Harry Lloyd, one of the best greyhound judges I have ever met, that I was struggling to find something to back in a race at Hackney one Saturday morning. After careful consideration Harry said to me, ‘Back the one with the curliest tail.’ So, just for a bit of fun, I studied the greyhounds as they paraded, noted the six dog had the curliest tail and had a couple of quid on.

 

Needless to say, the dog obliged and, from that day on, if anyone asks me what to back at a dog meeting, I always impart the aforementioned advice. Now I can’t say this is going to be a 100 percent successful because it all depends at what time during the parade you view the dogs, I have noticed that the dog with the curliest appendage five minutes before the race is not necessarily the main qualifier just before they enter the traps.

 

In 1953, university graduate in statistics Roger Grey hounded bookies by publishing the book 100 Famous Greyhound Systems. Said the book blurb, ‘He has devoted many years of unique study to the compilation of this unique collection of first class greyhound methods.’ And it cost the not insubstantial sum of 40 of your English shillings, or two quid. Well, it was worth it; after all, Grey came up with a great new term for greyhound racing – he called it ‘greycing’. Neat, eh?