Greyhound Racing Abbreviations: Complete UK Guide

The Sport’s Own Language

Greyhound racing communicates in shorthand. Every race card, results page, and form guide is dense with abbreviations that compress complex information into a few characters. For experienced punters, this language is second nature — they read Crd2, RnOn, BSP, and CT without pausing. For anyone coming to the sport fresh, or returning after a break, the same shorthand is an impenetrable wall between them and the data they need.

This guide is a comprehensive reference to the abbreviations used across UK greyhound racing, organised by where you’ll encounter them: form figures, race cards, running comments, and results pages. Each section covers the abbreviations specific to that context, with explanations of what they mean and, where relevant, why they matter for betting.

Form Figure Abbreviations

Form figures appear as a string of numbers and letters next to each dog’s name on the race card. They record recent finishing positions and are read from left to right, oldest to most recent. A form line of 312145 tells you the dog finished third, first, second, first, fourth, and fifth across its last six runs.

The numbers are self-explanatory — 1 through 6 for finishing positions in a standard six-dog race — but several letters and symbols appear within form figures that require decoding.

0 — finished outside the first six. This occurs when a dog is disqualified, fails to finish, or in rare cases involving more than six runners (such as some open races). A 0 in the form line is a red flag that needs investigation: was the dog injured, did it refuse to race, or was there a specific incident?

T — a trial run rather than a competitive race. Trials appear in the form line to indicate the dog had an outing but not in a race setting. Trial performances don’t carry the same weight as race results, but they indicate the dog was active and being assessed by its trainer.

– (hyphen) — separates runs at different tracks or over different distances. A form line of 213-421 shows two sets of form from different venues or trips. The hyphen prompts you to check which track or distance applies to each set.

F — fell during the race. Falling is uncommon in greyhound racing but it does occur, typically at bends where contact with another runner causes a dog to lose its footing. A fall is a legitimate excuse and the resulting form figure should be discounted.

D — disqualified. Disqualification can occur for interference, failing a dope test, or other rule violations. The form figure D replaces the finishing position and the result is struck from the record.

B — brought down. The dog was knocked over by another runner. Similar to a fall but caused by external contact rather than the dog’s own footing. A genuine excuse that should be discounted in form assessment.

R — refused to race or run. The dog either refused to leave the traps or stopped running during the race. A single R can be a one-off; repeated Rs indicate a behavioural problem that makes the dog unreliable.

The number of form figures shown varies by provider. Timeform typically shows the last six runs; Racing Post may show more. The most recent run is always the rightmost figure, and when assessing form, the last three figures carry the most weight for predicting the next performance.

Race Card Abbreviations

The race card is the pre-race document listing each runner, their trap, trainer, form, and various classification markers. The abbreviations on the race card tell you about the dog’s characteristics and the race conditions before a single trap opens.

(W) — wide runner. The dog is classified as running a wide racing line through bends. Wide runners are typically drawn in outside traps (4, 5, 6) by the racing manager to minimise interference with railers.

(M) — middle runner. The dog runs a line between the rail and the outside. Middle runners are versatile but can get caught in traffic if drawn on the rail or wide against dogs with opposing styles.

Where no designation appears, the dog is assumed to be a railer — running close to the inside rail through bends.

bk — black. bd — blue and white. wbk — white and black. These abbreviations describe the dog’s colour and are used for identification rather than form assessment. The trap jacket colours (red, blue, white, black, orange, and black-and-white stripes for traps 1 through 6) are separate from the dog’s natural colour.

d — dog (male). b — bitch (female). Greyhounds race together regardless of sex, but some bettors track whether there’s a performance difference between dogs and bitches at specific distances or in specific conditions. Bitches can be affected by seasonal cycles, which occasionally impacts form — though this is rarely disclosed explicitly on the card.

Nv — novice. The dog has limited race experience, typically fewer than a specified number of starts. Novice races are reserved for these runners, and the designation signals that the dog’s form is still developing.

Pup — puppy. The dog is under 24 months old and eligible for puppy races (GBGB Rule 23). Puppies are still developing physically and their form can change rapidly from one week to the next.

Res — reserve. The dog is listed as a reserve runner and will only race if another dog is withdrawn. Reserves are useful to note because if they do run, they may be competing in a race not originally planned for them, which can affect preparedness.

OR — open race. No grade restriction applies; dogs of any grade can enter. Open races attract the best fields on the card.

A1, A5, S2, D3 — grade designations. A for standard distance, S for stayers, D for sprint. The number indicates the level within that category, with 1 being the highest. The grade tells you the competitive standard of the race.

Weight is listed in kilograms next to each dog’s name. This is the dog’s racing weight as recorded at the weigh-in. Significant weight changes between runs — more than 0.5kg — can indicate changes in condition. A dog that has gained weight rapidly may be losing fitness; one that has shed weight may have been ill or may be getting fitter.

Running Comment Abbreviations

Running comments record what happened to each dog during the race. They’re written by the official race reader and published alongside the form figures. A detailed breakdown of individual running comments appears in the dedicated running comments article, but here is a quick-reference list of the abbreviations you’ll encounter most frequently.

EP — early pace. Showed speed from the traps. SAw — slow away. Lost ground at the start. MsdBrk — missed break. Severely slow from the traps. Led — led the field at some point. Led1 — led at bend one. LedRnIn — led in the run-in (finishing straight).

Crd — crowded. Squeezed between runners. Bmp — bumped. Contact with another dog. Ck or Ckd — checked. Forced to change stride or direction. Blk — baulked. Run completely blocked. Fcd — forced. Pushed into a different position.

RnOn — ran on. Finished strongly. FinWl — finished well. Strong late effort. Fdd — faded. Lost ground in the closing stages. EvPce — even pace. Consistent speed throughout.

Wd or Wide — raced wide. RlsStt — rails to straight. Raced on the inside rail until the straight. MidTrk — middle of the track. Racing line through the middle.

Numbers after abbreviations indicate the bend where the incident occurred. Crd2 means crowded at bend two. Bmp1 means bumped at bend one. LedTo3 means led until bend three. WdRnIn means raced wide in the run-in.

Results Page Abbreviations

After a race, the results page publishes the outcome with its own set of abbreviations covering distances between finishers, betting returns, and time data.

SP — starting price. The official odds at the time the race started, as determined by the on-course market. SP is the default settlement price for bets where no fixed price was taken.

BSP — Betfair Starting Price. The odds at which the last matched bet on Betfair was traded before the off. BSP is often used as a benchmark for comparing bookmaker value.

CSF — Computer Straight Forecast. The calculated payout for a forecast bet predicting the first two finishers in correct order. The CSF is derived from the SPs of the placed dogs.

CT — Computer Tricast. The calculated payout for a tricast bet predicting the first three finishers in exact order.

Distances — recorded between finishers using standard length abbreviations. nk — a neck. hd — a head. sh — a short head. 1l, 2l, 3l — lengths. nse — a nose. dist — a distance (more than 30 lengths, typically meaning the dog was tailed off). Distances between first and second, second and third, and so on are published in sequence.

Time — the winning time in seconds, recorded to two decimal places. The time is the raw finishing time of the winner, before any calculated adjustments.

Going — the track condition, usually described as fast, normal, or slow. Some providers use a numerical going scale. The going affects all times at the meeting and is essential for comparing results across different days.

NR — non-runner. A dog withdrawn before the race. Non-runners affect the betting (stakes are returned on the withdrawn dog) and the race dynamics (a five-dog race runs differently from a six-dog race).

FD — forecast dividend. The tote forecast payout, as distinct from the CSF. The FD reflects the actual pool-based return; the CSF reflects the calculated return from SPs.

TD — tricast dividend. The tote tricast payout, functioning on the same pool-based principle as the forecast dividend.

Fluent in Greyhound

The shorthand exists for a reason — it compresses dense information into a format that fits a race card and a results page without requiring paragraphs of explanation for every dog. Once you can read it fluently, the form guide opens up. The running comments tell stories instead of presenting walls of code. The results page becomes a narrative rather than a spreadsheet.

Keep this guide to hand for your first few weeks of serious form study. The abbreviations become automatic faster than you’d expect, and once they do, the speed at which you can assess a race card — compare six dogs, identify the angles, and make a decision — increases dramatically. The language barrier is the first obstacle. It’s also the easiest to clear.