Greyhound Forecast & Reverse Forecast Bets

Picking First and Second — in a Sport That Rewards It

A forecast bet asks you to name the first and second dog in a greyhound race, in the correct order. A reverse forecast covers both permutations — your two selections finishing first and second in either order. These are the bets that turn racecard analysis from a one-dimensional exercise into something richer, because they reward you not just for identifying the best dog in the field, but for identifying the best two and understanding how the race is likely to unfold between them.

Greyhound racing is unusually well suited to forecast betting. Six-runner fields mean fewer possible outcomes than in horse racing. There are only 30 possible exact-order finishes for the first two places (6 x 5), compared to 110 in a ten-runner horse race. That compression means forecast dividends in greyhound racing are smaller than in horse racing on average — but it also means your form analysis can meaningfully narrow the field. If your racecard work tells you that two dogs are significantly faster than the other four, you’ve already reduced the forecast to a two-dog puzzle. The dividend may be modest, but the probability of collecting is genuinely higher.

Straight Forecast: Exact Order Matters

A straight forecast requires you to name the first and second finishers in the correct order. Dog A first, Dog B second — exactly that way round. If they finish second and first, the bet loses. This is the purest forecast bet and it pays the highest dividend, because you’re predicting a single specific outcome from thirty possible permutations.

Straight forecast dividends in greyhound racing are calculated by the Tote pool or, for bookmaker forecasts, by the computer straight forecast (CSF) formula. The CSF is an industry-standard calculation that produces a fair-market payout based on the starting prices of the two dogs. In practice, CSF dividends for greyhound forecasts typically range from around £3 for two short-priced favourites to over £100 for a combination involving an outsider. The dividend isn’t fixed at the time of betting — it’s declared after the race based on how the market settled.

The straight forecast makes most sense when your analysis points to a clear first and second with a plausible order. The classic scenario: one dog has the fastest sectional time and a favourable inside trap, making it the probable leader. A second dog has the best CalcTm but slower early pace, suggesting it’ll finish fast without catching the leader. That form profile points to a specific order — the early-speed dog first, the closer second. If the racecard supports this reading and no other dog in the field has comparable figures, the straight forecast gives you a better return than a simple win bet on either dog individually.

The risk is sequence. Greyhound races are decided by small margins and first-bend incidents. The dog you’ve put first might lead until the final straight and then be caught by your second selection on the run-in. The outcome is the same two dogs in the frame — but in the wrong order, and the bet is lost. This is why most experienced forecast bettors in greyhound racing default to the reverse forecast unless they have strong evidence for a specific finishing sequence.

Reverse Forecast: Covering Both Permutations

A reverse forecast is two straight forecasts in one bet: Dog A first and Dog B second, plus Dog B first and Dog A second. The stake is doubled — a £5 reverse forecast costs £10 — but you collect on the CSF dividend regardless of which way round your two dogs finish.

The payout for a reverse forecast is the CSF dividend for the actual finishing order, applied to one unit of your stake. If you bet £5 reverse forecast and the CSF for the result pays £15, you receive £15 total (£15 from the winning half, nothing from the losing half), which represents a £5 profit on your £10 total stake. This is an important distinction: the reverse forecast doesn’t pay double the straight forecast. It pays one CSF dividend for twice the stake. The advantage is insurance, not amplification.

In greyhound racing, the reverse forecast is arguably the more practical bet of the two. Race dynamics at the first bend are unpredictable enough that fixing an exact order is harder than identifying two dogs that are likely to fill the first two places. If your racecard analysis separates two clear contenders from the rest of the field — the dog with the best CalcTm and the dog with the quickest sectional, say — the reverse forecast lets you back the pair without needing to decide which edges the other out. The cost is double the stake, but the probability of collecting is meaningfully higher than the straight forecast’s single-sequence bet.

The reverse forecast also works well in races where your two selections have contrasting running styles. An early-pace dog and a closer will often fill the first two places but in an unpredictable order, depending on whether the front-runner holds on or gets caught. Fixing the order requires a judgment call about stamina and track geometry that the racecard can inform but not resolve. The reverse forecast sidesteps that judgment entirely.

Combination Forecasts and Permed Selections

A combination forecast extends the reverse forecast concept to three or more dogs. If you select three dogs for a combination forecast, you’re covering all six possible first-and-second permutations (3 x 2 = 6 bets). Four selections produce twelve permutations. The stake multiplies accordingly — a £1 combination forecast on three dogs costs £6, on four dogs costs £12.

Combination forecasts are useful in open, competitive races where the form separates a group of three or four dogs from the rest but doesn’t clearly distinguish between them. Rather than picking two and hoping the other two oblige by finishing behind, the combination covers every possible pairing within your shortlist. The trade-off is cost: as the number of selections rises, the total stake climbs rapidly, and the CSF dividend needs to be large enough to return a profit after covering all those permutations.

In a six-runner greyhound race, the maximum useful combination forecast is four selections (twelve bets). Going to five or six selections covers most or all possible outcomes and dilutes any analytical edge to the point where the overround makes profitability unlikely. The practical limit is three selections — six bets — which keeps the stake manageable and requires you to eliminate at least three dogs from contention. That elimination is the analytical work: using CalcTm, sectional times, grade, and draw data to identify the three dogs that don’t belong in the forecast frame, leaving the three that do.

When the Card Points to a Pair

Forecast betting is at its best when the racecard shows a race of two halves: two dogs with form that clearly separates them from the rest of the field, with a field where the remaining four runners are outclassed on adjusted time, poorly drawn, or running above their grade. In those races, the question isn’t whether one of your two dogs will win — it’s which one. The reverse forecast answers that question for you, at the cost of a double stake.

It’s at its worst in evenly matched fields where three or four dogs have legitimate claims. Combination forecasts can cover this, but the cost-to-return ratio deteriorates with each additional selection. Before placing a forecast, ask the simplest question the card can answer: how many dogs in this race can realistically finish in the first two? If the answer is two, forecast. If it’s four or more, the race might be better served by a different bet type — or by no bet at all.