The greyhound grading system sorts dogs into classes so similar dogs race each other: wins lift a dog from maiden towards Grade 1 and free for all races, and unplaced runs at the higher grades drop it back. The national rules leave grading to each state's controlling body, so a grade name does not travel: Grade 6 is a dog with two wins in Victoria and a dog with one win in Queensland.
Every rule below comes from the state documents listed further down, checked 8 October 2026.
Greyhound grades explained, from maiden to free for all
The ladder has the same shape everywhere, but not the same rungs:
| Grade | What it means |
|---|---|
| Maiden | A dog that has not yet won a race, in every state |
| Grade 7 | One win, in Victoria; none of the other four states covered here uses it |
| Grade 6 | Two wins in Victoria and one in Queensland; in South Australia a band for dogs yet to win a Grade 5 or better at that track; in Tasmania, dogs under two years old without a penalty win at that distance on that track |
| Grade 5 | Reached after three wins in Victoria, two in Queensland, and the maiden win alone in NSW, South Australia and Tasmania |
| Grades 4 to 1 | Higher grades, reached by further wins |
| Free for all | Open races rather than a grade, mostly for the higher grades, with entry rules that differ by state |
A maiden race is open only to dogs that have not won. In NSW the grader fills maiden fields in a set order: last-start placegetters at that class of meeting and distance category first, then dogs placed in two of their last three starts, then first starters. A first starter's only form may be its trial times.
The free for all shows how far the states drift apart. Victoria takes Grade 4 to Grade 1 dogs. Queensland's, under a grading trial it has continued indefinitely from 1 February 2026, is open to Grades 1 to 3, and to Grade 4 as well at City 1 and City 2 meetings. NSW takes first to third grade dogs and fourth grade dogs with enough wins, South Australia Grades 1 to 5, and Tasmania every dog, maidens included.
Four other race types sit beside the ladder:
- Mixed grades put adjoining grades in one race, such as Mixed 4/5. NSW and Queensland draw the higher grade in first; Victoria favours Grade 4 dogs in a Mixed 4/5 but fills a Mixed 6/7 on ranking alone. South Australia also mixes three grades, such as 2/3/4.
- Restricted win races cap a dog's career wins rather than its grade, at the number the race conditions prescribe in Victoria and Queensland. Tasracing's policy manual, effective 1 August 2026, programs one a meeting where possible for dogs aged 24 months or older, in brackets of 0 to 3 and 4 to 6 wins, over the sprint or short sprint.
- Masters and veterans races are for older dogs: from four years in NSW, 42 months or older for Queensland's Grade 5 masters, over 42 months in Tasmania, and four years or older for Victoria's veterans.
- Non-penalty races leave the winner's grade alone: Victoria's veterans races and its Grade 5 or higher races at Level 3 Stakes prize money, NSW fifth grade series finals, South Australia's free for all, special events and time-graded races, and Tasmanian races worth under $451 to the winner, a maiden win aside.
How a win moves a dog up
| State | After a maiden win | Later wins |
|---|---|---|
| Victoria | Grade 7 at all tracks and distances | Grade 6, then Grade 5, everywhere; from Grade 5, one grade per win, at the track and distance of that win alone |
| NSW | Fifth grade at every class of meeting and distance category | At City meetings, two fifth grade wins make it fourth grade, then one more win third grade; at Provincial and Country meetings wins count by the class they came at, so one City win (its maiden aside) makes it fourth grade at Country meetings, a step that takes five wins at Country meetings themselves; from third grade, a grade a win |
| Queensland | Grade 6 at all classes and distance categories | A Grade 6 win makes it Grade 5 everywhere; then one grade per penalty win in that class and distance category, after concessions |
| South Australia | Grade 5, while staying eligible for Grade 6 wherever it has not won a Grade 5 or better | Each win lifts it one grade, except in non-penalty races |
| Tasmania | Grade 5 on all tracks | One grade per penalty-bearing win, on that track at that distance category |
Queensland's concessions let a Grade 5 dog win two Grade 5 races in a distance category at City 1 or City 2 meetings, and four at Provincial or Straight meetings, before it moves up. At Country meetings it may win two at Grade 5 and two at Grade 4. Series differ too: a dog that wins a heat and the final goes up a grade for each win in Victoria, but one grade in all in Queensland, Tasmania and South Australia's feature events.
How a dog drops back a grade
| State | When a dog drops | Limits |
|---|---|---|
| Victoria | Grade 4 or better at a track and distance, unplaced twice there without a win: down one grade there | Trainers may also apply for Grade 5 at up to four tracks |
| NSW | Unplaced twice at a class of meeting and distance category since its last win there: down one grade at its next start there | A win at the lower grade lifts it straight back |
| Queensland | Grade 4 or better: three unplaced runs at its grade in penalty races in a class and distance category, or six months without a start | Never below Grade 5; dogs older than 42 months drop after two unplaced runs in Grades 1 to 3 |
| South Australia | Two unplaced runs | Unplaced runs across a feature event's heats and final count as one |
| Tasmania | Grade 1 to 4 on a track: three straight unplaced runs at that distance there | Falls, and unplaced runs in finals or non-penalty races, do not count |
State by state: the official grading documents
| State | Controlling body and document | Version checked | What stands out |
|---|---|---|---|
| Victoria | Greyhound Racing Victoria, Grading Guidelines | Effective 5 August 2026 | Tier 3 races, among other conditions, take only dogs that have not run faster than a time standard |
| NSW | Greyhound Racing NSW, NSW Grading Policy | Updated 26 March 2025 | Time-based grading races at selected meetings since 4 October 2025 |
| Queensland | Racing Queensland, Grading Procedures | April 2025, plus the trial changes from 1 February 2026 | A Masters or Pathways Grade 5 winner moves up only if it breaks the time standard for the track, class and distance, except at The Q, where both kinds of race are penalty bearing until that distance has a time standard |
| South Australia | Greyhound Racing SA, Grading Guidelines | Eligibility effective 16 June 2023 | Time-graded meetings, every race in them non-penalty |
| Tasmania | Tasracing, Grading Schedule in its Greyhound Policy Manual | Schedule effective 1 February 2025, in the manual effective 1 August 2026 | Grade 6 is an age band, for dogs under two |
Western Australia's controlling body, Racing and Wagering Western Australia, publishes its own grading policy, so read it before you apply any rule here to a WA race.
Time-based grading groups dogs by speed rather than wins: Greyhound Racing NSW rates each dog on its race times at its last six starts at any Australian track, the two slowest left out, and the dog carries that one rating at every track and distance.
Worked: a dog stepping up after a maiden win
A dog wins a maiden at Track A over 450m in 25.98 seconds. Illustrative times; the grades are each state's rule:
| State | Its grade now | Who it meets next |
|---|---|---|
| Victoria | Grade 7 at every track and distance | Other one-win dogs |
| Queensland | Grade 6 at every class and distance category | Other one-win dogs |
| NSW | Fifth grade at every class and distance category | Dogs with one win and dogs with several |
| South Australia | Grade 5, though still eligible for Grade 6 at tracks where it has not won a Grade 5 | In a Grade 6, dogs yet to win a Grade 5 there; in a Grade 5, maiden winners and dogs dropped from Grade 4 |
| Tasmania | Grade 5 on every track | Maiden winners, dogs dropped from Grade 4, and dogs over two yet to win there |
In Victoria, say Grade 7 races at Track A over 450m have a median winning time of 25.80 seconds in official results over a dated period. The maiden time is 25.98 - 25.80 = 0.18 seconds slower. At 0.07 seconds a length under rule 113 of the Greyhounds Australasia Rules, that is 0.18 / 0.07 = about 2.6 lengths to find before the box draw and the first turn come into it.
In NSW the same dog goes straight into fifth grade. If fifth grade winners there have a median time of 25.60, the gap is 25.98 - 25.60 = 0.38 seconds, about 5.4 lengths: one win, one time, much tougher company. Greyhound sectional times covers comparing times fairly.
Reading grade rises and drops in the form
The grade printed against each past run shows the climb, such as maiden, then Grade 7, 6 and 5 in Victoria. Read it with four checks:
- Which grade applies today. A Victorian dog from Grade 5 up holds a grade for each track and distance, so it can be Grade 5 at one track while it is Grade 3 at another.
- Whether a win moved it at all. A non-penalty win or a Queensland concession win does not lift the grade on its own, though Queensland still counts both towards its upgrading totals, such as five City wins in a distance category for Grade 4.
- Why a dog dropped. Unplaced runs can mean it was outclassed or met trouble, and the times and stewards' comments tell the two apart, as how to read greyhound form shows.
- Times against the new grade. Set its times at the track and distance beside what the new grade runs there.
Greyhound betting strategy turns a grade change into a price adjustment.
Risk: Betting involves risk. A dog dropping in grade meets easier company, not a certain win, and a well-read grade change can still lose. See responsible gambling for limits and support.
Mistakes with greyhound grades
- Reading a grade across a border. Grade 6 is two wins in Victoria, one in Queensland and an age band in Tasmania.
- Assuming every win lifts a dog. Non-penalty races, Queensland's concessions and series rules leave some winners where they were.
- Treating a grade as a speed rating. Greyhound Racing SA's time-based grading paper says wins, age and prize money cannot always group dogs of similar ability.
- Using a stale grade. Greyhound Racing Victoria applies grade changes about 40 minutes after a meeting is finalised.
- Relying on an old copy of the rules. Queensland's free for all entry changed under its grading trial, and Victoria amended its guidelines in March and August 2026.
Where B337 fits
Reading grades and times is your part of greyhound racing betting: B337 does not rate dogs or pick winners. When a dog changes grade, the question is whether its price already allows for the new company. The Terminal sets each bookmaker's price on that dog in a column of its own and marks the best available one, with the exchange's back and lay prices alongside, and its flucs, closing lines and EV overlays for each dog.
It compares 40+ bookmakers across racing and sports, and some of them will not price a given dog race. It collects prices in repeated sweeps, not tick by tick, so look up the price in your bookmaker account before you bet, in case it has moved since. A free account opens a limited view of the Terminal with live odds.
Risk: Betting involves risk. A grade tells you who a dog races against, not how the race ends, and there is no guarantee of profit. For free and confidential support call 1800 858 858 or visit gamblinghelponline.org.au, and see responsible gambling.