Dog training school

Archive for the ‘Race Dogs’ Category

When I first started going to the track, greyhound racing was in its glory days. They still paraded the dogs to the starting boxes with a post parade and even played march music when they did it. The bettors paid attention too, because there were no simulcasts, slots or poker rooms to distract them. Greyhound handicappers watched each race carefully, made notes on their programs and some of them even kept track of First to Turn Times.

Purely by accident, the area I chose to sit in up in the grandstand was where the kennel owners and dog handlers sat. They’d talk about their dogs and I’d listen and pick up tips that you just can’t get without listening to insiders. I didn’t do it on purpose, but it was a lucky break and has a lot to do with my attitude toward winning at the dog track.

What insider information did I learn? Well, I don’t remember all of it. I’ve learned so much over the last 30 some-odd years that I’m not sure where it all came from. But here are a few insider tips that I picked up from the kennel owners and dog trainers.

> Young dogs need more running room than older, seasoned dogs. So if you see a young dog with good early speed in the 8 box, give him a close look. If he can outbreak the other dogs, he has a good chance of running away with the race.

> If there’s a lot of early speed in a race, look for a dog who can close at the end of the race. Many times, the speedballs burn each other out and the closer gets in there at the end.

> If a young dog wins within 3 races of starting in M, bet it in its first race in J or D, whichever the racing secretary puts it in, at least in quinielas.

> Never bet a young dog in its first race in A or AA, whichever is the top grade at the track. No matter how good it looks, it has a very small chance of running in the money in its first race.

> Big, male dogs often take longer to get into their stride, as puppies, than smaller females. They mature more slowly but may still turn out to be good dogs. Because they take so long to get out of M, they may be good bets when they start running closer to the winners. Keep an eye on them.

> The best distance dogs are often small females, and they very often have long careers. If you look at route races, it’s interesting how many times a female wins. Keep an eye on them, especially if they have a few shorter sprint races to “freshen them up”.

I can’t tell you how many times knowing these few things has helped me win at the dog track. They don’t always work, but they work often enough to make them worth knowing. They’re something to keep in mind when you’re handicapping the dogs.

Thoroughbred Horse Racing

Thoroughbred horse racing is something that some of us have are familiar with, mainly because of the three biggest Thoroughbred horse races shown on TV each year. These three are the Preakness, the Belmont Stakes and the Kentucky Derby, known as the Thoroughbred Triple Crown. All three of the Triple Crown races are run on a flat dirt track.

The horses involved in these races tend to pace themselves during most of the race. They save that final surge of power for the very end, the grand finish! There are even a few horses that are so incredibly fast that they surge from start to finish, never letting up for a second. They begin and the lead and end up winning.

Many spectators of these races do not realize is that this is only one type of Thoroughbred horse racing. Even so, these are the most popular though. Not to say that the other types of Thoroughbred horse races are not popular, because they are. A variation on Thoroughbred racing is turf racing. The difference is that these races and other Thoroughbred races is that they are run on grass rather than dirt, though everything else about the races remains the same.

The turf courses are the same length as the dirt track races and the thoroughbreds run the same distances as in other types of Thoroughbred racing. The only difference is the turf and the terminology which is used in these sorts of Thoroughbred races. In these races there are different words used that describes various aspects of the sport. One type of race would say that the horse was fast but in a turf competition they would say firm instead.

Thoroughbred racing often have situations where the horses actually have to face hurdles such as jumping fences and such. These races are called steeplechases and their purpose is to offer extra challenges to the rider and the horse. For the spectators it offers an extra element of excitement. Thoroughbreds bank on speed while racing as they race only on flat race courses.

Horses that race in steeplechases must rely on stamina in order to finish the race. Jockeys must have more knowledge too because they have to know when to jump. How many times they must jump usually depends on the length of the race. The Kentucky Derby is one example of Thoroughbred horse racing.

Thoroughbred horses are known for beauty, a dignified appearance, determination, and speed and drive. The Thoroughbred horse is widely known for its racing abilities and would not be considered for inexperienced riders or a family pet. They are fast and unpredictable and often can be dangerous for those who aren’t experienced with horses.

Thoroughbreds like the ones used in racing can run up to forty miles per hour. While running this fast they are still able to remain agile, turn quickly and change pace without much effort. There is power in the hindquarters of Thoroughbred horses which is the reason for their speed and accuracy.

Any dog track program will tell you how greyhounds are graded. Except for the highest and lowest grades, they move up when they win a race and – at most tracks – move down when they fail to finish in the top three positions in three consecutive starts or fail to earn better than one third place finish in four consecutive starts.

The rules for J and M may differ somewhat and, of course, dogs who win in the top grade can’t advance, but these are the basics of how dogs are graded. The reason they’re graded is so that dogs with similar abilities will be running with each other, instead of with dogs who are much better or much worse at winning.

That is, unless they’re in a “T” race. Many people don’t realize that “T” races aren’t special races in the way that Grade “S” or stakes races are. “T” races are set up by the racing secretary, which is interesting, I think. What’s more interesting is that “T” races may include any grade of dog. Think about it.

Instead of being drawn by slips from a hat or cup, the entries are hand-picked. The racing secretary decides – for whatever reason – that there needs to be a race with “special” situations in it and picks the dogs to create that situation. Now, I’m not accusing anyone of anything and as we all know, no matter how people try to influence the dogs, they have a way of surprising, but this sure looks like a chance to make money to me.

Of course, you have to figure out who or why the race was set up for. Is there a good dog in it that hasn’t been running well? Are there dogs from a kennel that isn’t making enough money to survive? Is there a dog with early speed between two slower starting dogs? You really need to examine the race and the entries with a fine-tooth comb to try to break the code, so to speak.

Once in a while, you’ll find a “T” race with a dog in it who is about to be graded off, but is in a favorable position in this “T” race. I’ve seen that happen more than once. I’ve also seen the dog still fail to come in, but I’ve also seen dogs surprise everyone and come in at long odds, beating dogs who looked much better but had difficult boxes or got bumped or blocked.

Sometimes, “T” races are just set up to let some dogs run that wouldn’t have been on the cards – sort of an extra race to tune them up for some reason. Don’t forget that the racing secretary and the dog people know things about their dogs that we don’t know and may have reasons we don’t know about for wanting dogs to race with certain other dogs.

One final note about “T” races. You can’t lean as heavily on class as you do in normal races. Class can be very deceiving in “T” races and so can speed. My advice is to lean more heavily on the angle of style and pace. Try to figure out who’s going to set the pace of the race and then figure out who’s going to run where. That done, look for the dogs with the most advantageous start and clear running room. That’s the way to win a “T” race.