Greyhound racing offers a range of bet types, from the simple win bet to forecasts, tricasts and multiples. Knowing your options helps you choose what suits you. This guide explains the types of greyhound bets. It is general information and not betting advice, so always gamble responsibly and only stake money you can comfortably afford to lose.
The win bet
The win bet is the simplest: you back a dog to win, and you are paid if it finishes first, at your odds. It is the most popular and straightforward greyhound bet. Understanding the win bet, where your selection must win for you to collect, is the foundation of greyhound betting, as it is the clearest bet with a simple outcome, and a good starting point before exploring the other bet types greyhound racing offers.
The place bet
A place bet pays out if your dog finishes in the places, usually the first two in a six-dog race, at reduced odds compared with a win. It offers a better chance of a return. Understanding the place bet, which rewards a dog finishing among the leaders rather than only winning, helps you see an option with a higher chance of paying out, though at smaller returns, which suits backing a dog you expect to run well without being sure it will win.
The each-way bet
An each-way bet combines a win bet and a place bet, costing double the stake and paying out on a win or a place. Our guide on each-way betting explained covers it fully. Understanding that each-way combines a win and a place bet, doubling your stake, helps you use this popular bet, especially on bigger-priced dogs where a place return provides some reward if the dog runs well but does not win the race.
The forecast
A forecast bet asks you to predict the first two dogs in the correct order. A straight forecast needs the exact order, while a reverse forecast covers both. Our guide on forecast and tricast bets explains these. Understanding the forecast, where you must name the first two dogs in order, introduces you to the popular greyhound exotic bets, which offer bigger potential returns in exchange for the greater difficulty of predicting the finishing order.
The tricast
A tricast goes further, asking you to predict the first three dogs in the correct order. It is harder than a forecast and pays correspondingly more. Understanding the tricast, where you must name the first three home in exact order, helps you see why it is a long-shot bet, as predicting three dogs in the right order is considerably more difficult than two, which is why a winning tricast can return a large amount from a small stake in a competitive race.
Accumulators and multiples
You can combine selections across races into accumulators or multiples, where all must win for the bet to pay, building bigger potential returns. A double has two selections, a treble three. Understanding that accumulators link several selections, all of which must win, helps you see how small stakes can chase large returns across multiple races, while recognising that the chance of every leg winning is low, making long accumulators high-risk despite their appeal.
Doubles and trebles
A double combines two selections and a treble three, both needing all selections to win, like smaller accumulators. They balance bigger returns with a more achievable chance than long accumulators. Understanding doubles and trebles, which link two or three winners, helps you see the middle ground between single bets and large accumulators, offering enhanced returns for combining a few selections while remaining more achievable than stringing together many legs.
The trap challenge and specials
Some bookmakers offer novelty or special bets on greyhound racing, such as backing a particular trap number across a series of races. These vary by operator. Understanding that special bets exist alongside the standard ones, often based on trap numbers or other themes, helps you recognise them, though as with all such bets, it is worth checking the terms and not betting more than your budget simply because a special looks appealing or different from the usual options.
Tote betting
Tote, or pool, betting is available on greyhound racing, pooling stakes and dividing them among winners rather than betting at fixed odds. The return depends on the pool. Understanding that tote betting works on a pool basis, with returns set by the pool and number of winners rather than fixed odds, helps you see a different style of greyhound bet, where your eventual payout is not known when you bet but determined once the pool is settled after the race.
Single versus multiple bets
A single bet is on one outcome, while multiples combine several. Singles are more likely to pay but return less; multiples and exotics offer bigger but rarer returns. Understanding the trade-off between single and multiple bets, with singles safer and multiples riskier but more rewarding, helps you choose, as beginners are usually best starting with simple single win, place or each-way bets before trying forecasts, tricasts and accumulators.
The edge applies to all
Whatever the bet type, the bookmaker's margin is built in, so no bet type offers a way to beat greyhound racing over time; the exotics simply trade a lower chance for a bigger payout. Our guide on how greyhound odds work covers the edge. Understanding that the edge applies to every bet type keeps your expectations realistic, as choosing complex bets does not improve your overall odds; it changes the risk and reward, not the bookmaker's built-in advantage.
Choosing a bet type
The right bet depends on what you want: simple win or place bets for straightforward betting, each-way for a balance, or forecasts, tricasts and multiples for bigger potential returns at higher risk. Our guide on how to bet on greyhound racing covers the basics. Understanding that bet types trade chance against return, with simple bets more likely to pay and exotics offering bigger but rarer wins, helps you choose what suits you, as beginners are usually best starting with win, place or each-way bets before trying the more complex options, keeping stakes modest on the long shots.
Betting responsibly
Exotic and multiple bets can tempt you to chase big returns, so treat all betting as entertainment, not income. Set a budget, only stake what you can afford, and never chase losses. Our guide on how to gamble responsibly has practical tools. Understanding the bet types helps you choose, but keeping your betting within your means matters far more than any bet, especially the tempting long-odds exotics.
In short
Greyhound bets range from the simple win and place bets, and the popular each-way (both combined), to exotics like the forecast (first two in order) and tricast (first three), plus multiples like doubles, trebles and accumulators. Tote betting pools stakes, and special trap-based bets are sometimes offered. Simpler bets pay more often; exotics offer bigger but rarer returns, and the bookmaker's edge applies to all of them. Start with the simple bets, keep stakes modest on the tempting long-odds exotics, and always gamble responsibly within a budget you can afford.
Explore more in our Greyhound Racing guides.