Last month I talked about ways and means of studying the form in greyhound races and put forward some ideas to help the form student come to grips with the intricacies of the formlines.

I outlined a five-step process, which is ideal for those (few) punters who have access to complete formguides, especially those with in-the-run position details, and information about early speed and box ability.

Unfortunately, not many punters have access to all this information. So, for the purposes of this article and in a bid to trim the approach down to the 'bones' but still retain its power, I cut out some of the 'rules' and did some workouts using mainly Times and Box Positions, and Track/Class Ability.

On their own, these factors are all-important in greyhound racing. You can use them very easily to analyse any dog field at any track.

I used a recent Albion Park (Brisbane) meeting for the testing, mainly because the form has recently become available on the Internet (free) for Queensland meetings ... a tremendous coup for the Queensland Greyhound Racing Authority (www.justracing.com.au).

My approach was as follows:

  1. Check out each runner's best times at the track and over the distance in the last five starts. Fastest time to get 5 points, second fastest 4 points, and so on.
  2. Check out ability from the box, using recent efforts from the same box or those close by (1 point allotted for each placing).
  3. Ensure dog is up to the Class of the race.

The following is my workout on the first five races at Albion Park on Thursday, March 25.

RACE 1: 520m, Grade 5

  1. King Amerigo: Only one start at AP 520m in last 5 starts, finishing 17 lengths 6th to 30.60s. Gets 1 point for box 3 3rd at Beenleigh.
  2. Blue Pro: Fastest time 30.87s, 4th AP 520m, 1.75 lens to 30.76s. No box points.
  3. Mary Wana Tree: Fastest time 30.82s, 5th AP Grade 5, 3.3 lens to 30.62s. Gets 2 box points.
  4. Regal Rotator: Fastest time 30.45s, AP 520m win. Gets I box point.
  5. Leisurely Lady: No form at the AP track. Not considered.
  6. Beat The Drum: No form at AP in last 3 starts. Not considered.
  7. Remarkable Star: No form at AP last 5 starts. Not considered.
  8. Missile Boy: Fastest time 30.76s, AP 520m win. No box points.

SUMMARY. Regal Rotator (30.45) fastest time gets 5 points plus 1 point for box position. Missile Boy (30.76) 4 points, Mary Wana Tree (30.82) 3 points plus 2 points for box, Blue Pro (30.87) 2 points.

SELECTIONS: Regal Rotator (6 points) No. 1 pick, Mary Wana Tree (5 points) No. 2 pick, Missile Boy (4 points) No. 3 pick, Blue Pro (2 points) No. 4 pick.

RESULT: Missile Boy 1st 8/1.

Blue Pro 2nd 8/1. Quinella $32.20. RACE 2: 600m, Grade 4

  1. Jessica Can: Fastest time 35.69s, AP 600m win. No box points.
  2. Hidden Contract: Fastest time 35.73s, AP 600m 3rd, btn 0.81 lens to 35.68s. Gets 1 box point.
  3. Solo Performance: Fastest time 35.96s. No box points.
  4. Alice Moscow: Fastest time 35.72s, AP 600m 2nd, btn 0.75 lens to 35.68s. Gets 1 box point.
  5. Mr Terrific: Fastest time 35.69s, AP 600m 3rd, 1.53 lens to 35.60s. Gets 2 box points.
  6. Spurtectic: Fastest time 35.67s, AP 600m win. Gets 1 box point.
  7. She's A Knockout: Fastest time 36.21s, unplaced AP 600m. Gets 1 box point.
  8. Ezy Goal: Fastest time 35.57s, AP 600m win. Gets 2 box points.

SUMMARY. Ezy Goal gets 5 points for fastest time 35.57s, plus 1 box point, Spurtectic 5 points, Mr Terrific 5 points, Alice Moscow and Jessica Can 3 points. A very close race on times, though Ezy Goal's 35.57s gives her a length-and-a-half advantage, which is not all that much when so many runners are close to each other in speed.

KEY ANGLES TO REMEMBER

  1. Work out each runner's individual best time over the track and distance.
  2. Ignore all runs at other tracks and other distances.
  3. Allot points for placed performances from boxes close to the one now starting from.

SELECTIONS: Ezy Goal No. 1 pick, Mr Terrific / Spurtectic equal No. 2 picks, Jessica
Can/Alice Moscow equal No. 3 picks.

RESULT: Jessica Can 1st 2/1, Hidden Contract 2nd 7/2, Ezy Goal 3rd 7/4.

RACE 3: 520m, Grade 4

  1. Mr Diavolo: Fastest time 30.69s, AP 520m win. Gets 2 box points. Has good form from near rails boxes.
  2. Brandon Blue: Fastest time 30.83s. No box points.
  3. Macanudo: Fastest time 30.97s, AP 520m 5th, 4.28 lens to 30.71s. No box points.
  4. Sierra Riviera: Fastest time 30.52s, AP 520m 2nd, 2.25 lens to 30.38s. Gets 1 box point.
  5. It's No Angel: Fastest time 30.75s, AP 520m 5th, 4.75 lens to 30.46s. No box points.
  6. Donlin Yessam: No form in last 5 starts at AP.
  7. Arelem Jack: Fastest time 31.27s. No box points.
  8. Wild Panache: Fastest time 30.75s, AP 520m 3rd. Gets 1 box point.

SUMMARY. Sierra Riviera 5 points for fastest time, plus 1 box point, Mr Diavolo 4 points for second-fastest time, plus 2 box points, Wild Panache 3 points for third-best time and 1 box point. These look the main chances. Sierra Riviera and Mr Diavolo are level on 6 points each.

SELECTIONS: Sierra Riviera/Mr Diavolo equal top picks from Wild Panache.

RESULT: Mr Diavolo 1st 7/4, Brandon Blue 2nd 4/1, Wild Panache 3rd 4/1.

RACE 4: 520m, Open Grade

  1. Benikin: Fastest time 30.60s, AP 520m Grade 4 win. Gets 1 box point.
  2. Beilpajah: Fastest time 31.02s, AP 520m 7th. No box points.
  3. Gerrymander: Fastest time 30.91s, AP 520m 3rd, 7 lens to 30.48s. Gets 1 box point.
  4. Chief Jim: Fastest time 30.60s, half-length 2nd AP 520m Grade 4. Gets 2 box points.
  5. Elle's Dragon: Fastest time 31.20s. Gets 1 box point.
  6. Winning Proposal: Fastest time 30.66s, Grade 4 3rd, 1 length to 30.60s. Gets 1 box point.
  7. Wesley Floyd: Fastest time 30.51s, AP 520m Grade 5. Gets 1 box point.
  8. Shady Credit: Fastest time 30.68s, AP 520m Grade 3 2nd, btn 3.25 lens to 30.48s. No box points.

SUMMARY: Caution here because of the mixture of low and better grades. Using Grades 3 and  4 form, the best times are Benikin (30.60s), Winning Proposal (30.66s) and Shady Credit (30.68s). I place a query on Wesley Floyd's Grade 5 time ' preferring to estimate him on Grade 4 30.66s time. Benikin gets 6 points, Winning Proposal 5 points, Wesley Floyd 5 points, Shady Credit 3 points, and these look the main prospects.

SELECTIONS: Benikin to win.

RESULT: Benikin 1st 9/4, Shady Credit 2nd 6/1, Winning Proposal 3rd 5 / 1. Quinella
$14.80, Trifecta $161.80. RACE 5: 710m, Grades 415

  1. Cheli's Angel: No 710m form at AP. Gets 2 box points.
  2. Midginbil Kid: Fastest time 43.08s, AP 710m 3rd, 8 lens to 42.58s. No box points.
  3. Hanson Flyer: No 710m form at AP last 5 starts. Tempted to rate him on past 42.lls win but this is not recent form. No box points.
  4. Bring The Tin: Fastest time 43.30s, AP 710m Grade 5 6th. No box points.
  5. Kasey's Pride: No 710m form at AP last 5 starts. Has past win time 42.58s. One box point.
  6. Wild Reign: Fastest time 42.58s, AP 710m Grade 5 win. No box points.
  7. Burning Mission: No 710m form at AP last 5 starts. No box points.
  8. Legal Process: No 710m form at AP last 5 starts. Gets 1 box point.

SUMMARY. Bring The Tin gets 3 points for third-fastest time, Wild Reign has 5 points for
best time, and Midginbil Kid 4 points for second-fastest time.

SELECTION: Wild Reign is the key chance, with Midginbil Kid a threat, and Bring The Tin a
value chance. Queries on Hanson Flyer and Kasey's Pride because of past 710m times.

RESULT: Bring The Tin 1st 8/1 ($18.35 and $3.45 TAB), Hanson Flyer 2nd 9/2, Wild Reign 3rd 4/5f. Quinella $35.50, Trifecta $415.50.

These are five examples of how a system that has simple but sensible rules can be applied to greyhound racing. It doesn't take an Einstein to work out the selections.

It also does not take a great deal of time and, believe me, with the form being made available for Queensland racing on the Internet, any punter in Australia can have a ball following the dogs using this approach.

I have said before in this magazine that 'times' mean a great deal in dog racing. If you can isolate each dog's best recent times at the track and over the distance, you are in a position to easily compare them for any race.

You will invariably get value priced winners the other punters miss ... like Bring The Tin at Albion Park. Hardly anyone had this dog and yet, using the easy approach I have outlined, he was clearly marked as the top selection.

Incidentally, when working out individual times, use 0.063s for one length. Thus, if a dog is beaten 4.75 lengths to the winner's 30.50s, then the loser's actual time is 30.79s. For box points, use the following:

If placed lst/2nd/3rd: Box 1 consider placed performances from boxes 1-2-3, Box 2 consider 1-2-3, Box 3 consider 2-3-4, Box 4 consider 3-4-5, Box 5 consider 4-56, Box 6 consider 5-6-7, Box 7 consider 6-7-8, Box 8 consider 6-7-8. 

Click here to read Part 3.
Click here to read Part 1.

By George 'Barker' Bellfield

PRACTICAL PUNTING - MAY 1999