All About Greyhound Racing

All About Greyhound Racing

Greyhound racing is a big industry in the UK and many punters prefer it to more traditional horse racing due to its quick and exciting nature. The races are fast, intense, and provide an excellent opportunity for keen sports betters to potentially making money. In this guide, we will take a quick look at the history of the sport and explain how newcomers can bet on dog races. Dog racing began on straight tracks at least as far back as 1876 in Hendon but did not prove to be overly popular at the time. It wasn’t until 1912 when oval tracks were developed in conjunction with mechanical hares that the dogs could chase did it begin to gain in popularity. This format of dog racing was introduced into the UK in 1926 proving instantly popular and in only a year there were forty tracks in operation in the country. The sport was initially big with males from working classes due to easy access to tracks in cities and races that were conveniently held in the evenings. Nowadays the sport is enjoyed by a wide range of people from various social backgrounds as fun evenings out at the track or via the numerous online sports betting sites that offer dog racing. A greyhound race is similar to a horse race except that there are obviously no riders, the dogs chase a mechanical hare, and the races are quicker. The core concept of betting is similar too – the point is to outdo the oddsmaker to win some money of which there are a number of betting options. The simplest way is to make a straight bet on who you think the winner will be, or a place bet which means that the dog you pick pays out if it is first or second though the odds won’t be as good. These two are a good starting point but there is a huge variety of betting options that you can explore to make one race or a number of races potential money makers. These options can be quickly and easily learned through online betting information sources. The great thing about greyhound racing now is that punters don’t even need to be physically present at a track but can bet and watch races online from wherever they are via a computer or smartphone.