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The Column That Tells You What the Numbers Can’t
The remarks column on a greyhound racecard is the closest thing the form section has to a race commentary. While the CalcTm tells you how fast the dog ran and the finishing position tells you where it ended up, the remarks tell you what happened during the race — the bumps, the crowding, the clear runs, the checked strides, and the moments of trouble that shaped the result. A dog that finished fourth with “Bmp1, Crd2, RnOn” had a very different race from a dog that finished fourth with “MidTW, Blk4” — and the distinction matters for every subsequent bet you place on either animal.
Remark codes are abbreviated, and the abbreviation system can look impenetrable at first glance. But the vocabulary is consistent across all GBGB racecards, and once you’ve learned the core codes, you can read any remark string in seconds. This guide decodes every common remark, explains what each one means for the dog’s true performance, and shows how to use remarks as a diagnostic tool when form figures alone don’t tell the full story.
Start and Early Running Remarks
The opening phase of a race — from the traps to the first bend — generates its own set of remark codes. These tell you how cleanly the dog left the boxes and what happened in the first few strides.
| Code | Meaning | What It Tells You |
|---|---|---|
| QAw | Quick away | Fast start from the traps. Positive indicator of early speed. |
| SlAw | Slow away | Poor start. Lost ground early. Check if this is a pattern or a one-off. |
| MsdBrk | Missed break | Significantly slow start. Dog was left behind at the traps. |
| EP | Early pace | Showed speed in the opening phase. Indicates a front-running style. |
| SnLd | Soon led | Reached the front quickly. Broke well and established lead early. |
| ALd | Always led | Led from traps to finish. Complete front-running performance. |
| Disp | Disputed (lead) | Raced alongside another dog for the lead. Early-pace battle. |
Start remarks are particularly useful for verifying sectional-time data. A dog with a fast sectional and “QAw” in the remarks is a confirmed quick starter. A dog with a fast sectional but “SlAw” is unusual — it might have recovered quickly after a slow start, or the timing point may have caught it at the right moment. When sectional times and start remarks align, you have high confidence in the dog’s early-speed profile.
Interference and Trouble Remarks
This is the most analytically valuable category. Interference remarks tell you when a dog’s finishing position was compromised by events beyond its control — and they’re the key to identifying hidden form.
| Code | Meaning | What It Tells You |
|---|---|---|
| Bmp | Bumped | Physical contact with another runner. Costs momentum. |
| Crd | Crowded | Squeezed for room by adjacent dogs. Forced to check stride. |
| Ck | Checked | Had to slow down to avoid a dog or obstacle. Significant loss of momentum. |
| Blk | Baulked | Severely impeded. Had to change direction or virtually stop. Major interference. |
| SAw | Stumbled away / Slowly away | Awkward start from the traps. May have lost balance or been impeded at the start. |
| HitRls | Hit the rails | Ran into the inside rail. Can indicate the dog was forced inside or lost balance. |
| Wide | Ran wide | Taken a wider path than ideal, adding distance and losing ground. |
| FcdWd | Forced wide | Pushed wide by another runner. Not a choice — a consequence of interference. |
Interference codes are usually followed by a number indicating which bend the incident occurred at. “Bmp1” means bumped at the first bend. “Crd3” means crowded at the third bend. “CkBmp2” means checked and bumped at the second bend — a compound incident indicating significant trouble. The bend number matters: interference at the first bend affects the entire race, while interference at the fourth bend affects only the closing stages.
When you see a string of interference codes in a dog’s remarks — “Bmp1, Crd2, FcdWd3” — the finishing position is essentially meaningless as a measure of ability. The dog spent the race dodging trouble rather than racing. Its CalcTm for that run will be slow, but the slow time reflects the interference, not the dog’s true capability. If the same dog’s other runs, without interference, show competitive CalcTms, the troubled run should be discounted from your assessment — and the dog may represent value in its next outing, particularly if it draws a cleaner trap.
Positional and Running-Style Remarks
These codes describe where the dog raced on the track and how it ran — information that complements the sectional time and finishing position data.
| Code | Meaning | What It Tells You |
|---|---|---|
| Rls | Rails | Ran on the inside rail. Typical of railers and dogs drawn in traps 1-2. |
| Mid | Middle | Ran in the middle of the track. Neutral position. |
| W | Wide | Ran on the outside. May be a natural wide runner or a dog forced wide. |
| MidTW | Middle to wide | Ran between the middle and outside. Drifting wide through the race. |
| RlsTMid | Rails to middle | Started on the rail but moved to the middle. May indicate being squeezed off the rail. |
| RnOn | Ran on | Finished strongly. A closer that was making up ground in the final straight. |
| CmAg | Came again | Rallied after being headed or dropped back. Shows fighting spirit. |
| Fin | Finished well | Strong closing performance. Good stamina or late pace. |
| Fdd | Faded | Lost ground in the closing stages. Possible stamina or fitness issue. |
| Trd | Tired | Visibly weakened late in the race. May need a shorter distance or a rest. |
Positional remarks build a picture of the dog’s running style over multiple races. A dog with “Rls” in five of six runs is a committed railer. A dog that alternates between “Mid” and “W” doesn’t have a fixed preference and will race wherever space allows. Consistent positional remarks help you assess trap-draw compatibility: a confirmed railer drawn in trap 1 is well placed; the same dog in trap 5 faces a conflict between its starting position and its preferred running line.
Finishing remarks — “RnOn,” “Fdd,” “CmAg” — tell you about the dog’s stamina profile. A dog that shows “RnOn” consistently is a closer. It starts slowly and finishes fast. If it’s entered over a longer distance than usual, the “RnOn” pattern suggests it’ll handle the trip. A dog that shows “Fdd” or “Trd” repeatedly may be overracing, carrying a fitness issue, or simply not suited to the distance. These remarks, read across six runs, are more diagnostic than any single CalcTm figure.
Putting Remarks to Work
The remarks column doesn’t replace CalcTm, sectional times, or grade data. It supplements them — and in many races, it’s the supplement that changes the assessment. A dog with declining CalcTms might look like a poor selection, but if the remarks show “Bmp1, Crd2” in two of its last three runs, those CalcTms are contaminated by interference. Strip out the troubled runs, look at the clean performances, and you might be looking at a dog whose true form is considerably better than its recent figures suggest.
Equally, a dog with impressive CalcTms but “ALd, ClrRn” (always led, clear run) in every recent outing may be flattering itself. It’s been getting perfect trips. Put it in a field with three other fast breakers and the “ClrRn” advantage disappears. The CalcTm was real, but it was achieved under ideal conditions that won’t repeat. The remarks tell you how the time was set — and that context determines how repeatable the performance is.