Exploring the Significance Of Grades In Greyhound Racing Results In The Races

Almost everybody wants to see a greyhound race that is not one-sided, and every potential racer on the tracks stands a chance. This is where the grading system plays a significant role, which works almost like a league table in deciding the greyhound results. The grading system helps find greyhounds as quickly matched as possible and makes the races even more exciting and spectacular than ever.

There are many different grades, A8 being the worst and OR being the best. Each of these A(number) races are over a specific “middle distance”, which differs from track to track – it will commonly be between 400 and 525-meter races. In addition, there are other additional forms of racing – each of the grades is listed below.

Types of Grades

• The worst dogs at the track run A8 races; they are often used for greyhounds near retirement and youngsters learning their craft.

• The grades then continue in numbers, up to A1, the best Grade at any particular track. Each greyhound is registered to a track, and if it races at that “home” track against an entire field of other dogs registered to that same track, then the race will be graded with a number (A1-8).

• Open Racing (OR) is a category that allows dogs registered to different tracks to compete against one another. It is generally seen as the top Grade, as they must be good dogs to make the extra travel from the home track worthwhile.

• A handicap race is one with a staggered start. This allows dogs of different abilities to race against each other. The difference in starting distance is generally calculated by recent times (each metre is worth approximately 0.08 seconds)

• Hurdles – hurdling races are uncommon, but they do happen. The fences fold down, but some tracks will host these races to make things a little different.

• Sprints – there are sprint grades, short races, and stadiums with many sprinting dogs that separate these into small grading categories.

• Long-distance – similar to sprinting, tracks with many long-distance dogs will sometimes separate them by time. Routes, where there are not enough dogs to do this will run long-distance handicap races.

How to move Grade?

Each track manages its grades differently. But, generally, your dog will be moved up a grade if you do well in several consecutive races (and win one or two).

Conversely, if your dog is finishing outside the top three regularly, it will likely drop a grade to improve its chances of winning.

Finally, if your dog is winning one race in a grade every so often, it will likely be kept at that Grade because it is facing the right level of opposition – every dog can’t be expected to win every time.