Greyhound bets for beginners

Six dogs, a short race, starting prices that move like a fruit machine. The bets are the racing bets: win, each-way, forecast, tricast. Tote and the shop both take them. A forecast is first and second in order. A reverse forecast is both orders. A tricast is the first three in order. The language came from the horses. The clock is faster. The racing coupon still works here, provided you can count the lines before the boxes close.

Trap 1 at 2/1 and trap 4 at 3/1, straight forecast: both must finish 1–2 that way. Box three traps for a tricast and you have six lines. Count them on the forecast sheet before the boxes close — greyhound markets do not wait. You do not get a parade. You get a trap number and a price that was different thirty seconds ago. The sheet will not slow the race. It will stop you paying for six lines while thinking you struck one.

Dead heats happen. Two noses, same rule as the horses: the stake is split, then the original odds are paid on that slice. Rule 4 is rarer than on the horses because the field is declared early, but a vacant trap still cuts the board. Use the settling sheet the same way. The hat is racing. The animal is faster. This desk will not pretend the arithmetic changed because the race lasted thirty seconds.

Forecasts and tricasts · Dead heat and Rule 4 · Full covers