Sex and the art of the greyhound handicap
There are many myths about sex and greyhound racing. Some people will tell you that female dogs are never as good as males. Some say that females are better than males, at least in some types of races and over some distances. Other people say that sex makes no difference. Men and women are equally likely to win, they say, and equally likely to lose.
I believe that gender influences dog breeds. I think sometimes whether a dog is male or female can give you a clue as to whether the dog will win or lose. The only reason I think this way is because I’ve seen what seem to me to be gender-based differences in dog breeds.
For one thing, bitches have puppies. When they do, they stop running until the pups are weaned. They undergo physical changes that affect them. They gain weight and then lose it after the puppies are born and while nursing them. When they return to the track to run, they may or may not be the same dog they were before they had puppies.
Almost always, as any human mother can tell you, childbirth changes you permanently, physically and mentally. Sure, dogs aren’t human, but they are mammals, and greyhounds are usually good mothers. When they have puppies, they focus on them for months until weaning. However, even after that, their minds may not be as much on the races as before.
I can think of at least two females that I bet changed when they had cubs. One never won another race and didn’t really seem like she was interested in racing. The other one started doing better after having a litter of puppies. I have no idea why, but there was a marked improvement in his speed and stamina.
The males, although they do not have cubs, have their own gender-related issues. Some of them become aggressive when they reach maturity and start turning their heads to fight, instead of keeping their minds on the lure. Some will run alongside a female, rather than past her, if they are more passive males.
Especially in the spring, males are likely to really race each other if there are only one or two females in a race. I don’t know how many times I’ve seen the pool be the lone female and the oldest male in a race with only one female in the spring.
So sex does matter in greyhound breeds, but not more than other factors like shape, class, job position, etc. While I don’t leave it out of my disability, I don’t overemphasize it either. Like anything else, it should be taken into account with the basics of your greyhound handicap system.
