It’s the biggest race in greyhound racing, dating back more than a century. Oh, and it pays winning connections an eye-watering £175,000 in prize money.
The reasons why any owner or trainer wants to win the English Greyhound Derby speak for themselves then, but this is an incredibly difficult race to prevail in – not least the gruelling qualifying process that requires a dog to navigate their way through as many as six preliminary outings.
That said, there are a few trends and patterns that punters can use to inform their bets for the English Greyhound Derby…
Taking On the Favourite
In the weeks and months in advance of The Derby, the greyhounds racing betting odds are in their ante-post form – hence why you can get prices as long as 16/1 on the early favourites like Links Maverick and King Memphis.
But once the final field is known, that’s when the ‘proper’ odds are revealed – and you might just want to take on the favourite when they are.
Since 2009, only two favourites have won the English Greyhound Derby – a surprisingly low ratio that reflects the depth and quality of the dogs in the race.
Gaytime Nemo Winner Of The Greyhound Derby 2023 🏆🥇#GreyhoundDerby2023 pic.twitter.com/KqiC7Yp4ej
— Towcester Racecourse (@TowcesterRaces) July 2, 2023
So why not take a chance on an outsider or two? Since 2017, dogs priced at 6/1, 9/1 – the 2023 champion Gaytime Nemo – and 28/1 have taken the spoils in The Derby.
Irish Raiders
As is the case at the Cheltenham Festival, Irish trainers and owners head over to English soil and have a swell time in The Derby.
Four of the last five winners of the English Greyhound Derby have come from Ireland, with Graham Holland taking the spoils in 2022 and 2023 with Romeo Magico and Gaytime Nemo respectively.
Since the race was handed to Towcester, two of the winners have been trained by those operating on home soil – Kevin Hutton and Patrick Janssens.
2021 STAR SPORTS DERBY FINAL – T6 THORN FALCON https://t.co/641KeU8707 via @YouTube
— Patrick janssens (@Patrick25719056) July 12, 2021
Wat a night thank you @TowcesterRaces
So, of the five Greyhound Derby editions held at Towcester, two have been won by Irishmen and two by Towcester-based trainers/owners – very useful angles for punters to know.
Quick On the Draw
As you may know, some horse racing tracks have a pronounced draw bias – that quirk where horses in certain stall numbers may get to the rail first, or run on fresher ground.
The same is somewhat true of greyhound racing too, with certain trap numbers enjoying an edge at specific tracks.
As far as Towcester is concerned, the bias is less pronounced but still exists – in 500m races held at the track since 2021, Trap 3 has produced more winners than any other in every single year. Trap 5, meanwhile, has produced the fewest winners historically.
Why? It’s very difficult to say, but in 2022 those running from Trap 3 won 21% of races – those in Trap 5 just 13%. That’s enough of a differential to be significant.
Following trends and patterns in your betting is not a guarantor of success, but they do offer context that you might otherwise miss. For the English Greyhound Derby, that could prove decisive.
