Biggest Greyhound Racing Events in the UK & the World

Big events are dotted all over the greyhound racing calendar year. Some, such as the English Greyhound Derby, require several heats before the final race, and others are a simple one-and-done race held every year at a certain track. While the sprints usually take place at a distance of around 250-300m, the derby finals race over 500 metres.

Our definitive overview will look at all of the biggest greyhound racing events in the world, including the English, Scottish and Irish Derby, as well as big greyhound fixtures in Australia such as the Melbourne Cup, the Sandown Cup and the Association Cup. Read on for everything you need to know.

The Biggest Greyhound Racing Fixtures in the World

There are some stadiums you should bear in mind when it comes to the UK, Ireland and Australia’s biggest races. The home of the English Greyhound Derby is at Towcester Stadium, while the Scottish Derby takes place at Shawfield Stadium. The Irish Derby is at Shelbourne Park, while many of Australia’s biggest events are at the esteemed Sandown Park.

All the biggest events represent great betting opportunity, with bookmakers doing the best to entice you to bet. This will include tactics such as increasing the odds prices, creating special offers, and doing exclusive previews. The best bookmakers will also provide the ability to livestream these events as they play out.

The British Isles

As the home of greyhound racing, there are more prestigious events in the British Isles than anywhere else, far more than we can give equal weight to on this page. The most exciting races are on the greyhound derby calendar, which we will line out for you. Not mentioned on this page but also worth mentioning are the Essex Vase, the Romford Puppy Cup, The Regency, The Scurry Gold Cup, The Laurels, The Northern Irish Derby, the Oaks, and the Golden Jacket. This overview of British greyhound racing events will look at the most important events, including the English, Scottish and Irish derbies, as well as the East Anglian Cup and the Select Stakes. This will come with dates, distances, the track it is held at and that all important prize money.

English Greyhound Derby

The English Greyhound Derby is by far the most prestigious dog racing event in the entire world. Taking place usually in June or July, the prize money for the final race totals a ridiculous £175,000 from a total pot of £350,000. Starting in 1927, it used to run at Wimbledon over 480 metres, but now it will take place at Towcester over 500 metres.

Scottish Greyhound Derby

Boasting a prize of £20,000 for the winner, the Scottish Greyhound Derby is by far the biggest race that takes place in Scotland. It is run over 480m at Shawfield Stadium, and has been doing so ever since 1928. Taking place in April, many greyhounds that compete in this competition go on to contest the English Greyhound Derby.

Irish Greyhound Derby

Sponsored by Boyle Sports, the Irish Greyhound Derby has a total prize offering of €240,000, €125,000 of which goes towards the winner. It has been going on ever since 1928; first taking place at the now shuttered Harold’s Cross, its home is now Shelbourne Park in South Dublin. It takes place over 550 yards and is considered the most important event in the Irish racing calendar.

East Anglian Cup

The flagship race at Yarmouth Stadium in Norfolk, the East Anglian Derby has run there ever since 1975. Taking place over 462 metres, the race awards £15,000 towards the prize winner, while the runner up gets a reasonable £2500, and third place lands £1500. All dogs have clocked times under 30 seconds, but the fastest ever performance was by Any Dak in 2013 in 27.34 seconds.

Select Stakes

Taking place at the Nottingham Greyhound Stadium, where it has taken over from Wembley since 1996, the Select Stakes is one of the best meets in English racing. It gives a decent reward of £7500 for the winner, and usually occurs in July. The competition is formally known as the Betfred Select Stakes.

Australia

Greyhound racing may have its home in the UK, but if you ask an Australian, they will tell you that it is done better Down Under. With 65 racing venues – 36 in New South Wales alone– and the world’s richest race, The Melbourne Cup, Australia seem committed to supersizing the sport perfected by the Brits.

Melbourne Cup

Not to be confused with the horse race that shares the same name, the Melbourne Cup is Australia’s and possibly the world’s, biggest greyhound event. It has the biggest prize money available with a total of A$350,000 awarded to the winner, representing massive value for all greyhounds participating in the race. It takes place at Sandown Park, usually in November.

Sandown Cup

Australia’s richest staying race, it was previously known as the Wollamai Cup when it first started in 1963. The end-point of three weeks of racing at Sandown Park, it stars the fastest sprinters and stayers in the entire country. The race is worth A$250,000, with Bobby Boucheau remaining the record holder over the 595m.

Association Cup

The Association Cup takes place at Wentworth Park around April every year. It is open for group one greyhounds and runs to over 720m. It is one of the richest races in the entire world, with A$250,000 going to the winner. The record is still held by Fernando Bale at 29.48 seconds, widely considered the greatest of all Australian greyhounds.

Worldwide Greyhound Calendar

With so many great races taking part nearly every couple of weeks, it can be hard to remember them all. This is why we have made this handy table, which will you help keep track of everything. Take a look below for everything that you need to know about the year’s racing.

There are many operators that offer great odds, specials and previews for greyhound events, but few do it as well as coral. They are committed to allowing you to bet on races from all across the world; from the UK and Ireland to The USA and Australia. Not only are there specials for these races, but there is also pool betting and the ability to live stream basically every UK race. For these reasons we can be confident of giving it number 1. Sign up today for a whopping £20 bonus!

As well as the great events we have listed– which can be bet on well in advance of the meets – racetracks hold races around two to five times a week, which you can wager on during the day. On these days, there can be around 10 to fourteen races at fifteen minute intervals, making the day last around three to four hours.

A Day at the Races

There are few things in life that match the thrill of spending the day at a greyhound track. Long considered to be a haunt of the working class, the atmosphere at the dogs is inclusive, fun, and potentially life-changing. One of the first things to figure out once you have arrived is how to read a racecard. It may look daunting at first, but in fact it is really easy. It shows the race time, number, distance and class, as well as some information about the last greyhound’s form. Greyhound racing almost always features six dogs, so there is in fact not so much to read when looking over your racecard. Once you have read the card thoroughly, and perhaps gone down to the track itself to take a good look at the dogs as they warm up then you can head over to one of the stalls for someone to take your bet. With fourteen or so races a day, including the big event at the end, there is always a lot to play for when watching and betting on greyhounds live.

Conclusion

We hope that this guide has helped you to find the best greyhound racing events to have a punt on throughout the world. Whilst all operators will allow you to place antepost bets on the English Greyhound Derby, we found that some are definitely more flexible than others. This is why we recommend you read through each of our individual review guides to get a full selection of what every operator offers. That being said, if you are pressed for time, we would point you towards the excellent service courtesy of operators such as William Hill and Paddy Power in order to get the best possible deals. While we recommend the English Greyhound Derby as the premier betting event – and definitely worth sticking some money on – there is also great value to be had betting on not only the other derbies, but also races in Australia such as the Melbourne Cup. Sign up to one of these great sites today and start betting now, or head back over to the main review page for more info on the best greyhound betting sites in the UK .