Greyhounds

[Anonymous]

Hello, I ‘m a novice to greyhound betting and I have some questions.

Can someone explain to me the features of the racing post cards ?
I see the following things in them that I don’t understand:

SPLIT – What is that ?

POS – I understand but what use or partial use is this info in relation to predicting the outcome ?

REMARKS – Some stenography there. What’s their code ?

GOING – Where does that number apply ?

GRD – The grades. Where can I find those grades explained ? Are they of relevance ?

CALC – What’s that ?

I will appreciate your help

[Maxilon 5]

Ah! The noble art of the Egyptians, Froddo.

Split:

All greyhound tracks are ovals or circles. The split is the time it takes the dog to reach the first bend. The lower the time, the more chance you have of your dog leading to the bend which is a big advantage. I love fast starters more than anything else.

Pos:

The position of each dog in the race measured at four different points. 1111 means the dog led all the way. 6666 means a slow dog who missed the break. 1112 means I’ve backed the dog.

Remarks:

This is the formbook of the greyhound world. It would take me an age to go through that. It describes the running of the dog in the race in question.

Msd brk, crd 1-2,

basically means the dog missed the kick and then found trouble at the bends. EP = early pace. Middle = Middle Pace. Wd = Ran wide. Fcd- chk = forced to check. Most are abbreviations. All the tracks have specific notations too. My own track, Nottingham, is very limited in its formbook analyses. Others are really detailed.

Grades:

Greyhounds start in the bottom grade (A10/11) and the game is to get faster and faster, eventually running in the best Graded stakes, which is A1. If the dogs are faster than that, they can run in Open Races (OR) like the Wimbledon Greyhound Derby. Stayers run in Sx to S1. Hurdlers run from Hx to H1. Expensive, well bred dogs often skip the Graded structure all together and go straight to opens.

The going and calc figures, Froddo, I’d suggest you read in a book. They can be very complicated and I’m not brilliant with numbers. I’m sure there is someone on here or the Betfair Greyhound Forum who will help you with that.

Best of luck. I love me dog racing.

[Anonymous]

Even though the dish lickers are a bit different here,i suppose the principals are the same.We have a couple of straight tracks as well over here.For a serious punter you would most likely be looking for a dog that can run a consistent fast first split,over here there is usually 3 splits given.Which makes sense as it is no good if you have a brillint box dog and his final split is very slow.A lot of dogs wont perform from an outside box and need the rail,as some also need to be drawn wide.Our field size is 8, at one of the straight tracks it used to be 10.Big money here tonight we have the Group 1 Golden Eastsr egg it is worth $250 000 to the winner! We trained greyhounds for a few years even at times when we had the Race horses in work,it was a bit hectic and the dogs are prone to a lot of torn muscles and toe injuries.Most of the work given to Greyhounds is free galloping in a field or down the beach to keep them fit.A trial up the straight is also much better as the dogs seldom injure themselves like they may around a corner.

[Maxilon 5]

Shattered, would you prefer six dog racing or are you content with eight dogs?

I remember seeing eight dog racing at Swindon greyhounds when I was younger, but it didn’t work over here. I don’t know why.
And what’s the scene like down your way? Popular? Is the game robust?

Cheers

[Anonymous]

Speaking of the Golden Easter Egg Group 1 at Wentworth Park,not sure if you can get on with the bookies there,(though maybe as it is the richest greyhound race in the world)get on Kilty Lad only about 7/4 but looks a special. drawn box 2,the inside dog is a slow beginner,and the only danger is drawn off the track.Only has to begin well to win.I usually like to take a bit better odds than that,but i think the 7/4 is a great price tonight.Not sure probably jumps about 12:30pm or so UK time.

[Anonymous]

Shattered, would you prefer six dog racing or are you content with eight dogs?

I remember seeing eight dog racing at Swindon greyhounds when I was younger, but it didn’t work over here. I don’t know why.
And what’s the scene like down your way? Popular? Is the game robust?

Cheers

Hello Maxilon,
I think 6 dogs is a good size as with 8 dogs always a bit of trouble on the first turn,though i suppose you are going to get better value in the 8 dog fields.Yes Maxilon the Greyhounds have thrived here,a lot of Group 1’S one of the biggest races is The Melbourne Cup! The Dog Version.Now as soon as a proven champion bitch whelps a litter the pups may sell from $50 000 to $70 000 roughly and thats each!

[Anonymous]

Also i think the greyhounds as a training option are appealing as the cost in training ,feeding,transport is minimal,after all you can put them into the back seat of the car and take them to the races.We had one which was very good won about 16 races in good company and she was tiny! she weighed 19.3 kg !!! Also one should never tempt fate by saying "he only has to begin well" first thing the race caller said was "Kilty Lad has come out badly" We had another pretty good bitch who used to love to lie on the lounge and watch TV.

[Anonymous]

Thanks.
They explained these things to me in another forum also.
Now I know how to attack this, at least to gain appreciation of the greyhound races myself (without denying the existing tipsters know things well).
Lots of preliminary work is needed though.
If anyone wants to help, following my specs, he ‘s welcome.

[Author]

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