Male dogs rarely win on their racing debuts, but watch out for any degree of ability. Young dogs will usually ‘course’ the hare and lose a lot of distance at the bends in their early races. Watch for pace over the back-straight and if they’re overtaking other dogs there, it won’t be long before they win. If its a big race night and Charlie Lister has runners, back them! Charlie Lister is one of the legends of the modern greyhound era.
He wants to win the big races and his dogs are trained accordingly. If the dog you’re backing is running in an open race, have a look at who is leading up the dog on parade. It will usually be a kennelhand. If it’s the trainer themselves, take the hint! Be wary of backing dogs with four-bend form in sprint races. Sprinting is a specialist distance, and those who excel at it, do so for a reason. Avoid backing trap one in the Derby Final.
Theory has it that the roar from the crowds prevents dogs housed in trap one from hearing the hare. The same rule applies to bitches in the Derby. Although plenty reach the final, the last bitch to cross the line first was Sarahs Bunny back in 1979. If a trainer has two greyhounds running in a race, don’t automatically dismiss the bigger priced one. It’s uncanny how often they win!