Greyhound Derby Preview 2024

The Greyhound Derby of this year will be held in Towcester for the sixth occasion and commences in late May, culminating with the final occurring at the end of June.

Recent 10 winners of the Greyhound Derby

Preview

The 2024 Greyhound Derby will be held in Towcester for the sixth time, commencing on Thursday, May 25th, and concluding with the final race on Saturday, July 1st.

Here is the schedule for the 2024 Greyhound Derby:

- Round One: May 25th, 26th, and 27th (32 heats in total)

- Round Two: June 2nd and 3rd

- Round Three: June 10th

- Quarter Finals: June 17th

- Semi-Finals: June 24th

- Final: July 1st

A total of 184 dogs will compete for a chance to win £175,000 and the prestigious English Greyhound Derby trophy. Out of the 184 runners, only 30 are wide seeds, which gives them an advantage as the event progresses compared to the 102 dogs seeded as railers and the 57 dogs who prefer a middle draw.

Most bookmakers are offering 1/4 odds for the top six finishers, so if your dog makes it to the final, you can potentially earn a good return on your bet.

It's important to note that bookmakers often overreact to flashy first-round performances. Keep an eye out for dogs that encounter trouble in Round One but still manage to qualify, as a better draw in Round Two can lead to significant improvement.

While it's tempting to favour dogs that start with easy wins, staying unbeaten throughout the Derby is extremely challenging. The last dog to achieve this feat was Westmead Hawk in 2006. Therefore, it's wise not to rely solely on an undefeated record as an indicator of future success.

The Greyhound Derby is a demanding competition, and it's difficult for dogs to maintain their peak performance throughout the entire event. Clearing six races in a month is a tough task in itself, so winning multiple races within that timeframe requires an exceptional performance.

If your selected dog loses but still manages to qualify for the semi-finals, there's no need to despair. In 2022, the winner, Romeo Magico, won his semi-final and then went on to win the final, becoming the first dog to achieve this since Blonde Snapper in 2012.

If you're unsure about which dogs to back in the Derby Heats, you can consult the Greyhound Derby tips provided by the experts at OLBG.

Statistics

2023 Semi Finals Winning Times:

- Clona Duke (T2 SF1) set a track record with a time of 28.69.

- Swords Rex (T5 SF2) finished with a time of 28.76.

2023 Quarter Finals Winning Times:

- Swords Rex (T3 QF4) finished with a time of 28.93.

- Gaytime Nemo (T5 QF3) finished with a time of 28.94.

- Romeo Command (T5 QF1) finished with a time of 29.04.

- Mystical Mario (T4 QF2) finished with a time of 29.25.

Fastest Winning Times from the 2023 Third-Round Heats:

- Romeo Command (T2 Heat 3) had the fastest time of 28.75.

- Brinkleys Magic (T3 Heat 2) finished with a time of 28.79.

- Swords Rex (T4 Heat 1) finished with a time of 28.93.

- Distant Podge (T5 Heat 6) finished with a time of 28.96.

- Burj Khalifa (T6 Heat 7) finished with a time of 29.14.

Fastest Winning Times from the 2023 Second-Round Heats:

- Swords Rex (T4 Heat 10) had the fastest time of 28.95.

- Romeo Magico (T2 Heat 7) finished with a time of 28.97.

- Romeo Command (T3 Heat 4) finished with a time of 29.05.

- Boylesports Gift (T1 Heat 8) finished with a time of 29.11.

- Maree Champion (T1 Heat 3) finished with a time of 29.12.

- McNeill (T3 Heat 13) finished with a time of 29.13.

- Ballymac Marino (T3 Heat 16) finished with a time of 29.17.

- Signet Goofy (T5 Heat 1) finished with a time of 29.19.

- Ballyhimikin Leo (T4 Heat 11) finished with a time of 29.21.

Fastest Winning Times from the 2023 First Round Heats (taking going correction into account):

- Clona Duke (T1 Heat 12) had the fastest time of 28.73.

- Ballymac Marino (T5 Heat 20) finished with a time of 28.76.

- Brookside Richie (T1 Heat 18) finished with a time of 28.84.

- Swords Rex (T2 Heat 10) finished with a time of 28.93.

- Romeo Hanzo (T4 Heat 3) finished with a time of 28.94.

- Maree Champion (T3 Heat 4) finished with a time of 28.94.

- Cochise (T3 Heat 24) finished with a time of 28.94.

- Ballyhimkin Mel (T5 Heat 6) finished with a time of 28.95.

- Gaytime Nemo (T2 Heat 21) finished with a time of 28.95.

- Whyaye Man (T2 Heat 30) finished with a time of 28.96.

Is it a Bad Race for Favourites?

Favourable bettors have experienced a difficult period recently in the Greyhound Derby, with only two favourites winning in the past fifteen years.

Out of the 39 Greyhound Derby finals held since 1985, the favourite (or joint-favorite) has emerged victorious in fourteen of those races.

The longest streak of consecutive winning favourites in the Greyhound Derby occurred between 1996 and 2000, with five victories.

If one had bet on every favourite since 1985 with equal stakes, the overall return would have been a loss of £10.46 for every £1 wagered.

The winning favourite with the lowest odds in the history of the Greyhound Derby was Entry Badge, trained by Joe Harmon, who triumphed at odds of ¼ in the first race in 1927.

The largest odds for any Derby winner were 28/1, achieved by Astute Missile under the guidance of Seamus Cahill in 2017.

Best Trap Number

Some punters may dismiss the notion of a trap bias in greyhound racing and argue that the best dog typically emerges victorious. Yet, in the Greyhound Derby, we observe a particular trend specifically related to the number of winners originating from Trap 1. Here's a breakdown of the winners from each trap in the past thirty-nine years:

- Trap 1: 3 wins

- Trap 2: 7 wins

- Trap 3: 7 wins

- Trap 4: 9 wins

- Trap 5: 5 wins

- Trap 6: 8 wins

Typically, Trap 1 is considered advantageous in most greyhound races, but with only three wins out of thirty-seven races, it appears that the inside box is a disadvantage in this particular race. If we compare the three wins from Trap 1 to the seven wins from Trap 3, eight wins from Trap 6, and nine wins from Trap 4, you might want to reconsider your preference if your selection draws Trap 1 in the final.

Is there a reason for the poor performance from Trap 1? 

When the Greyhound Derby took place at Wimbledon with large crowds in attendance, it was believed that the noise from the crowd when the traps opened would put the dog farthest from the noise of the hare (Trap 1) at a disadvantage because they might not hear the approach of the lure. This year, there has been a change in the type of starting traps used to compensate for the perceived disadvantage of a Trap 1 draw. It will be interesting to see if this change has any impact. Even with the new traps, if your preference is in Trap 1 and your selection is at very short odds, you should exercise caution.

If your selection draws Trap 5, then the orange jacket has a good chance of winning, as it has been fourteen years since Kinda Ready emerged victorious from Trap 5 in 2009.

Upon examining the aforementioned data, it becomes apparent that Traps 3 and 4 possess a notable advantage over the remaining four traps. The inferior performance of Traps 5 and 6 is clearly evident, as there is a significant 9% disparity between the proportion of winners originating from Trap 3 (20%) and Trap 5 (11%) in 2021.

This bias implies that if you choose a selection from either Trap 3 or Trap 4, you can have a higher degree of confidence. Inversely, if your selection is from traps 5 or 6, it may be advisable to lower the level of confidence in your choice.