Greyhound Racing

Greyhound Racing – Hounding It Out For First Place

Greyhound racing is a competitive sport comprising of two main categories – track racing and coursing.  Coursing is a hunting technique, involving the hunting of mainly hares, and historically involved Greyhounds.  Track racing makes use of an artificial lure, egging the dogs on in order to cross the finish line in the quickest possible time.  Track racing is the more popular of the two categories, due to the majority of people holding the opinion that hunting a live hare is nothing short of a cruel blood sport.

Britain saw its first oval track and mechanical (artificial) hare in 1926 – increasing to a total of 40 tracks by the end of 1927.  Greyhound racing has included betting since the very early days, and makes use of the pari-mutuel betting system.  This betting system sees all bets of a particular betting type placed together in an betting pool, with the winnings being shared among all winning bettors.

Bet Types

Greyhound races make provision for many bet types, much like the case with horse racing and harness racing.  Besides the rather straightforward Win, Place and Each Way bets, Greyhound racing also includes rare and unusual bets.

Running Double

A running double bet is placed by picking the winners of two consecutive races run at the same race track.  This can be tricky, as races are not always run in the same order, making it difficult to establish a perfect trend.

The Quadpot

Greyhounds must be selected from the third, fourth, fifth and sixth race from any event.  These must be placed Greyhounds, finishing within the first two positions.

The Treble

The Treble is exactly as the name suggests – the bettor is required to pick the dogs expected to finish in first place during three nominated races; the positions being competed for at the same race track.

A Howl Of A Strategy

As is the case with most types of sports bets, it is imperative to gather as much information about the Greyhounds, the tracks, the particular event, etc.  The travelling bettor must keep in mind that different events in different countries may have different rules, and as a result bookmakers may offer varying types of bets.

Male Greyhounds generally reach peak performance at the age of 2 (with female dogs peaking at age 3).  Age plays a large role in general performance.  Also be sure to stick to Greyhounds that frequently compete, so as to ensure that they are in top form.

Online betting sites can make or break any betting strategy.  Ensure that the bookmaker of your choice is a member of a known Gambling Association.  Dispute resolution policy is another biggy when choosing a bookmaker.  Ensure that your chosen bookmaker has a sound customer service policy in place.

Another useful trick is to keep your ear to the ground regarding weather conditions.  Lighter dogs, for instance, have trouble in wet conditions.  Heavier dogs do better during the rainy seasons.  Last, but not least, try and catch a glimpse of the dogs before the race.  Dogs in good spirits generally do better than those experiencing a gloomy day.