Handicapping early speed in greyhounds is crucial to anyone trying to make money at the dog track. If you cannot figure out which greyhound is going to the front, you have little chance of cashing a ticket. The greyhounds with the early speed have an upper hand on the rest of the field, as they will be able to get ahead of any bumping and jostling as the dogs negotiate the turns on the track. Here are some tips for handicapping early speed in greyhounds.
Instructions
1. Look for the greyhounds that can break fast from the starting box. These dogs will have the ability to consistently get ahead right out of the gate. The first number in a greyhound’s performance lines after its post position is the break. Greyhounds that have a 1, 2, or 3 for that number are usually beating the others out of the box.
2. Identify rushing speed. This term describes a greyhound’s ability to separate itself from the pack before the first turn. Dogs with rushing speed are not necessarily good breakers. They simply have that early burst that can carry them through the crowd and into the lead. Dogs that go to the turn first, second, or third on a regular basis have that rushing speed.
3. Watch for greyhounds that have a combination of breaking ability and rushing speed. If a dog with both those traits has any stamina at all, it will finish in the money.
4. Scrutinize the race for greyhounds dropping in class. There is a grading system in dog racing much like a ladder, in which dogs move up when they are doing well and down when they are performing poorly. Observe the program and try to wager on dogs that have gone to the turn well in higher grades, only to tire late and finish out of the money. These same dogs will more than likely get the lead when they “drop down” in class, giving them an excellent chance to make the ticket.
5. Pay attention to post position. Some greyhounds break alertly from the inside boxes, only to have problems when posted outside. Others tend to cut in or go wide right out of the box. These dogs, if they are in their spots, have a better chance than if they are where they don’t want to be. For example, an early speed dog that cuts to the inside had better break quickly when it draws a seven hole. If it doesn’t, then it will find itself in traffic right away, limiting any chance it has to go to the lead and contend.
6. Don’t be fooled by “cheap” speed. Greyhounds that go to the first turn on top a majority of the time, but then tire badly, are called cheap speed dogs. These pacesetters need lots of things to go right for them and wrong for the rest of the field for them to come first, second, or third. Odds are that enough dogs will get loose behind them to run them down, no matter how big the lead is.
7. Go by the numbers. A good indicator of who is the quickest to the turn in a race is to add the first turn call numbers of the dogs in it. Take for instance the case of a greyhound that has gone to the turn 1st, 3rd, 4th, 1st, 2nd and 3rd in its last six paces. Adding those numbers up gives it 14. The lower the number, the more early speed the greyhound has. Apply this formula to all of the dogs in the race and you will be surprised how accurate it is in determining the greyhound with the most early speed.
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