* AN INTRODUCTION TO GREYHOUND RACING * For most people, their first venture into sports-betting will be horse-racing - mainly due to the high profile of the sport with events like the Grand National etc. Many stick with that, ignoring another (in some ways better) form of betting that is right under their noses. Whenever you go into the bookies, you will be confronted with several screens all relating to Greyhound racing - but do you ever have a go? You're probably muttering something along the lines of 'yes, but the dogs just aren't as reliable as the horses - it's much harder to pick a winner'. You are in fact wrong - it's only because you've never really studied the sport. Dog racing is in many ways an easier bet than horse racing. For a start, there is much more form-info available - dogs must complete three official trials before they can race at all, also dogs tend to be very consistent - if you look at the set of times for a particular dog, they rarely vary from race to race by more than a second or so. The idea of this document is to introduce you to the bare essentials that you need to know whether you've never placed a bet before, or if you already bet on the horses. THE RACE-CARD The key to success is obviously knowing what's what on the form line. Dog form appears very complex, but Pro-Greyhounds is only interested in certain aspects of it anyway ... The form (as found in the Sporting Life or Racing Post), is spread across several lines, each one representing a different race that has been run by the dog. The following is an example from the Sporting Life .... The first line, 7.30 (460 metres A9) £50 contains three things of interest to us - the time of the race (7.30), the distance (460 metres), and the grade (A8). There are many grades of races in use, but for Pro-Greyhounds purposes we only need to know the number (8) - the higher the number, the lower the class of race (ie: Grade 1 are best, Grade 8 are worst). Other types may appear here (eg: Handicap, Open, etc.), but with PG, unless there is a number, we count the race as being 'ungraded'. Next we come to the header line for the first dog ... -------------------------------------------------------------------- T1-GREEN WILLOW wbk d Westmead Havoc-Green CityMy94 ....Foster-29.29 -------------------------------------------------------------------- It looks frightening, but we are only interested in the first two items - the trap number (T1) and the name of the dog (Green Willow). Finally, we come onto each of the form lines for the dog - there will normally be 4 lines, covering the last 4 races, although from time to time there will be fewer. --------------------------------------------------------------------- 12 Oc 460 1 04.30 3466 6th 8 Water Polo CwdStt 28.62 +15 7-1 A6 29.38 --------------------------------------------------------------------- Again, this contains much unwanted info (don't be put off by the appearance of it here - it's much easier to read in the paper itself). The bits we want to know are - The distance of the race (460) The time the dog took to reach the first bend (04.30) It's finishing position (6th) The grade of the race (A6) The total time it took to finish (29.38) That's the basic info required - as you can see it's not nearly as complex as it first looked! Within the program, there is the option to enter additional data. This is taken from 'Performance Pointers' - a section of the 'Sporting Life' that gives statistical information relating to each of the runners in certain races - it's not always available, but when it is, it is a valuable source of info. Again, there is much more data than is required by the program ... ------------------------------------------------------------------- PERFORMANCE POINTERS Computed Performances At Wimbledon (Since 1/7/91) 7.30 (460m A8) Total £1 Level Trap A8 Since BRS BRT W-R Stake Record Races Win T1-Green Willow 0-3 - 3.00 0-2 0-3 3 4.30 29.29 ------------------------------------------------------------------- We need to know, The dog that the data refers to (Green Willow) Total Wins-Runs (0-3, ie: Won 0 races out of 3) Wins To Runs in the same grade of race - A8 (0-3, Won 0 out of 3) Number of runs since the dog last won (3) That's it - everything that Pro-Greyhounds needs to know about! Once you've predicted the outcome of a couple of races, reading these form details will become second nature (as it probably is for horse racing if you have an interest in that). It is this absolute wealth of available data that makes dog-racing such an attractive betting prospect. PLACING A BET OK, so you've got your list of predictions - what are you going to do with them? Whereas with horse racing, much of the emphasis is on Win & Place bets, dog betting tends to revolve more around Forecasts & Tricasts (although of course, it possible to back a dog to win or place if you want). The following are common greyhound bets ... Forecast - pick the runners to finish 1st and 2nd in that order. Reverse Forecast - pick 1st & 2nd in either order (2 bets) Forecast Perm - pick 3 dogs, if 1st & 2nd are amongst them, then you win (6 bets) Tricast/Trio - Pick 1st, 2nd & 3rd in that order Bookmakers, however, provide a much wider range of 'exotic' bets than this - for example, variations of the Tricast that let you pick 1st, 2nd & 3rd in any order etc - the best thing to do is to go in and get all of the greyhound related slips that they have - read them when you get home, and decide which is best for you. AND FINALLY ... Read the User-Guide, and the relevant help pages then set about making your first predictions - it's normally a good idea to have a couple of practice runs before placing any bets (ie: enter the data, get the predictions, decide on the bet you would place and then check the results later to see what you would have won/lost). Soon you will realise that greyhound racing can be an enjoyable, and perhaps above all, rewarding hobby! FURTHER READING ... If you want to know more about dog-racing, then have a look at 'The Sporting Life Guide To Greyhound Racing & Betting' by David Bennett, priced £5.95 - I got my copy from WH Smith, although most book shops should stock it. Of course, if you have any specific queries, or there's anything you're not sure about, then you can always get in touch with me - I'll do my best to help!