Studying form in greyhound racing is one of the keys to success as far as punters are concerned. Most punters will discount the chances of any running down that has not raced in the last month, but there are many other factors to be weighed up. Because of the maximum field size of eight runners, which often includes lots of short priced favourites, getting high paying dividends for place bets can be more difficult than it is for horse or harness racing.

But Betfair always has the best odds available, because punters are betting against each other rather than against a traditional bookmaker. Some essential statistics to study when betting on greyhound races are the total number of wins the different boxes have had on the racetrack, which trainers have prepared the most winners, and the dog's previous and split time records on the track.

Also important in regards to the starting boxes, is that certain greyhounds run better from particular box numbers, so look at the best starting box for the running style of the dog. Heavier greyhounds will race better than the lightweight runners on a wet track, and the dogs starting on the inside boxes usually have more success than the outer runners in wet conditions. Greyhounds are commonly retired from racing aged between four and six years, so when betting keep an eye of the age of the runners as an indication of where they are in their racing careers and what level they should be performing at. Generally greyhounds reach their racing peak at age two for males, and three for females.

Among the highlights of the greyhound racing calendar is the Australian Cup, run since 1958. Then there is the race most people would regard as the longest-running event, the Melbourne Cup, which dates back to 1933. Run since 1969, the National Distance Championship is always a highlight of the greyhound racing calendar. The event has always been shared around among the tracks, and has gone to the likes of Angle Park, Gabba, Olympic Park, Hobart and Harold Park. Boronia Blossom won twice in successive years, finishing first at Olympic Park in 1995 over 710 metres before triumphing again at Albion Park in 1996 over the shorter 710m.

Modern greyhound racing has its origins in coursing. The first recorded attempt at racing greyhounds on a straight track was made beside the Welsh Harp reservoir, Hendon in 1876, but this experiment did not develop. The sport emerged in its recognizable modern form, featuring circular or oval tracks, with the invention of the mechanical or artificial hare in 1912 by Owen Patrick Smith. O.P. Smith had altruistic aims for the sport to stop the killing of the jack rabbits and see "greyhound racing as we see horse racing". The certificates system led the way to parimutuel betting, as quarry and on-course gambling, in the United States during the 1920s.

In 1926, armed with the Smith patents and a hand shake, it was introduced to Britain by an American, Charles Munn, in association with Major Lyne-Dixon, a key figure in coursing, and a Canadian, Brigadier-General Critchley. The deal went sour with Smith never hearing from Munn again. Like the American 'International Greyhound Racing Association' (or the In.G.R.A.), Munn and Critchley launched the Greyhound Racing Association, and held the first British meeting at Manchester's Belle Vue Stadium. The sport was successful in cities and towns throughout the U.K. - by the end of 1927, there were forty tracks operating.

The sport was particularly attractive to predominantly male working-class audiences, for whom the urban locations of the tracks and the evening times of the meetings were accessible, and to patrons and owners from various social backgrounds. Betting has always been a key ingredient of greyhound racing, both through on-course bookmakers and the totalisator, first introduced in 1930. Like horse racing, it is popular to bet on the greyhound races as a form of parimutuel gambling.

In common with many other sports, greyhound racing enjoyed its highest attendances just after the Second World War-for example, there were 34 million paying spectators in 1946. The sport experienced a decline from the early 1960s, when the 1960 Betting and Gaming Act permitted off-course cash betting, although sponsorship, limited television coverage, and the later abolition of on-course betting tax have partially offset this decline.