TAB is delighted to announce the introduction of commingled betting on greyhound racing in Australia for all online customers and Mpumalanga retail clients.
TAB betting on greyhound races is available from about 04:30 daily until lunchtime and bet types are identical to Australian horseracing, namely commingled Win, Place, Exacta, Quinella, Trifecta, Quartet, Rolling Double and a Jackpot (Races 5 to 8 if eight races or more).
Online customers can watch greyhound races on two streaming channels that can be accessed at www.tab.co.za
Racecards for all meetings are available on the website and in TAB retail outlets in Mpumalanga. TAB betting on greyhounds is licensed by the Mpumalanga Economic Regulator.
Australia is one of a handful of countries that operate greyhound racing and is by far the biggest with more than 60 tracks and thousands of meetings annually.
Greyhounds were bred to hunt small animals like hares and for racing purposes, they chase a motorised mechanical lure that resembles a hare and moves along the inside of the track ahead of the dogs.
Greyhounds are nimble and lightning fast and can reach speeds of up to some 70km per hour.
Fields are limited to a maximum of eight runners and each dog starts from a trap or box similar to the starting gate in horseracing. Once all dogs are loaded, the mechanical hare rushes past and the traps spring open with the dogs, all muzzled, immediately setting off in pursuit.
Form factors to be taken into account when choosing which dogs to bet on are similar to horseracing - past performances, distance and track suitability, fitness and wellbeing, the going and so on.
The draw is an important factor and some believe the middle draws (traps four to six) have a slight advantage. That said, the right dog with early speed can be hard to overhaul from an inside trap. Conversely a dog that lacks early speed is better suited to a wider draw that gives the time and space needed to get into stride.
Race distances range from some 300m to 700m and a 300m sprint is run in about 18 seconds. Intervals between races don’t exceed 20 minutes, official results and payouts are usually declared quickly and a 10-race programme completes in just three hours. The net effect is the tempo of a greyhound meeting is significantly faster than horseracing.
There are different classes of races to ensure competitive racing and these vary from state to state, basically ranging from maiden events (dogs who have not won) to open races. In Victoria as a very basic example, maiden winners advance to Grade 7 and can then progress all the way to Grade 1 by winning more races.