#1 Reason Why Early Money Is A Greyhound Handicapping Factor

I first heard about “early money” at Twin River Greyhound Track in RI. A friend I was sitting with suddenly jumped up and said, “I have to make a bet. Look at the early money on that 5 dog.” I was clueless, but I knew he won a lot, so I went and bet the 5 dog to win for $2.

Well, by golly if the 5 dog didn’t win by a few lengths and it paid $12 for a $1 bet, so I made $26. When my friend came back I asked him about this “early money” business and why it made him think the dog would come in. He told me that early money is smart money and then he told me why.

The people who handle the dogs are busy between races, except for a short time right after one race has just finished and the next race hasn’t started. Most of them bet, so if they realize that a dog looks good, they have to run up to the window, get their bet down, and get back to the weigh-in room or the dogs they’re handling.

So, the first money that gets bet, right after the odds go up for the first time on a race, is early money – a lot of it from track insiders. Not always, but a lot of the time, they know more than the fans know. So I started paying attention to the early money and I developed a way of telling whether I should let it influence my bets. You can do it too.

When the odds first come up on a race, write down the odds very quickly. They don’t stay up for long before other people start betting and the odds change. It’s usually only a minute or so. After you have them all written down, compare them to the morning line, which is usually written beside the dog’s name in the program.

If you see a dog whose early money odds are a lot shorter than the morning line – like a dog whose morning line is 10-1 and the early money has him at 2-1 – take a good look at that dog. If the odds go up on the dog, consider putting it into a box or key bet with other dogs you like.

You’ll be surprised how often the early money IS the smart money. If you bet what they bet, you’ll be the smart money too, as long as you don’t depend completely on it. Use good judgment and money management and your own best handicapping system along with the early money to win at the dog track.