Betting Jim’s Puppy Picks Sheet

To successfully handicap a greyhound race, you compare various data for each puppy in the race to come up with the greyhound that has the best chance or opportunity to win. Over a period of years, I have determined by personal wagering that some greyhound races cannot be handicapped successfully because each of the puppies in the race is almost equal in talent to the rest of the puppies in the race. These races should be passed or skipped and no wagering should be done on them, unless it is a very minimum wager like a $2.00 Quinella or Exacta or even a simple $1 Trifecta key costing $2.00 - save your money for the races that are playable or that can be successfully handicapped.

Unlike all other pick sheets, my pick sheet is designed to point out those races where the puppies are so equal in talent that it takes a coin toss to determine which one to wager and each puppy in the race has the same talent and any puppy in the race can win – further I have developed a system that identifies races for three different stages of wagers (1) those races where a puppy has more than a 25% chance to be in the Quinella, (2) those races where a puppy has more than a 50% chance to be in the Quinella, and (3) those races where a puppy has more than a 75% chance to be in the Quinella.

Here is what my sheet looks like (a slice of a regular sheet):

Race 1	C	550		8	2	7	6	4
Race 2	B	550	*	7	2	5	3	6
Race 3	M	550		8	1	2	4	3
Race 4	D	550	$	8	3	4	1	6
Race 5	C	660	*	3	7	2	1	6
Race 6	D	550	*	2	3	8	1	7
Race 7	A	550	*	8	4	6	7	5
Race 8	B	550		6	8	5	1	4
Race 9	TB	550	*	2	6	8	3	5
Race 10	C	550		2	8	4	3	5
Race 11	D	550	$+	2	8	6	4	5
Race 12	A	550		8	3	4	1	7
Race 13	B	660		7	3	5	4	8
Race 14	D	660		2	8	3	5	4
Race 15	C	550	*	5	4	1	2	7

* Indicates the puppy in 1^st position has more than a 25% chance to be in quinella

$ Indicates the puppy in 1^st position has more than a 50% chance to be in quinella

$+ Indicates the puppy in 1^st position has more than a 75% chance to be in quinella

Here Is How I Personally Wager My Pick Sheets

Race 1

C

550

8

2

7

6

4

1. On all the races where there is nothing in the center column (in red) “races 1 (shown above), 3, 8, 10, 12, 13 and 14” – I skip these races and concentrate on all of the other races where I have a higher percentage of winning – each of these races are too close to call and almost any puppy in the race can win – I do provide the top 5 puppies and for those of you who must bet every race, just make a minimum wager like “Race 1 - $1 Tri Key 8 with 2-7 or a $2 Quinella 8-2”. Save your money for the other races.

Race 2

B

550

*

7

2

5

3

6

2. On the races were the puppy in 1^st position has more that a 25% chance of being in the Quinella “races 2 (shown above), 5, 6, 7, 9 and 15” – again I make a minimum wager but use the 1^st four puppies, i.e. “race 2 key the 7 over the 2-5-3” in the exotics, and maybe put the puppy in 2^nd position with the others, i.e. “2-5-3 with 7 with 2-5-3”.

Race 4

D

550

$

8

3

4

1

6

Race 11

D

550

$+

2

8

6

4

5

3. On the races with the $ sign (race 4) or $+ sign (race 11) - these puppies have over a 50% or more or a75% chance or more of being in the Quinella, and I key them over the other 4 puppies (a $12 bet in the Trifecta or $24 in the Superfecta) and maybe put them in 2^nd with the other 4, i.e., race 4 key the 8 over the 3-4-1-6, and likewise the 3-4-1-6 over 8 over 3-4-1-6 (another $12 or $24 bet).

Although some people like to box their wagers, I have determined that the amount of money I save on keying versus boxing my wagers offsets the amount of money I don’t win by not boxing my wagers.