Select Stakes Greyhound Betting: Our look at the great Nottingham sprint race

Our complete review look at the best Select Stakes betting sites on the UK market. We will guide you not only through the awesome offers and special odds prices that UK bookies offer for the event, but also give you a thorough history of the race and provide some interesting facts along the way. Read on to learn more!

Select Stakes Betting Offers & Promotions

As this race features the six best greyhounds of the year altogether in one race, it attracts a lot of attention from across the UK and Ireland. The race takes place on Sky Sports, meaning that it is open to lots of Sky Dogs offers. Because it is such a huge race, there should be, especially on the best operators, the ability to place antepost bets on the event. We would recommend looking at all the betting sites we have written reviews for on this website in order to find one that you believe works best for you.

Select Stakes Odds Prices

The Select Stakes is one of the premier events in the greyhound racing calendar, making the odds prices far better than the average race. In writing this review, we conducted a lengthy study of the previous ten races in order to find out what the odds prices were, and found they came in at around 84.3%, making them a little stronger than the average daily race. There are no heats or rounds, meaning that the huge odds we can usually find in antepost betting aren’t available here. Nevertheless, when looking for an operator that gives you the best odds prices, make sure that it offers best odds guaranteed. What this offer does is, if your starting price changes after you place a bet on a greyhound, and your greyhound wins, then you are paid out on the higher price. This can guarantee that you get the most value for your buck.

Some Interesting Facts

The Select Stakes are picked by members of the Greyhound Writing Association, making sure that only the best dogs compete. The popularity of the race – sponsored by Betfred – is so large that another race was created in 2006 to accompany it: the Select Stayers Race. Run over 730m instead of 500, it was for the best greyhounds over long distances. Like the traditional sprint race, it is also an invitational only event, and takes place on the same day.

Race Information:

First held:	1952	Nottingham Stadium: race location Wembley Stadium: festival location
Distance:	500m
Grades:	Group 1
Date Held:	July
Prize Money:	£7,500

This race has seen some great trainers compete over the years. Wembley’s own Leslie Reynolds won the two races back in its first running’s, while Tom ‘Paddy’ Reilly and John Bassett have also managed back-to-back wins. It is a race that has been dominated by just a handful of different trainers with Jack Harvey, Geoff DeMulder and Charlie Lister OBE all winning three times in a row. The same cannot be said for the greyhounds however, with none yet able to win the treble.

Dead Heat

What happens when the TV pundit can’t tell who wins, the judge can’t adjudicate and the photo finish looks the same? This is what happened in 2013 when Holdem Spy and Daddy Knows Best finished at exactly the same time at 29.67 seconds. After minutes of agonising and replay-watching, this was called by the judge as a dead heat, whereby both greyhounds were considered as the winner, and the spoils were shared. This was one of those classic results – which has never occurred in any ofthe derbies – that make the Select Stakes such a great and compelling competition.

Historical Info

There is £7500 up for grabs for the winner, a marked increase from when the race was first introduced at the Wembley stadium in 1952. Then the race was run over 525 yards, all the way up to 1974. After then the race was extended to 490 metres, at which it stayed until Wembley Stadium sadly closed, after which it went up even further to 500 metres, where it currently runs at Nottingham Stadium. Pay Freeze and Swift Hoffman are tied for the track record at a remarkable 29.63 seconds.

Many greyhounds have won the race twice, including Jordansoilutions (2010, 2011), Cleenas Lady (2006, 2007), Jaspers Boy (1998, 1999), Desert Pilot (1979, 1980), Mile Bush Pride (1958, 1959) and Duet Leader (1955, 1956). For the most part the favourite wins the race, with outsiders not getting much of a chance, although in 2011, the brilliant Jordansoilutions managed to come in from behind to win the race despite being ranked 14/1. In order to see the very best in greyhound racing, sign up today and start having a go on the Select Stake, or pop back over to the main events page to learn about some of the other big races from around the world.