How to Handicap Dogs Dropping in Class in Greyhound Races

A class dog in greyhound racing terminology means one that has success in the past against better competition. The greyhound grading system is designed so that dogs find their own level of competition, moving up in grade with success and down in grade when they fail to perform well. Class is often a huge factor in handicapping greyhound races.

Instructions

    • 1

      Never ignore a double drop. A double drop is a dog that has dropped down two grades in its last few races. The Grade A dog dropping to Grade C is a prime example of a double drop. Double drops that depend on getting to the front of the race to do their best work more often than not will have a very good chance of making the front as they descend down the grading ladder. Dogs dropping two grades have to be considered contenders when handicapping a race.

    • 2

      Do not fall for “false class.” A young dog that goes up the grading ladder suddenly without encountering much trouble normally runs into problems when it gets as high as Grade B. Then it will either make the adjustments to be successful or fall back into the lower grades. Just because it was able to make it to the upper levels does not mean that it has the class of those grades. It may eventually, but it should be treated as no better than the dogs it is in with.

    • 3

      Watch for class dogs dropping and changing distances. Greyhound trainers like to let dogs that they think can run farther than the standard 550 yard sprints try the 660 yard routes when they are in the lower grades. They will take a dog that drops down and enter it in the 3/8ths of a mile event so that it can run its first time on that yardage against lesser dogs than it would encounter if this was done in the higher grades. Dogs like this may or may not be good bets but you do have the knowledge that the dog’s handler thinks it can excel at that distance.

    • 4

      Shy away from betting on class dogs when they start to struggle in the lower grades. The Grade B dog that has failed to hit the ticket in a couple of D contests is still going to be one of the favorites, but unless it has gotten a very good post position it’s time to find another dog in the race to pick. The drop down is in a slump for whatever reason and until it regains its form you can make money by looking elsewhere.

    • 5

      Study the dog’s line to see why it has come down in class. Try to determine if it has met trouble in the previous races or if it had a clean run and simply did not perform up to expectations. If the dog had a string of very poor post positions then this could explain its lack of success. Many track websites, such as Derby Lane, have archived race replays that you can access to see just what happened to a racer in a particular event from a particular hole.