Greyhound Racing Betting Strategies

One of the biggest and most exciting sports to bet on is Greyhound racing, so we’ve come up with the best greyhound racing betting strategies to help you along the way. So, if you want to try out a bit of dog racing, read on to find out what you need to do to get those winning sports bets.

When you’re an expert, it’s always exciting to read through the form for the upcoming races and picking your winners, but at the beginning, the likelihood is that you’ll need a bit of assistance. So, not only can you get the best strategies, but you can also get our top weekly betting tips. So, let’s get started with what you need to think about when making your greyhounds winning bets.

The Box Number

The position where the dog is starting is essential to know, as it could give away the dog’s chances of a win before the race even begins. The pattern of the race can be majorly impacted by the lane in which the dog is drawn. The dogs drawn in the closer lanes will have slightly less ground to cover and pole position. However, will they have enough speed early on to take advantage of this before the outside runners come across and cut them up?

Check out the Trainer

One of the biggest criteria for success is the trainer. This is the one person who has the biggest influence on the greyhound’s success. Undoubtedly, like humans, greyhounds have their own natural talents; however, the trainer needs to get the most out of the dog that he can. The trainer needs to teach the dog how to race; he also needs to make sure it’s in the best shape possible. Also, the trainer needs to make sure that he selects the correct races to maximize the chance of success.

As such, looking at the trainer’s statistics is a really important area to analyse. This can tell you the trainer’s overall successes; the overall performances; the patters of performances and the areas in which the trainer has had the most success.

Class of Greyhound

You need to find out what class the dog has performed at, as this is very important. If you look at the number of wins and winning performances, this can look impressive; however, you need to look deeper than the wins. You need to look at where the wins came – in tough races or modest races? What was the quality of the previous opposition? What is the quality of the current opposition?

It’s All in the Breeding

The genes have it – and the greyhound’s sire and dam can give bettors vital clues to their skills and attributes. It can help determine whether the dog has early sped; its mental application and how it responds to different conditions. If you can trace the success of your dog’s sire and dam – as well as any other siblings. This can give you hints of how well your dog will perform and the dog’s natural abilities.

The Career

If you look at the dog’s overall career, you’ll be able to see if the dog likes to finish up at the front of the pack. However, you will also need to check out other factors including class. You can’t fail to look at the number of wins when looking at the dog’s chance of success.

Previous Form

You need to look at your dog’s recent form – this season and last season. You need to make sure that your dog’s best performances weren’t a long time ago. The career of a racing dog can be long – and that means lots of peaks and troughs in form. Make sure you look at the dog’s most recent form so you can make an informed choice.

Prize Money Earned

If you look at the prize money the dog has earned, this can also indicate the dog’s quality. The higher the prize money on a race, the higher the quality of the opposition. Therefore, the higher the prize money the dog has earned, the more likely it has performed well in a higher class.

The Distance Record

Just like horses – and humans – dogs have preferred distance ranges over which they can perform the best. You need to know its preferred distances before betting on the upcoming race.

The Most Recent Race Details

Obviously, the best indicator of how a dog will perform is in its most recent race results and its current form. This can let you know how your dog is running right now. The long term result, however, can let you know what your dog is capable of at its best. That doesn’t help though if your dog is not on form at the moment. As such, you really need to understand the details on the form guide regarding its most recent run. Let’s look at an example:

So – what does each of these columns mean?

Plcg – Placing

This is the dogs finishing position and the number of starters – 1/8 means 1^st place out of 8 runners.

Margin

This is the margin by which the dog finished behind the winner. If the dog was the winner, it shows the margin by which it won.

Venue

Where the race was run

Dist / Distance

The overall distance of the race

Class

The grade or the class of the race

Weight

This is the dog’s weight on the day of the race. This can be used to look at how fit and healthy the dog is on race day compared to non-race days. The weight of the race when it races well can indicate how well it might do.

Box

The number box from which the dog started in the race.

Odds

The price on the dog when it started the race

Winner / Second

The name of the dog that won the race. If this dog won the race, then the name of the dog who came second.

In Run

This is the position in the race which the dog held. This can be a different amount of numbers depending on how the race had been run. A dog’s position in the race can change a lot, or not at all.

Time

The time that the winner recorded.

Other Factors to Think About When Betting on the Dogs

So, what else do you need to consider when wanting to make money on the greyhounds? There are many more factors you need to consider.

The Weather

You really need to check out for any bias, especially if wet weather is to be expected. When betting on dogs, you’ll realise that the condition of the track pays a big part in greyhound racing. Therefore, you might be well inclined to watch the first couple of races to check if there’s any bias. Wet and rainy weather often favours the wide runners. Because of the contours of tracks, the inside rail can be more difficult. Also, there are advantages to being a front runner if it’s very wet. The other strong runners might suffer issues with kickback. Also be aware that in the winter, the weather conditions in the evening can be freezing. This means many tracks get compacted. This means the inside runners might dominate.

Favour Well Drawn over Unlucky Losers

There are many dogs that start at incredibly short prices because they have suffered from an ‘unlucky loss’. As such, the obviously pacey dogs are then underpriced the next time – because the betting public has seen it happen and the bookmakers are running scared. As such, it’s better to look out for the well-drawn runners. An example: a dog starting in trap 1 if trap 2 moves wide when running to the first bend; or a trap 6 runner when there’s a railer in trap 5. In general, races are won by a dog that gets the cleanest run. Especially in graded races, the first 100 yards from the traps are very important in the outcome of the race.

Fortune Favours the Young

It’s not always a case of age and experience over youth and enthusiasm. Best advice given is to back a younger and inexperienced runner… but why? If a greyhound has had less than 20 runs, it will be improving and learning skills, such as trapping better and taking corners more smoothly. As such, the youngsters have more pace and guts than the older runners. As such, it’s impressive how quickly the young runners can fly up the grades. If you latch onto a promising one at the beginning of his/her career, it can be very profitable.

Visualise the Race

For those who are a little more familiar with racing, this is for you. Reading a race often requires many hours of watching races and note-taking.  There are certain tracks, such as Monmore, that are real gallops – so trying to understand what will happen in the race is vital. Other venues, including Romford, if you establish what will lead, this is often the key to working out the winner. A large number of races are often decided in the first 20 metres out of the traps.

With tracks like Hove, races can often change drastically off the last bend. The early paced dogs often cancel each other out. You should try to look for races where there are a few frontrunners and even an ‘ungenuine raver’ – who doesn’t want to led, and slows they others down when it tires. These races can be a little slow and very messy at the front, which paves the way for a strong and steady runner to come through.

If you start to know the dogs and their styles, you are more likely to become a profitable bettor. You can tie this knowledge in with an understanding of the prices and looking for value. This is easier said than done though. A missed break or a stumble can change the way you thought the race might go. However, in the long term, bad luck levels out and good knowledge and judgement is rewarded.

Specialise on One or Two Tracks

Don’t try and bet on all the dogs, all the time. Betting every day for the sake of it can be dangerous. There are many meetings every day, with lots of coverage, which means you can get a quick dog betting fix in a moment. However, you are better off specialising in just one or two tracks and becoming an expert in those. Trying to keep up to date with 4-5 meetings a week takes a lot of time, so you need to stay on to form if you want to be better than the market in your track of choice. Many stadiums have a website that allows you to download and watch the races – so if you put in the time, there is no excuse.

Search for Value Away from the Obvious

If you price up the true probability of each dog winning, without taking market commission into account, you’ll realise how tough it is to make a value bet and get a short price. Unless the race is one of the very rare mismatches, then anything less than 6/4 is probably underpriced. Often the better bet is to back a couple of the others against the skinny market leader. However, do try to find reasons to be against the favourite. Maybe it has a dog on the inside that swerves out and could be a hazard. Or there could be a dog that was impressive in an earlier win – but was unhindered, that might not have such an easy run this time. Make sure you look for valid reasons why a dog is underpriced before betting against it.

Look for Running Styles Suited to Different Races

Some racing managers put together races to make life difficult for punters. They might put a pacey pup boxed in-between early pace dogs. Or they might deliberately place a hazard aside a form pick. However, you can still find edges away from the obvious. Look for the style of runner that suits the track – and the opposition.

Know How Trainers Work

Like most things in life, some trainers are better than others. Some are better with younger pups or stayers. Some are just drivers that drive them from the kennels to the tracks and do nothing else. The more you watch the races, the more you’ll get to know the trainers and the dogs.

Avoid Chasing Losses and Regulate Your Gambling

This is the same for all types of betting. There are lots of races to choose from for astute bettors – and a full race card of 14 races can provide plenty of good betting opportunities. You don’t need to bet on every race. Measuring your stakes and getting your money tactics right is key. Don’t bet more simply because it’s got the shortest price. Long term, it isn’t profitable to keep going at minimal prices. You need to play the biggest when there is the most value in a bet… if you see something that the bookie has missed, you should play maximum stakes.