Greyhound trainer stats

By Timeform — published Monday 17 August, 2020 at 15:02

The merit of greyhound trainers is often overlooked to some extent, so Timeform have analysed some of the key trainer statistics to help you make a more informed decision.

Curiously, compared with horse racing, the merit of greyhound trainers is overlooked to some extent, with punters sole focus on other factors in this time-crucial sport. When you consider most trainers are attached to a course and are effectively up against a small pool of competitors, at least in graded races, getting a handle on the merit of each trainer and their style is important for the serious punter.

The data below comprises graded action only from the start of 2018.

Trainer	Track	Wins	Runs	Strike Rate	Profit/Loss
P W Young	Romford	2030	12346	0.16	-2994.91
E Y Bell	Sunderland	956	5042	0.19	-1124.36
M L Locke	Romford	925	5335	0.17	-1185.28
T M Levers	Crayford	854	4800	0.18	-1012.58
K M O'flaherty	Crayford	853	4694	0.18	-897.71
D Mullins	Romford	842	4651	0.18	-806.67
K Blackbird	Sunderland	824	5174	0.16	-1194.24
C Mcnicholas	Sunderland	823	5032	0.16	-1086.94
J J Luckhurst	Crayford	801	4482	0.18	-1002.01
J J Heath	Hove	800	5110	0.16	-1518.39
S A Cahill	Hove	795	4415	0.18	-862.8
A M P Collett	Central Park	789	4767	0.17	-1388.71
A Harrison	Newcastle	783	4443	0.18	-1351.5
P Clarke	Harlow	773	4082	0.19	-909.56
D D Porter	Swindon	757	4881	0.16	-1258.49
B S Green	Crayford	755	4215	0.18	-821.96
J B Thompson	Monmore	755	4299	0.18	-965.77
M E Wiley	Romford	755	4810	0.16	-1435.99
P Miller	Sunderland	743	4628	0.16	-1122.96
S W Deakin	Perry Barr	738	4490	0.16	-1088.15
S M Buckland	Monmore	710	3970	0.18	-830.1
P C White	Monmore	704	4468	0.16	-1363.46
B D O'sullivan	Central Park	701	3998	0.18	-1026.26
B Heaton	Belle Vue	698	3870	0.18	-998.64
R S Griffin	Harlow	690	3869	0.18	-601.42
J Daly	Crayford	689	3945	0.18	-819.5
G Strike	Sunderland	685	3741	0.18	-708.55
D Calvert	Newcastle	679	4302	0.16	-1017.63
J Bloomfield	Henlow	665	3429	0.19	-672.11
J J Fenwick	Newcastle	658	3768	0.18	-1019.35

The sheer volume of runners at the disposal of Paul Young is laid bare in this table and while he cannot rival master trainer Mark Wallis on the quality front, on the graded scene he stands alone quantity wise. Big level-stakes losses across the board are to be expected where successful trainers are concerned for three primary reasons, firstly the overround on SPs in greyhound racing is traditionally around 3% a runner, which certainly adds up when you consider the amount of races we are talking about, secondly the nature of graded action means the reward for training winners results in stronger competition and eventually each greyhound finds their ceiling, and lastly there is the strong likelihood that representatives from this band of trainer will almost certainly be overbet.

For punting purposes, strike rate and, in particular, level-stake profit are important factors to consider when weighing up the merit of a trainer (assuming the sample is big enough). John Campbell based at Poole scores highly on both counts as he is the only trainer with a 100+ winners in this time period to record a level-stake profit (5.46), and using the same 100+ minimum caveat he also tops the list on strike rate at 28%. Honourable mentions go to Susan Watson (Doncaster) and Pat Rosney (Belle Vue) for both recording a healthy 25% strike rate.

There are of course, harder-to-quantify factors at play here, like quality of resource available to the trainer, there may well be handlers with a modest strike rate who are exceeding expectations given what they have to work with, and vice versa. Some trainers like to campaign runners with the longer term in mind while others hit the ground the running, while a trainer’s record with new inmates is also a fair guide as to the competency of both the new and previous handler and is something that also needs considering.