The Link Between Information and the Favorite-longshot Bias in Pari-mutuel Wagering Markets

This paper examines a database of more than 45,000 greyhound races over an eight year period at Dairyland Greyhound Park to test for and examine the nature of the favorite-longshot bias. While the longest odds dogs are collectively found to be over-bet for the sample as a whole, the bias is found to diminish after the introduction of Off-Track Betting. Further, maiden races, among inexperienced dogs, are shown to exhibit the traditional favorite-longshot bias, while non-maiden races do not. These results may help explain why researchers have found the bias at some tracks, but not others