Tracks

By Timeform — published Friday 14 August, 2020 at 15:47

Knowing your tracks can often prove the difference between profit and loss when betting on greyhounds. Hopefully our guide can shed some light on the differences between venues and the idiosyncrasies that each track possess.

At its peak in the 1940s, there was getting on for 80 tracks in the UK with a few hundred more independent tracks on top of that. It’s a far cry from that nowadays, but with Towcester set to reopen, at the time of writing there are 21 GBGB registered tracks in the UK and getting to know the nuances of each circuit is a must for any serious greyhound punter.

Is there an angle in?

With standard four-bend trips ranging from 380m-515m, it’s important to recognise the different requirements to win at each track and also, when a runner moves kennels, whether they may improve or regress for the new layout with say a habitual slow starter moving from a sharp track to a galloping circuit one to possibly look out for. Below is a profile for each track (4-bend trips) to help you familiarise yourself with each venue.

Belle Vue	470	Long run to the first bend. Slight advantage to inside traps. Front runners fare less well than elsewhere.
Central Park	450	Galloping track but difficult first bend and short run to means those in last 2 early still have low win record.
Central Park	480	Galloping track but difficult first bend means those in last 2 early still have low win percentage.
Crayford	380	Medium run to the first bend. Early-paced sorts don't fare noticeably better than standard trips elsewhere.
Doncaster	483	Fair track that suits staying types and less difficult to come from behind here than at 4-bend trips elsewhere.
Harlow	415	As at the sprint trip here, quick-starting front runners heavily favoured.
Henlow	428	Very short run to first bend and come-from-behind types struggle badly at this trip.
Henlow	460	Trap 1 slightly favoured. Front runners do better here than at standard trips elsewhere, partly because first is tight.
Hove	490	Longer run to the first bend than the old 475m trip and that provides a very fair test as a result.
Hove	515	Very fair galloping track much kinder to late-running types than at standard trips elsewhere.
Kinsley	462	Downhill run to the first bend favouring front runners. Slow starters from traps 5 and 6 disadvantaged.
Monmore	480	Long run to first bend and a very fair test as a consequence with the trip taking plenty of getting. No trap advantage.
Newcastle	480	Fair test if bends take some getting used to and late-running types less discriminated against given lengthy home straight
Nottingham	480	Smallish run to the first bend and position in first 2 at first bend much more important than at the 500m trip here.
Nottingham	500	Longer run to the first bend than at 480m here and an extremely fair test as a result.
Pelaw Grange	435	Position in first 2 at first bend highly advantageous. Trap 1 favoured.
Perry Barr	480	Longish run to the first bend and one of the fairest standard trip circuits with front runners having modest record.
Poole	450	Despite the small circumference a good run to the first bend and a very fair standard trip circuit.
Romford	400	Not impossible to come from the back but position in first 2 at first bend a big plus.
Sheffield	480	Shortish run to first bend and front runners have a sizeable advantage with those in last 2 at first bend rarely involved.
Sheffield	500	Longer run to first bend than 480m here makes for a fair test with those behind early much less disadvantaged.
Sunderland	450	Long run to first bend which can be difficult to manoeuvre leading to trouble. Possible to make up ground, though.
Swindon	509	Long run to the first bend and galloping circuit makes this a very stout test of stamina.
Swindon	480	Medium run to first bend but galloping nature of circuit makes for a fair test.
Towcester	480	Medium-sized track with wide, galloping bends promising to be a very fair circuit.
Yarmouth	462	Very fair well-cambered track conferring no advantage either to trap or running style.

All-the-way winners is a good metric to assess each track’s topography.

Pelaw Grange’s tight 435m circuit ranks top when it comes to winning front runners at 46%, with Central Park’s 480m circuit closely behind at 44%, demonstrating the importance of being on the bunny at each of those venues.

At the other end of the spectrum, Yarmouth provides the fewest all-the-way winners at 20%, and when you consider that circuit is just 462m, that may come as a surprise to some, but its long home straight is a clear factor at play here with many a prominent runner mugged close home. Hove’s galloping 515m track yields the second fewest all-the-way winners at just 21% (their 490m trip also comes in low at 23%). Sunderland is also relatively low at 24%, given it’s a 450m track with a tricky first bend to negotiate, but that is further evidence that it is not just the circuit circumference that leads to winning front runners but the shape of the track and length of home straight.

As covered in the grading section, getting to know how the grader operates at each venue can be very important, particularly when there is intertrack racing, and assessing the merit of a typical Open performer at each track is a handy tool when you are dealing with cup competitions, or assessing Opens featuring runners from different venues. Our greyhound website helps you in that we have a master rating for each dog, but keeping a close eye on trials when greyhounds are getting an early look at the track is certainly no bad idea.

Each track has a website and their fixture list is usually pretty set in stone so anyone interested in attending can log on to plan their day/night, while Timeform cover every British race on its site.