Greyhound racing used to be one of the most popular sports in the world. However, its popularity waned as numerous other sports like football and basketball overtook its place in the limelight.
Nonetheless, it remains as a lucrative sporting industry up until this day. So if you’re into racing, and you also happen to be an animal lover, then you’ll surely love this sport. Greyhound racing is an organized and competitive sport where greyhound racing dogs race around the track.
The first dog to reach the finish line is then the winner. There are two kinds of greyhound racing. The first one is track racing and the second is coursing.
Track racing is where greyhounds run around an oval track and are lured by an artificial windsock that travels above and ahead of the dogs until they cross the finish line. Meanwhile, coursing is where dogs chase a lure that is stuffed with artificial bait.
This sport is similar to horse racing because the public often bet on the likely outcome of every race. Greyhound racing is mostly an amateur sporting event and is done for the sake of fun.
However, countries like Ireland, Mexico, Macau, Spain, the UK, the US, and Australia see greyhound racing as a huge part of their gambling industries, just like with horse racing, with one of the biggest differences being the amount that organizers and greyhound owners profit.
The official name of the industry is called commercial greyhound racing and included legalized gambling along with a regulatory structure that governs it.
The features of the racetrack, fees, kennels, the number of dogs, and the official racing code are just some of the things that greyhound racing organizers deal with.
Betting guide
Learn the weather conditions
The condition of the track is a very important thing to consider when you’re betting on greyhound races. Wet weather favors wide runners, so you might want to bet on a greyhound that has a bulkier appearance.
Also, don’t choose a frontrunner greyhound during wet conditions because the kickback and difficulty in running get magnified with stronger runners. Meanwhile, inside runners have higher chances of winning in the winter because tracks become compacted.
Composure over previous runs
Choosing faster dogs over the slower ones is an obvious thing to do with greyhound racing. However, don’t be fooled into believing that the winners of the previous race are most likely to win again.
It doesn’t work that way because the previous winners are most likely to have exhausted their energy, and they’ll have a hard time coping up this time around. To be safe, bet on a well-drawn greyhound. Someone who’s composed and fresh
Youngsters over veterans
The first thing that comes to mind when choosing a bet on a race is to pick the experienced ones. Well, then again, that isn’t the case with greyhound racing.
It’s recommended that you bet on a greyhound that has 20 runs or lower because they’ve still got fresh legs. They’re also more determined to reach the finish line first because of their lack of experience. The pace is the name of the game for these agile runners. Trustworthy betting sites offer in-depth information about the competing hounds. On websites such as www.greyhoundbetting.co.uk you can find an operator fitting to your needs.
Visualize the outcome
Though this is a bit difficult to do especially if you’re a beginner, you’ll still learn this in the long run. Race reading is an important skill to learn but requires experience before you can pull it off. Consider the terrain of the track.
Take for example Monmore track that is filled with gallops. There’s also the Hove track which is a bit smoother, which means that smaller and lighter greyhounds will have the edge over the bigger and stronger ones.
The Crayford and Romford tracks, on the other hand, will give you a forecast as to who the likely winner will be once the first 20 meters of the lap has been covered. These kinds of tracks are more predictable early on, which means that you can bet on the last minute before the race kick starts.