Horse Racing, greyhounds and snooker specialist with thirty years experience of writing about sport across multiple platforms. A QPR and Snooker fan
Spring into the realm of greyhound racing and chasing the bunny! This comprehensive guide is tailored for newcomers, equipping you with essential betting knowledge, from the ground up. Discover various bet types, develop personalized strategies, and decode the form book.
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Ready to outrun the odds? 🐾 Unlock the secrets of greyhound betting with our beginner-friendly guide! Types of bets, strategic tips, and more await you.
Types Of Greyhound Bet
Many of the types of greyhound bet are very similar to horse racing bets but there can be some subtle differences. Like horse racing, greyhound punters are likely to stick to one or two types of bets that suit their betting needs the most.
If you are new to greyhound betting it is a good idea to have a play around with some of these bets either through paper trading or very small stakes, just to decide which bets work best for your individual needs.
Once you are ready the best betting sites and betting exchanges Betfair and Smarkets will have odds for your Greyhound wagers.
If you fancy a spread bet on the Greyhound meetings check out Spreadex or Sporting Index, they offer:
- Double Numbers
- Favourites
- Multi Traps
- Starting Prices
- Trap Challenges
Popular Greyhound Betting Bets
Win
This is simply a bet on a given dog to win his race.
You can either take a price and your bet will be settled at that price whatever happens or you can bet at starting price (SP) and your bet will be settled at the price the dog starts the race at.
Each Way
Each way bets are also settled at a taken price or at SP but this time you are placing two bets, one on the dog to win and one on the dog to place.
This means that your total stake is twice your unit stake (£10 each way costs £20).
There are only two places paid on dog races and the place terms are most commonly a quarter of the odds so you need to back a 4/1 shot or bigger to get your money back on a place bet.
The Top Greyhound Betting Sites of 2024
Straight Forecast
A popular bet in greyhound racing, the straight forecast (SFC) requires the punter to name the first two dogs home in a given order.
This bet is popular because it allows a punter to win relatively large amounts for smaller stakes, but it is obviously harder to pick a winning bet when betting on straight forecasts.
Reverse Forecast
A reverse forecast (RFC) is almost identical to a straight forecast except your two dogs don’t have to finish in the order you have given, they simply have to fill the first two spots in any order.
A reverse forecast is two bets, so your total stake will be twice your unit stake (a £10 RFC costs £20).
Combination Forecast
A combination forecast (CFC) is a reverse forecast on three or more selections.
Most commonly three dogs will be named in a combination forecast and they can fill the first two spots in any order but a three dog combination forecast is six bets, so a £5 CFC will cost £30.
If four dogs are included in the bet then that would be 12 bets.
Forecast Multiples
Forecast multiples (most commonly forecast doubles and trebles) are popular as a bet to cover multiple races/meetings.
The amount of unit bets are usually very high depending on the type of forecast multiple and the amount of races, even forecast doubles on 6 races will cost 15 bets. A full break down of forecast doubles and trebles can be found in the table below
Reverse Forecast Multiples
Reverse forecast doubles and trebles will cost even more bets per race than straight forecast doubles and trebles because you are covering even more possible outcomes as your bet can come in in any order.
A full beak down of reverse forecast doubles and trebles can be found in the table below
| No. of Races | SFC Doubles | RFC Doubles | STC Trebles | CTC Trebles |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 1 | 4 | ||
| 2 | 3 | 12 | 1 | 8 |
| 4 | 6 | 24 | 4 | 32 |
| 5 | 10 | 40 | 10 | 80 |
| 6 | 15 | 60 | 20 | 160 |
| 7 | 21 | 84 | 35 | 280 |
| 8 | 28 | 112 | 56 | 448 |
| 9 | 36 | 144 | 84 | 672 |
| 10 | 45 | 180 | 120 | 960 |
| 11 | 55 | 220 | 165 | 1320 |
| 12 | 66 | 264 | 220 | 1760 |
| 13 | 78 | 312 | 286 | 2288 |
| 14 | 91 | 364 | 364 | 2912 |
Straight Tricast
A straight tricast (STC) is similar to a straight forecast except this time you have to name the first three dogs home in the correct order.
The dividend returns can be much bigger than forecasts but the increased odds reflect the decreased chances of landing the bet.
Combination Tricast
A combination tricast (CTC) is effectively a reverse tricast, you name three or more dogs and they have to fill the first three places in any order.
A three dog combination tricast is most common and requires six bets, so a £5 CTC in this instance will cost £30 whilst a combination tricast that includes four dogs will be 24 bets.
Multiples
All the usual multiples are available on greyhound racing, you can bet on doubles, trebles, accas, trixies. patents, yankees, lucky 15s/31s/63s and so on.
Forecast and reverse forecast patents are also fairly common greyhound multiple bets.
Ante Post
You can bet win or each way on ante post markets but if your horse doesn’t take part in the race you are betting on you lose your stake, as you do with ante post betting in other sports.
The flip side of this is when you place your ante post bet you are likely to get much better odds on your selection than you would have done betting on that dog on the day of the race.
Free Bets
Many of the bookmakers have Greyhound specials and free bets when you sign up for a new account.
Important Considerations When Betting On Greyhound Racing
Watch The Weather
Very wet weather can affect the racetrack and cause certain traps to be favoured. When there has been a huge downpour pay attention to the first few races following that downpour and see if either the lower traps or higher traps seem to be favoured.
If there is a pattern to the results combination forecasts and tricasts on the favoured traps can lead to some nice returns. It is also worth noting that heavier dogs can be favoured by wet tracks also.
Pay Close Attention To Previous Races
Always compare a dog’s current draw to its draw in previous races and check whether or not the dog has run well from that draw before.
A good draw for some dogs is a bad draw for others so a horse drawn in trap 2 might not run to the same level as in his last race when drawn in trap 5.
Beware Layoffs
Try to look out for recent form.
A dog that hasn’t run for a while probably isn’t being rested, instead they have probably been recovering from illness or injury and they might not necessarily reproduce their old form.
Buddies Stay Out Of Trouble
In races where there could be trouble in running and likely traffic problems it is worth remembering that neighbouring dogs are likely to have the same luck.
Trouble low will affect the lower traps and trouble high will affect the higher traps so don’t be surprised to see forecasts and tricasts made up similarly drawn dogs.
Pay Close Attention
Take a look at the demeanour of the greyhounds before the race takes place as this can give clues to the upcoming performance. A lively looking dog that looks in high spirits will often perform better than a more subdued dog.
FAQ
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How do you bet on dogs online?
The best way to bet on dogs online is to open an online bookmaker account. Once funded, you will be able to make all the best you would make in a betting shop on the bookmaker website or app instead. You'll need to find the greyhound section, the race and the dog you want to bet on and then you'll simply be clicking selections into a betslip and confirming with the press of a button.
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What is the best way to bet on greyhounds?
The two most popular ways to bet on greyhounds is to bet on a single dog to win, or try to make a forecast of the first 2 dogs to finish a race. The best way to bet on greyhounds for a better chance of making slow and steady progress, win more often and have a higher strike rate is to bet on one dog to win only. Adding combinations and forecasting the first two or three to finish is much more difficult and will lead to less frequent wins.
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What is the best trap in greyhound racing?
There is no best trap in greyhound racing. One might think that trap one being towards the inside of the track and marginally the nearest to the first corner would be the best, but some dogs prefer to run away from the inside and thus if drawn in that trap 1 may not run as well. You can check individual course trap stats to find which is the winning most trap in recent times if you want to create a trap based betting strategy.
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Which are the best betting sites for greyhound racing?
Our team of experts have taken a deep dive in the best betting sites for greyhound racing and created the ultimate guide. The article will assist you with all your greyhound betting choices.
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Is there a greyhound betting strategy?
As with all betting the more you study the form the better chance you have of winning.
Stay focused on specific trainers, dogs, tracks, and performance data.
Watch as many races as possible and understand how the bookies price up the market.
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Can i watch live greyhound racing?
Many of the leading bookmakers have streaming services that show the races.
Sky Sports/attheraces show many meetings from around the UK.
Responsible Gambling
All bettors should practice responsible gambling, on OLBG.com we have a range of articles designed to keep your gambling safe, including the one below.
Responsible Gambling Features, Function and Help
At the foot of each page are links to GamCare and BeGambleAware, two organisations that can offer practical gambling support.
Editorial Information
OLBG Betting Expert Darren Brett was the original author of this article, it was then updated by Nigel Skinner.
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