What Is a Forecast and Tricast in Greyhound Racing? — Dividends, Payouts, Examples

Greyhound forecast and tricast bets are two of the most popular wager types in the sport, and two of the most frequently misunderstood. The concept is simple: predict the first two finishers in exact order (forecast) or the first three in exact order (tricast). The execution is straightforward. The confusion tends to arrive after the race, when the dividend is published and the numbers do not look anything like what you expected.

That confusion is understandable, because the payout on a forecast or tricast is not set by fixed odds. It is calculated after the race, based on either a mathematical formula or the totalisator pool, and the result can vary dramatically depending on the prices of the dogs involved, the size of the pool, and which calculation method applies. Two races on the same evening can produce forecast dividends that differ by a factor of ten, even when the winning dogs were at similar odds.

This guide breaks down the payout puzzle: what each bet type involves, how dividends are calculated, and when these wagers offer the best value relative to their complexity.

Forecast Bets — Straight and Reverse

A straight forecast requires you to predict the first and second finishers in the correct order. You name the dog you think will win, and the dog you think will finish second, and both must cross the line in exactly those positions for the bet to pay. It is the greyhound equivalent of an exacta in horse racing or other sports betting contexts.

The appeal of the straight forecast is the enhanced return. Because you are predicting two outcomes in sequence rather than just a single winner, the dividend is significantly larger than a win bet on the same favourite. If Trap 3 wins at 5/1 and Trap 6 finishes second at 8/1, the forecast dividend will be substantially higher than either dog’s individual win price — how much higher depends on the calculation method, which we will come to shortly.

A reverse forecast relaxes the order requirement. You pick two dogs, and the bet pays as long as those two fill the first and second positions in either order. It is effectively two straight forecasts combined into a single wager: Dog A first and Dog B second, or Dog B first and Dog A second. The stake is doubled because you are covering both permutations, and the dividend paid corresponds to whichever order actually occurred. If the combination that pays the higher dividend is the one that comes in, a reverse forecast can feel like excellent value. If the lower-dividend combination wins, the return is more modest but still typically better than a single win bet.

A combination forecast extends the concept further. You select three or more dogs and cover all possible first-and-second permutations between them. With three selections, that is six permutations; with four, twelve. The number of unit stakes rises quickly, which makes combination forecasts an expensive bet if you are not selective. But for a race where you are confident about three dogs filling the front two positions but unsure which two will do it, a combination forecast covers the uncertainty at a manageable cost.

Tricast Bets — Picking the Top Three

A tricast raises the difficulty — and the potential payout — by asking you to predict the first, second, and third finishers in exact order. In a six-dog greyhound race, there are 120 possible permutations for the top three positions, which means a single straight tricast has a 1-in-120 chance of success if all dogs were equally matched. They never are, of course, which is why tricast dividends vary so widely: a predictable result with two short-priced favourites in the first two positions pays far less than an upset with outsiders filling the frame.

The straight tricast works identically to the straight forecast in principle — you name the first, second, and third in exact order, and all three must come in correctly. If any of your three selections finishes out of the predicted position, the bet loses. There is no “close enough” in a tricast; the order is everything.

A combination tricast covers all possible orderings of your selected dogs across the first three positions. If you pick three dogs, that is six permutations (3 factorial), meaning your stake is six times the unit. If you pick four dogs, it is 24 permutations (4 × 3 × 2), and the stake escalates accordingly. Combination tricasts are popular with bettors who have a strong view on which three dogs will fill the places but cannot separate them by finishing order. The trade-off is a higher total stake for a higher probability of landing the bet.

To illustrate the payout puzzle: suppose the tricast dividend for a race is declared at £84.20. If you placed a £1 straight tricast on the correct combination, your return is £84.20. If you placed a £1 combination tricast across three dogs (six permutations, so £6 total stake), your return is still £84.20, but your outlay was six times higher — making the net profit £78.20 rather than £83.20. The combination protects you against order uncertainty, but it dilutes the return per pound staked.

How Forecast and Tricast Dividends Are Calculated

The dividend declared for a forecast or tricast is not a fixed number that the bookmaker sets in advance. It is calculated after the race, and two different methods are used depending on the context.

The first method is the Computer Straight Forecast (CSF), which is the most common calculation for off-course forecasts placed with bookmakers. The CSF uses a mathematical formula based on the starting prices of the first and second finishers to generate a theoretical “fair” dividend. The formula factors in the odds of both dogs and produces a payout that reflects how unlikely the exact combination was. A forecast involving two short-priced favourites generates a low CSF; a forecast with an outsider beating the favourite generates a much higher one. Tricast dividends are calculated through a similar computer-generated formula, the Computer Tricast, which extends the calculation to three finishing positions.

The second method is the totalisator (tote) pool. On-course forecasts and tricasts placed through the tote are paid from a pooled fund — all the money wagered on that bet type in that race is combined, a deduction is taken for operating costs, and the remainder is divided among the winning ticket holders. The tote pool dividend can differ from the CSF, sometimes significantly, depending on how much money was wagered and how it was distributed across the possible combinations.

The scale of the pool matters. SIS coordinates a minimum of 42 greyhound fixtures every week across the UK, which means thousands of forecast and tricast pools are generated in any given week. But not all pools are created equal. Evening meetings at high-profile tracks attract more betting volume than morning cards at smaller venues, which translates into larger pools and more stable dividends. On thinner pools, a single large wager from one punter can distort the tote payout significantly — something that has become more noticeable as the overall betting market has contracted.

That contraction is real and measurable. Adjusted for inflation, betting turnover on greyhound racing in the UK fell by 23 per cent over the three years to March 2026, according to Gambling Commission data reported by Racing Post. Thinner turnover means thinner pools, which means greater variance in tote dividends from one race to the next. For forecast and tricast bettors, this is worth understanding: the payout you receive is influenced not just by the result but by how much money was in the pot.

When Forecast and Tricast Bets Pay Best

Forecast and tricast bets pay best when the result contains at least one surprise. A forecast involving the 6/4 favourite and the 3/1 second favourite produces a modest CSF — often in the range of £8 to £15 to a £1 stake. But introduce an outsider at 10/1 or longer, and the dividend climbs sharply. Tricasts amplify this effect further, because the third finishing position adds another variable that the market may have priced poorly.

Greyhound racing is structurally suited to these bets. Every race has exactly six runners, which means the number of possible permutations is manageable: 30 possible forecast combinations and 120 possible tricast combinations. Compare that to a horse race with 12 or 16 runners, where the permutation count explodes and the probability of picking the correct combination becomes vanishingly small. In a six-dog race, an informed bettor who has studied the form can reasonably narrow the likely first three finishers to a shortlist of four dogs — and from there, a combination tricast or reverse forecast becomes a calculated proposition rather than a pure lottery.

Tight races — where the form suggests several dogs have a realistic chance of placing — are the ideal conditions for forecast and tricast betting. If one dog is clearly superior and likely to win easily, the forecast becomes predictable and the dividend falls accordingly. But when the grading has produced a genuinely competitive field of six, where the top three could come from any combination of four or five contenders, the permutations multiply and so does the potential return. These are the races where the payout puzzle offers its best rewards — not because the bet is easy, but because the outcome is difficult enough to predict that the market prices the uncertainty into the dividend.