Greyhound Racing Betting: How Does It Work?

About Greyhound Betting

Greyhound racing around now familiar oval tracks began in the 1920s making its debut in America. The first meeting in the UK took place at Belle Vue, Manchester, in 1926.

Since then there have been almost 400 tracks in England, Scotland and Wales of which 143 have been regulated by a governing body such as the NGRC (National Greyhound Racing Club) and its successor the GBGB (Greyhound Board of Great Britain).

Whilst not thriving Greyhound Racing remains a popular betting sport in the UK and its races are broadcast around the world via leading online sportsbooks such as Betfair and Bet365.

Fixed odds betting opportunities are available on US greyhound racing but with Florida’s 11 tracks all set to close by 2011 the sport is in decline.  That’s not the case with Australian greyhound racing but, put simply, it is English greyhound racing which takes most of dog racing’s gambling buck.

How Does Greyhound Racing Betting Work?

Let us explain this. The glory of betting on greyhounds is their consistency. Dogs which are fasts starters with early speed will maintain that run-style throughout their career.  Likewise fast finishers and also those that run wide, middle or towards the inside rail.

A huge bonus with UK greyhound racing, and something that does not feature in the U.S., is ‘seeding’.  A greyhound that habitually runs on the inside will always be given an inside starting box, as will those that consistently run middle and wide.  The consequence of this is trouble-free racing which makes handicapping races far easier.

Other reasons to trust greyhound racing as a stable betting medium is their run frequency.  Unlike horses who could, and often do, have months between races, greyhound essentially race every seven days.  It means punters are well informed to their current wellbeing and abilities.  There is also an abundance of form readily available to bettors and that includes easy access to video replays of recent races.

How to win at the Greyhound Betting?

In order to win at the greayhound betting you need to learn how it works and what bet types are supported by the racing bookmakers in the US and UK.

Unlike the US and Australian greyhound racing English races consist of just six runners.  Nevertheless, on top of the traditional win bets, there are also opportunities to place each-way wagers, forecast (exactas) ad trios or tricasts.

All UK greyhound races come equipped with fixed odds bookmaker betting and are not dependant on tote returns.  Therefore online sportsbooks are not reluctant to take sizeable wagers in fear of price manipulation.  A big problem that always faced those trying to play the dogs in a Vegas sportsbook.

Those that have access to the Betfair exchange can both back dogs and lay them to lose.  The exchange is very popular with professional punters and its markets often feature runners quoted at odds far bigger than those available with conventional sportsbooks.

In order to win at the greayhound betting you need to learn how it works and what bet types are supported by the racing bookmakers in the US and UK.

Greyhound Ante-Post Competition Wagering

Another key difference with UK and Irish greyhound racing when compared to the U.S, is the rules with competitions.  There are no points system used to decide on the finalists of a competition.  In a simple round-by-round elimination process a competition is broken down into a series of rounds with only the first or second progressing to the next round.

In a simple 48 dog competition there will be eight heats where the greyhounds positioned 1-2-3 will progress to one of the quarter finals where the 1-2-3 will then go on to a semi-final and the 1-2-3 there will make up the six runner final.

Competition betting is massively popular and the leading sportsbooks offer odds on which greyhound will be crowned outright competition winner.  In all ante-post competition betting each-way terms are available and in some competitions, such as the Greyhound Derby, you can back a dog to simply make the final.  Markets re-open and prices are updated after every round of the competition.

Grading in Greyhound Racing

Naturally competitions only make up a small percentage of the number of overall greyhound races.  The vast majority are graded races and, once again, things here differ from the U.S.  Firstly there are several grades, up to 12 at some tracks, and it is not an automated system whereby dogs are automatically upgraded after a win or downgraded after a string of losses.

The make-up of races, including starting boxes, is made entirely at the discretion of the tracks racing manager.  And, on occasion, they can and will propel a dog up more than one grade.

What is Settlement in Greyhound Races

All greyhound bets are settled very quickly.  Normally with 45sec of the runners crossing the line the official starting prices and all other dividends (forecast and tricast) are announced.  Usually bets are settled, and winnings paid into accounts within another 45sec.

Greyhound Betting Odds

An official SP (starting price) is returned on every race (as well as a forecast and tricast dividend) but the leading betting sites will have fixed odds on offer for all runners in all races throughout race day.  Leading British bookmaking brands, such as William Hill US and Bet365 will give their customers ‘Best Odds Guaranteed’ meaning if you place your bet at a fixed price and its official SP return is bigger, you will get the greater price.  These sites will also allow you to watch greyhound racing live when you place a small qualifying bet on the action.

Try American online sportsbooks for greyhound racing wagering like BetAmerica, Amwager and DayAttheTrack.