Greyhound Race Card Explained

When you go to the dogs or read the greyhound form in the racing press, you will be presented with a number of abbreviations that can be very confusing to begin with. Our greyhound racing card guide will help the process of greyhound form reading feel a little less daunting.

The information we have complied is based on a race card you would receive when visiting the dog track. Greyhound race cards in the racing press may differ very slightly regarding the way some of the data is positioned, but are normally set out more or less the same way.

Greyhound Race Card
A greyhound card features six dog names and those dogs are numbered 1 to 6 depending on what trap they are running from.

The runners will also be allocated a colour depending on what trap they are coming out of:

Trap 1 = Red with white number 1
Trap 2 = Blue with white number 2
Trap 3 = White with black number 3
Trap 4 = Black with white number 4
Trap 5 = Orange with black number 5
Trap 6 = Black and white stripes with red number 6

Race Details
The top left of the race card shows the race time, race number, race distance and race class.

The top right of the race card shows the race title and sponsor, prize money and meeting number.

Previous Form
Below each runner on the race card will normally be the form of their last six runs.

Reading left to right, the greyhound race card will comprise the following information about these runs.

Date
The date the race took place.

Distance
The distance the race was run over.

Trap
The trap the greyhound ran from.

Split Time
The split time which is the time it took the greyhound to reach the winning line for the first time.

Splits
The splits or bend order. This tells you what position the greyhound was in at each bend.

Finished
The finishing position of this runner.

Won or Lost by
The distance in lengths the greyhound won or lost by.

Winner/2nd
The greyhound that won the previous race or was 2nd to this runner had he or she won.

Venue
The venue raced at.

Remarks
The comments on how the race developed for this greyhound.

Winning Time
The time the race was won in.

Going
The track going, whether it was quick or slow.

Kilos
The weight of the greyhound.

Starting Price
The returned odds this runner went off at.

Class
The class of the race.

Calc Time
The time the greyhound recorded.

I hope this guide will help you understand how to read a greyhound race card. Feel free to add your feedback below using the comments section or via email.