How to Read the Stat Attack
With the introduction of the Stat Attack, we've tried to take some of the hard work out of analyzing the races. On one easy-to-read sheet, we've reduced the complexities of each program page into a statistical summary for each of the dogs in every race. Unlike a tip sheet, the Stat Attack does the calculations, but YOU do the handicapping!
For each race, you'll see the distance and grade on the left. Each of the eight greyhounds appears on a single line, arranged in post position order. The name of each greyhound is after the box number, followed by the information compiled specifically for that dog.
The Odds Line gives the computer-calculated fair win odds for each greyhound based on Time Behind Winner and Avg Running Time. These fair odds will vary from actual odds.
In the # of Lines column, the three numbers tell you how many past performance lines were used for each greyhound. In the example above, the first number shows official race lines, the second is the number of schooling races, and the last is past performance lines from their previous track. Early in the season those past performance lines are useful in building up a better idea of each greyhound's potential. As the season progresses, the lines from other tracks will be replaced by actual lines.
The Post Record column shows you the total/win-place-show-fourth record for this greyhound for his performances from post positions identical to his current posting, or within one position. This statistic lets you see how well each greyhound has done in the past when positioned in a similar situation.
The sixth column gives a Grade Average, where a grade A race is given a value of one, grade B is two, grade C is three, grade D is four, grade E is five, and Maiden is six. SA races are counted in the average and assigned a zero. In this column, the greyhound with the smallest average has the highest class rating. An indicates a greyhound doesn't have enough races to calculate an average.
The seventh column is the Break Average column. For this statistic, we've taken each of the greyhound's races and averaged their break (or "Off") call. In this column, the smaller the number, the better that greyhound's breaking ability.
In the eighth column, the 1/8th Avg has been used like the "Off" call above. Here again, the smaller the number, the better the greyhound's ability to get past the first turn ahead of the competition.
In the ninth column labeled Str Avg you will find the average for each greyhound's stretch call.
And in the tenth column, Fin Avg, we've included the average of all of the finishes for each greyhound. Again, smaller is better!
The eleventh column, marked Time Behind Winner is a slightly more complex statistic. For each past performance line, we've taken the greyhound's actual running time, and subtracted the race winner's time, giving the time this greyhound lagged behind that winner. Those lag times are averaged for each greyhound. The smaller the number, the closer that greyhound averages to the winner in his or her races. This statistic is in hundredths of a second, so you can easily compare the skills of the dogs. A "dog length" is about .07 seconds.
In the twelfth column of numbers, Trouble Average, each greyhound's percentage of "troubled" races is displayed. This is done by searching through the comments on the past performance lines, and counting races where a greyhound was bumped, blocked, offstrided, or troubled in some way. This percentage is given like a baseball "batting average" where a trouble average of .250 means that the dog has had problems in 25% of his races. This number is valuable for quickly finding dogs that are trouble prone and dogs that are skilled at avoiding collisions. In this column, smaller numbers signify better performance.
The next column of numbers, Avg Running Time, is the simple average of each dog's race times. For this statistic, the lines from other tracks are not included, as those times aren't directly comparable times. As the dogs gather more races, the schooling times will also be eliminated.
In the final column of numbers, Variant Adjusted Times, each greyhound's times have been adjusted on a daily basis to take care of the day-to-day fluctuations in track speed. Each greyhound's times are multiplied by a daily adjustment factor, then the average is printed in the column. This allows you to more directly compare times across days where variations occur. Superscripts in a column denote the top three greyhounds.
The boxed area on the right, the Break Chart and Running Style, for each race is a graphical representation of the expected break (beginning) and the running style for each dog in the race. Imagine that the starting boxes are on the left side of the picture and the greyhounds are running toward the right. The fastest-breaking greyhounds are toward the right side of the picture. Slower breaking greyhounds will be toward the left side of the picture. The arrow indicates whether the dog runs inside, mid-track, or wide. This Running Style shows each greyhound's preferred position during the course of the race, NOT his direction of break from the box.
The example Race #1 above shows that the 1 dog has the best break, as his symbol is farthest to the right side of the box. Behind the 1, the 5 and the 8 dogs have next best break skills. The break position is derived from the Break Avg column, and is intended to help your visualize the beginning of each race.