With numerous meetings taking place each day, there are plenty of chances to win big. To enjoy a profitable day at the dogs, follow this simple system for selecting the fastest runners in each race.

Every sport has a number of key trends that, when identified, can make it a whole lot easier to win money. In football for example, home advantage is important, as is a good head to head record.

For greyhound racing there are four key areas that you should take into consideration, regardless of the type of bet you’re placing. They are:

Class: Dogs are assigned to a particular class of race according to their ability. The highest is grade 1, the lowest grade 9. Be wary of dogs that previously ran in better grade races. They may have passed their prime or be carrying an injury.

Current Form: Look for dogs that appear to be coming back to their best after a period of poor form.

Speed: All things being equal, the fastest dog should win, so look out for their last race time.

Trap Draw: Runners in traps 1 and 6 regularly outperform the others – they’re less likely to be hampered by other runners.

The main bets on course are ‘win only’, place (first or second) and forecast. A forecast involves picking two dogs to finish first and second.

Another popular bet is the reverse forecast, where your choices can be first and second in either order.

There’s also the tricast, where you have to find the first, second and third dog in the correct order – for hopeless optimists only!

For this method let’s revisit our third point to consider – Speed:

“All things being equal, the fastest dog should win, so look out for their last race time.”

This system makes the best possible use of this piece of information by combining it with some of the finest betting minds in the sport – the greyhound specialists at The Racing Post.

The system requires the use of speed figures (race times) but not those recorded by the stopwatch.

The figure we are looking for is the Racing Post ‘Calc’.

This is a revised speed figure, based on the reams of information gathered by the Racing Post, which takes into account a number of key factors that may have affected the time. For betting purposes, this is a far more accurate representation than the standard speed figure.

The second thing we need is the forecast price for each dog. This can be found at the bottom of the race card. For this system we will only be backing the top two in the forecast and therefore eliminating any un-fancied dogs.

First, head over to greyhoundbet.racingpost.com, select Greyhounds, then click on cards and select a race meeting.

Next, eliminate all races aside from those graded A4 to A6. A1, A2 and A3 races are often ultra competitive while lower graded races can become a bit of a lottery.

Third, calculate the fastest two dogs in each race easily and quickly. Simply check the last recorded ‘Calc’ time for each dog and pick the two with the lowest figures.

Beware! Some dogs run at different distances, so make sure you look at the time for the most recent race at the relevant distance i.e. the one being run today.

Fourth, check the forecast prices on the race card. If both of the fastest dogs figure in the top two of the forecast (joint first or second is fine), you have identified your selections.

Fifth, keep an eye on the odds and ensure that you place your bet just before the race. If one of your selections drifts out to 5/1 or longer this indicates a no bet. Odds are determined according to the weight of money wagered and so if a selection appears to have little or no support in the markets it usually suggests that something may be wrong.

Once two selections have been identified for the same race, the next step is to place your bet.

We will be placing a straight forecast (SF) bet. This is where we predict the 1st and 2nd place dogs in the correct order. We will order our selections by their odds, so we will select the dog with the shortest odds to finish first and our other selection to finish second.

Tip: You can order your selections according to their forecast price to save time but it is better to place your bet just before the race in case the order of your selections change or one becomes a non-qualifier.

If both dogs look set to go off at the same SP, order the selections according to who had the fastest ‘calc’ time.

By placing a forecast bet we give ourselves a decent shout of a very tasty win. Despite the fact that there are only six greyhounds in any one race, forecasts often pay out at odds of 10/1 or more, so it’s not difficult to see the profit potential.

In fact, during my testing, I found that the average forecast payout for our selections was £113.90 for a £10 stake. That means you will only need to win one out of every ten bets to make a profit!

As with all the systems I come across, I tested this out first to ensure that it works. Happily for us, it does! In addition to the example above, I’ve also recorded the results from a four-week period (excluding weekends).

Based on level stakes of £10, the results gathered from a four-week period were as follows.