Irish Racing 101

The recent wave of Irish imports has created a lot of interest in Irish racing in general, and more specifically, how the racing exploits of those imports are comparable to those of our dogs here in the U.S. Many Americans are completely unaware of some of the simplest features of Irish racing. One imported stud was recently advertised as having a tremendous "in-the-money" percentage showing his record from first through fourth, completely oblivious to the fact that Ireland runs 6-dog races and prize money is rarely paid to dogs outside the top three places.

The first thing Americans should be aware of is that the configuration of Irish tracks is different than ours. They are somewhere between the immense tracks with wide sweeping bends as exist in Australia, and our tracks with tightly radiused bends. In 550 yard races, the run to the turn in Ireland is much shorter than ours and favors brilliant early speed. All tracks run an outside lure, and the most common distances are 525, 550, 575, 600, 700 and 750 yards. Most Irish dogs who excel at 525 yards would struggle to make 550 yards here and some of their 550 yard dogs would as well. Dogs that were Derby class at 55o yards yet could still make 575 yards or beyond are the ones most ideally suited for U.S. needs.

There is no such thing as a Maiden race over there. Dogs run "trials" that establish a baseline time for that dog. These are usually solos or two-dog races. They adjust for variance in track conditions (known as "going") to grade the dogs based on time. Some dogs trial so well they're not graded at all---they go straight into Open events. When you read or hear of a dog that "never ran a graded race," it means the dog was too good to race against ordinary dogs from the start. They literally start their careers in Open class, what we would consider Hot Box!

Grades in Ireland range from A1 to A9 for sprints to D1 to D9 for distance. Just as an estimate, grades A1 and A2 are like our grade A or AA, depending on the track. A3 and A4 like our B, A5 and A6 like our C, and A6 through A9 like our D/E. These approximations are very rough. A dog that had a bad trial might be a grade or two higher than its time would seem to indicate. Many A3 stakes are won by dogs of Open class ability.

Open class races are the equivalent of our Hot Box races. Imagine if our racing secretaries held back the hottest dogs at the track for the best-attended performance of the week and you get an idea of what Opens are all about. There is a very wide range in Opens. Many are sponsored by a local business or a bookmaker and there is roughly $1500 to $5000 in added money. A good Open class dog can stay busy week in and week out and it is very well worth the while of the owner to take his major-stake contender to compete in these races.

The news isn't so good for graders. Because of the Kennel Contract system, we are used to our B-C-D-E dogs running every 4-5 days, rain or shine. Graded events in Ireland are much more haphazard. There are far more owners with graded dogs than there are races (most of their tracks are dark 3-4 nights a week), so a grade B or C type dog might get only three or four races a month. The prizes are very poor in the lower grades because all the money goes to the Opens which are what bring in the crowds. Many lower-grade dogs are sold to the UK where they get more use in graded events.

For gamblers and spectators, Open class racing in Ireland today must be similar to what our racing was like in the 1940s and 1950s when the top dogs practically barnstormed across the country looking for big races (there weren't nearly the number of stakes in those days, but far more Hot Box races). Ireland is a very small country. To give a sense of scale, imagine if every one of our tracks was in Florida and there were no kennel contracts. Trainers are not affiliated with a track so they can take their stars to the track that has the hottest and richest Open of the weekend. If their system existed in Florida, tracks would compete to offer the best Opens for their patrons every weekend. Imagine if every top dog in the U.S. went head-to-head every week.

The top stakes in Ireland are called Group 1 events. These are the finals of a very limited number of stakes which have the highest prizes and the deepest fields. The most famous of these is the Irish Derby held at Shelbourne Park. 144 of the fastest sprinters in Ireland compete for the equivalent of $300,000 or more in prizes. There are no "points" as in most U.S. stakes. Dogs have to finish in the top three or better to advance. One bump, one misstep and a top competitor can be knocked out. Derby finalists and consolation participants have outlasted 132 other dogs to get to "Derby Night." It could be argued that we no longer hold Group 1 style events because the World Classic is not what it used to be, and other top stakes like the International Race of Champions and the Grady Memorial Sprint at Wonderland no longer exist. The closest thing we had was the 2006 Derby Lane Million.

Group 2 events are second-tier stakes that are roughly the equivalent of an in-house stake at one of our major tracks, or one with limited outside entries. The Twin River Sprint or Derby Lane Sprint Classic would be the equivalent of most Irish Group 2 races. A Group 3 race would be the equivalent of a limited entry stake here like one restricted to dogs bred in a certain state or a puppy stake, or "Night of Stars" style hot-box events.

When trying to compare the records of Irish dogs to ours, consider that they consistently run against the country’s best, not just grade A’s at their own track. It's interesting to talk to Irishmen who are amazed at the records of some of our top stars. What they don't understand is that our top dogs run a fairly high percentage of their races these days against ordinary grade A competition. Most of the top stars in Ireland race exclusively against Open and Stakes grade opposition.

When looking at the races of an import sire consider his level of opposition. Did he win or make the final of Group 1 events or advance to the later rounds of the Irish Derby? Did he defeat other Group 1 class dogs, especially those currently at stud in Ireland? Did he run a significant number of graded events, especially after his first few races, or did he run exclusively in top Opens and Stakes? Did he run hurdles where he could rack up a large number of wins against second-rate competition?

There was a day when Ireland's second-tier dogs were passed off here as "champions." Just look through old sire issues of Greyhound Review and you'll see that dozens of these were inflicted on us, many simply because they were bred similarly to another import that had better racing credentials, or even one that was already proven here. Today we have accurate race records and even video of most of the dogs that are imported to the U.S. It's possible to separate the Derby class dogs from those who were merely minor Open class. Take a little time to compare the merits of the sires you are considering for your domestic female. It will be time well spent.