Adam Deadman, December 2006

Greyhounds race seven days a week in the UK, with tracks spread far and wide. This detailed guide to the fastest sport on four legs gives you a better insight into how to make it pay. Several of these principles can be carried over onto other sports and markets.

Preparation

As with most things in life, preparation is the key- it’s crucial. You cannot expect to win long term by turning up to a meeting and trying to find the winner from the race card - the work is done before you get to the track. Immediately below I show the steps that need to be taken when arriving to the decision of having a bet.

• First and foremost there is no substitute for watching races with your own eyes. The comments attributed to a dog on a race guide should be used as a rough guideline only and not gospel. Attending the tracks as often as possible is crucial, but failing that, it is possible to “buy” the videos of a meeting for a small charge.
• Get the advanced card 2-3 days before the day of racing. This can be done for the major tracks by going to www.24dogs.co.uk. An account is needed, but for a charge of £1, which can be refunded with a tote pool bet, the form and advanced runners can be given. It’s best to print this off if possible.
• Greyhound form can be tricky to read initially, but it’s not too hard once you learn the basics. Visit http://www.thedogs.co.uk/trap6/race_card_form.php to understand the form guide, and http://www.thedogs.co.uk/trap6/race_card_abbreviations.php to understand the form comments.
• Ideally it helps if you can form a book. There are many things that need to be considered, which are explained later, but by forming your own book you have an idea what price you would be prepared to bet certain dogs at. This helps for the punting side of things, again explained later on in this brief.
• Try to study just the one track. The detail of knowledge for just the one track will be significantly more of an advantage than spending your time between two tracks- twice as many dogs to get to know for starters.

Factors to consider

Grade - It is important to weigh up whether a dog has risen through the grades sharply, which could mean the race in question is too tough, or if they have dropped in grade- the dog could well be thrown in!

Draw - Dogs which have “rails” comments want to be drawn inside, dogs with “wide” comments on the outside. Stands to reason you don’t really want to back a wide running dog that’s in trap 2 for example- highly likely the dog will find trouble- similarly trap 1 could have the room and could be considered a bet. The same applies to a dog in trap 5 that has many “rails” comments.

Sectional Splits - Sectional splits are usually the time taken from the traps to the finishing line first time they pass. This is crucial in determining whether a dog will be clear and avoiding any trouble at the first bend, or the meat in any potential sandwich.

Recent Times - Although these do not tell the whole story, these are usually reliable. It stands to reason you want to back the quickest dog in the race.

Trainer - As you build up experience of a track, you will have your favourite trainers, a trainer that you consider to be a bit better than the rest and can get that extra yard out of a dog.

Season - Bitches can have a season usually one a year. In short, the date a bitch has come into season is crucial. Typically a bitch is at her peak and can defy all levels of past form around 16 weeks after the day she came into season. This can sometimes be a deciding factor in bets.

Running Style - Some dogs have early pace and fly from traps, others run on very strong in latter stages of races. Therefore an early pace dog with a lack of stamina usually needs to lead at the start of the race- if there are many dogs with early pace, the chances of them leading are relatively slim- therefore things are not in your favour.

Distance - This is usually measured in metres, although in Ireland it is yards. It stands to a reason you do not want an early-paced dog in stamina-sapping races.

Recent Starting Prices - If a dog has had high SPs recently, and is still in the same grade, unless they were unlucky last time, this tells you that it is generally felt the dog will struggle at the current grade- and this can usually mean you can rule it out.

Winning Record - Unfortunately not all dogs run to the maximum of their ability the whole time. Checking a win record is important. Typically a dog ought to win roughly 1/6 of its races. If a dog has won 2 out of 37 runs for example, it’s important to check why. If the dog has been unlucky then that’s one thing, if the dog has a high percentage of close seconds, these are not safe betting propositions- some dogs simply don’t like having their head in front.

The Going - Going allowances are the opinion of just the racing manager and should not be taken as gospel, and that your own judgement should be used. It is important to get it accurate. For example, a freakish fast time by a dog thought to be exposed could be explained by untrue fast going. It’s important to check the times of the night therefore to check if this was accurate or not - with experience you will know what times win what races.

Age of the Dog - A dog is considered a pup until it reaches two years of age, and therefore normally has improvement left in it - indeed dogs can improve until they reach three years of age. Therefore once a dog reaches three years of age they are considered to be exposed, meaning what you see is what you get, they are unlikely to get any faster.

Breeding - This can get complicated and is perhaps not that important - it’s more relevant when trying to judge what a puppy will be able to do. Certain dogs are proven to throw up superstars and so a pup with nice times, allowing for improvement, and the right breeding, can often be given the nod.

Punting

Finding the winners is only part of the game, and perhaps the easiest part. Equally important is the punting side of things. Below I have explained factors to consider when having a bet.

• Hopefully in the preparation stage of things you would have formed a tissue. The dog that you want to bet, you will have an idea what price you wish to back it at. Don’t take a shorter price - if the price isn’t right for you then don’t play.
• Work out the opening percentage of the book. You will have an idea, especially if being aware of an average percentage return at the track, how much the prices are likely to change. This will help in determining when to take a certain price.
• Do not bet every race. Really if you are looking to make it pay and make money at this, you shouldn’t look to have more than perhaps three bets a night - at times you will find that you don’t wish to have a bet throughout the whole meeting.
• With the preparation you will have already have done, you will already know BEFORE getting to the track what dog(s) you wish to bet. Stick to it and don’t have “silly” small bets.
• Do not chase. Be prepared to leave your money behind. Chasing affects your reading of a race and your mindset - not to mention you could be on a monster of a losing run.
• Do not increase your stake size during winning runs- it will only take one losing bet to throw away your hard work!
• Record all bets. Total up a profit and loss, and write the selections with the grade of races and the date. Look for trends- is your betting better in good quality races, poor quality races, are many of your winners young pups? Do you have a better strike race in races that are a longer distance? These need to be weighed up.

Useful websites

• www.thedogs.co.uk – for results and checking past form.
• www.24dogs.co.uk – for advanced cards and even live streaming for some tracks.
• www.greyhound-data.com – looking at the breeding side of things and statistics.