Greyhound Race
A greyhound track is all things to all men. You have the choice of sitting in a busy café, drinking tea from paper cups and watching the greyhound race on overhead televisions, to spending a couple of hours in a restaurant, being served your food by waiters and either watching overhead large screen televisions, or enjoying the usually excellent view of the track below while you dine.
Whatever your choice of area, and most racetracks offer them all, on entry every patron will receive a printed programme called a racecard. The card will contain descriptions of all the runners and reserves in the greyhound race, along with details of their recent performances. The purpose of this is to give you as much information as possible in order for you to make an educated bet.
Typically a greyhound race is run every 15 minutes or so, and you can see the dogs as they are led from the paddock, and walked in front of the public enclosure, about ten minutes before the start of the greyhound race. Some gamblers like to check out a dog's anxiousness to be off at this stage and may consider a stressed, nervy dog has a higher chance of winning. This is, however, a personal opinion and is possibly not best viewed as an indicator of how well a dog will run.
From the public enclosure they are then placed into the starting traps, then the starter will check that muzzles and jackets are secure, and that, reasonably enough, all the dogs are facing in the right direction for the greyhound race.
The hare… which the dogs are trained to chase… will start about half a circuit behind the traps, and once it reaches a set point will automatically trigger the traps to release the dogs for the start of the greyhound race. If a hare is caught by one of the dogs the race is void. From this point the first past the post is the winner. If the outcome of the greyhoudn race is not obvious or cannot be decided by a judge, then a photograph, taken at the exact time the dogs pass the post, is examined - and a winner declared.
Greyhound race glossary
Win
The first greyhound across the finish line wins. If you bet to win you collect only if your chosen dog is the first across the finish line in this form of greyhound betting.
Place
The second dog across the finish line. A wager to place means you collect if your dog finishes either first or second
Show
The third dog across the finish line. A wager to show means you collect if your dog finishes either first, second or third in the greyhound race.
Daily Double
Similar to an accumulator you select the winners of the first and second races. You must place your bet before the start of the first greyhound race.
Forecast
A bet placed on two greyhounds but they must cross the finish line in exact chosen order in the greyhound race. (American version is a Perfecta or Exacta)
Reverse Forecast
A bet placed on two greyhounds - to cross the finish line in any order. (American version is a Quiniela)
Tricast/Treble Forecast
A bet placed on three greyhounds - to cross the finish line in exact chosen order. (American version is a Trifecta)
Combination Bet
Combinations cover from two to four greyhounds to win in chosen order.
Jackpot
Normally a nominated six races where you must pick the winners to share in a Jackpot prize. The rules and prizes will vary from track to track.
More about Greyhound Racing
Page Last Updated: 11/03/2009