Greyhound handicapping is mostly just comparing one dog to another and figuring out which one is faster, better and more likely to win. It sounds so simple when you put it like that, but when you actually put it into practice, it gets more complicated. The first and most important question you have to answer before you do any comparisons is this: What exactly are you comparing to what?
Most people would probably say that it's simple. You're just weighing each dog's factors against the same factors for the other dogs. Speed, post position, running style - all the usual suspects. But that's not really an explanation for how you're going to do that. For instance, let's take speed.
First, of course, we have to define what we mean by "speed" in greyhound races. Right there, if there are two people in a room, you'll get two different answers for what speed really is. Is it how fast the greyhound ran in its last race i.e. its time? Is it the greyhound's average speed? Or is it that dog's speed only in that grade at that distance?
Some people find "speed" by comparing a dog's time in its last race to the track record, to the best time the dog's ever had or to some speed rating that their handicapping software has come up with. While any and all of these methods have their merits, there's one thing that all of them are missing. What about the other dogs?
This is the basis of handicapping as far as I'm concerned. While I look at several speed factors, I know that all of them have to be evaluated against the same factors for the other dogs in THIS race. So, comparing a dog's last race time to the track record only applies if you do that with all 8 dogs in a race and then, somehow, come up with a way of giving each dog weight for that result.
I'm not saying that the above factor has any bearing on how well a dog will do in any given race.
What I'm saying is this: you have to compare each dog to the other dogs in the race, not to outside factors like that dog's best time that may have been a year or more ago and under a very different set of circumstances as far as track condition, running room and even weather are concerned.
The bottom line when you handicap a greyhound's possible performance in a race, is that you have to consider how it will do against the other 7 greyhounds in this race. How it did in the past and all the other information you have about this dog is only relevant as far as it has an impact on the race it and the other 7 greyhounds are running today.
Where can you find free information and the best greyhound handicapping systems on the Net? You'll find everything you need to help you win at the track at http://ebnetr.com
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