a trainer known for late changes of plan, NRNB is worth every point of odds you sacrifice.
Which Bookmakers Offer BOG and NRNB at Cheltenham
Most major UKGC-licensed bookmakers offer BOG on UK and Irish horse racing, including all Cheltenham Festival races. bet365, Paddy Power, William Hill, Betfred, Sky Bet, and Ladbrokes all provide BOG as a standard feature, applied automatically to qualifying bets. Betfair Sportsbook offers BOG; the Betfair Exchange does not, because Exchange prices are market-driven rather than operator-set.
NRNB availability is more variable. bet365 typically offers NRNB on the major ante-post Cheltenham markets from early in the season. Paddy Power and William Hill both provide NRNB on selected championship race markets, with the range expanding as the Festival approaches. Sky Bet and Betfred offer NRNB on selected markets but with narrower coverage than the market leaders.
The practical advice is to check the specific market page for each race you are considering an ante-post bet on. If “Non-Runner No Bet” appears on the market header, the protection is active. If it does not, assume that your stake is at risk if the horse does not run. Do not rely on assumptions about which operators offer NRNB on which races — check every time, because the coverage can change from week to week as the Festival approaches.
For punters who plan to take multiple ante-post positions across Cheltenham, holding accounts with at least two bookmakers is recommended. Compare the NRNB prices between operators: the difference can be a full point of odds, and on a bet that may sit in your account for weeks before settling, taking the best available NRNB price is one of the simplest value gains available.
Responsible Gambling Reminder
BOG and NRNB improve the terms of your bets, but they do not change the underlying probabilities. A horse at 8/1 with BOG still loses roughly seven times out of eight at true odds. Use these features to enhance value within your existing budget — not as a reason to increase your stakes or extend your betting beyond planned limits. For support, visit www.begambleaware.org or call 0808 8020 133.