Greyhound racing has been practised since the late 19^th century, and has developed into a professional sport in the almost 150 years since. There are two forms of the sport, namely the track race and coursing, and much like horse racing, it has become one of the most popular sports to place wagers on. 

Betting on greyhound racing is as beautifully simplistic as the sport itself. If you’ve ever placed a wager on a horse race, you will be unwittingly familiar with the type of bets that can be placed on a greyhound race as well.

Betting Guide for Greyhound Racing

Greyhound racing and sports betting bookies goes hand in hand, and players would be hard pressed to find a race that doesn’t offer betting opportunities. There are three main types of wagers known as place, show, and win. With a place bet, players must select the greyhound which will come in 1^st or 2^nd place, show bets sees players wagering on which greyhound will come in 1^st, 2^nd or 3^rd place, while the win bet is the simplest – which greyhound will cross the line first?

There are also wagers which can be placed on more than one greyhound at a time, and this is popular with more confident players. Players can place an exacta wager which is on two greyhounds to cross the finish line in 1^st and 2^nd place in an exact order. The trifecta and superfecta wagers become trickier when 3 and 4 greyhounds must be selected to cross the finish line in an exact order.

Different greyhounds hold different betting odds, so be sure to study the race booklet carefully before deciding on which hound to bet on.

Greyhound Racing Information

Greyhound racing is absolutely awe-inspiring to watch, and always provides the big time thrills that players are after. In a standard track race, multiple hounds are released from their race cages onto the sand track simultaneously in hot pursuit of a lure that runs along a rail around the track.  There are varying distances which can be run, starting with the sprint of 320 metres, all the way to a distance race of approximately 820 metres.

A variation of the sport known as greyhound coursing is also popular with betting players, and sees two greyhounds being released at once onto an open field in pursuit of a hare, with the pursuit lasting between 35-40 seconds. The hare is given a 40-50 metres head start, and many competitions are judged on how many times the greyhound can force the hare to turn, and how close a greyhound gets to the hare.

History of Greyhound Racing

These days coursing is seen as a variation of the modern track race, but many are unaware that coursing existed first, and greyhound racing developed from it. Coursing has its origins in hunting where dogs would be used to find the prey by scent, however coursing places the onus on the dog’s sight instead.

The first known straight track greyhound race took place in 1857, but didn’t gain much popularity until the early 1900s when the mechanical lure was introduced. In 1919 the first official oval race track was opened and this gave rise to the modern form of greyhound racing that enthusiasts and betting players still enjoy today.