Greyhound racing is an organized, competitive sport in which greyhounds are raced around a track. There are two forms of greyhound racing, track racing (normally around an oval track) and coursing; the latter is now banned in most countries.[1] Track racing uses an artificial lure (usually a form of windsock)[2] that travels ahead of the greyhounds on a rail until the greyhounds cross the finish line. As with horse racing, greyhound races often allow the public to bet on the outcome.
Animal rights and animal welfare groups[3] have been critical of the welfare of greyhounds in the commercial racing industry for many years which has contributed to the reforms of the industries in recent years. A greyhound adoption movement spearheaded by kennel owners has arisen to assist retired racing dogs in finding homes as pets, with an estimated adoption rate of over 95% in the United States.[4] In the UK, under the GBGB retirement scheme (introduced in 2020) greyhounds are ensured an approved GRS homing centre after racing.[5][6]
In many countries, greyhound racing is purely amateur and solely for enjoyment. In other countries, particularly Australia, Ireland, the United Kingdom and the United States, greyhound racing is similar to horse racing in that it is part of the gambling industry.
History
Greyhound on a gallopGreyhound race in 1939
Modern greyhound racing has its origins in coursing.[7] The first recorded attempt at racing greyhounds on a straight track was made beside the Welsh Harp reservoir, Hendon, England, in 1876, but this experiment did not develop. The industry emerged in its recognizable modern form, featuring circular or oval tracks, with the invention of the mechanical, or artificial, hare in 1912 by an American, Owen Patrick Smith. O.P. Smith had altruistic aims for the industry to stop the killing of the jack rabbits and see "greyhound racing as we see horse racing".[8] In 1919, Smith opened the first professional dog-racing track with stands in Emeryville, California.[9] The Emeryville arena was torn down in February 1920 to make way for the construction of a modern racetrack using the mechanical lure, described in the press as the "automatic rabbit."[10] The first race at the new park was on Saturday, May 29, 1920.[11]
The oval track and mechanical hare were introduced to Britain, in 1926, by another American, Charles Munn, in association with Major Lyne-Dixson, a Canadian, who was a key figure in coursing. Finding other supporters proved rather difficult, however, and with the General Strike of 1926 looming, the two men scoured the country in an attempt to find others who would join them. Eventually they met Brigadier-General Critchley, who introduced them to Sir William Gentle.[1] Between them they raised £22,000, and like the American 'International Greyhound Racing Association' (or the I.G.R.A.), they launched the Greyhound Racing Association, holding the first British meeting at Manchester's Belle Vue Stadium. The industry was successful in cities and towns throughout the UK – by the end of 1927, there were forty tracks operating.
Middle-class reformers were outraged,[12] and the working-class delighted, with the emergence in the late-1920s of Greyhound racing as an entertaining new sport and betting opportunity. At first it seemed modern, glamorous, and American, but the middle class lost interest when working-class audiences took over.[13][14] The working class appreciated the nearby urban locations of the tracks and the evening times of the meetings. Betting has always been a key ingredient of greyhound racing, both through on-course bookmakers and the totalisator, first introduced in 1930. Like horse racing, it is popular to bet on the greyhound races as a form of parimutuel betting.
Greyhound racing enjoyed its highest United Kingdom attendances just after the Second World War—for example, attendances during 1946 were estimated to be around 75 million based on an annual totalisator turnover of £196,431,430.[15][16] The industry experienced a decline beginning in the early 1960s, after the 1960 UK Betting and Gaming Act permitted off-course cash betting. Sponsorship, limited television coverage, and the later abolition of on-course betting tax have partially offset this decline.
Today
Greyhounds rounding a turn on a track
Commercial greyhound racing is characterized by several criteria (varying depending on country) and can include legalized gambling, the existence of a regulatory structure, the physical presence of racetracks, whether the host state or subdivision shares in any gambling proceeds, fees charged by host locations, the use of professional racing kennels, the number of dogs participating in races, the existence of an official racing code, and membership in a greyhound racing federation or trade association.[17]
Medical care
The medical care of a racing greyhound is primarily the responsibility of the trainer while in training. All tracks in the United Kingdom have to have a veterinary surgeon and veterinary room facilities on site during racing.[18] The greyhounds require microchipping, annual vaccinations against distemper, infectious canine hepatitis, parvovirus, leptospirosis, and a vaccination to minimize outbreaks of diseases such as kennel cough.[19] All greyhounds in the UK must pass a pre-race veterinary inspection before being allowed to take part in that race.[20]
The racing industry (in several countries) actively works to prevent the spread of doping cases. Attempts are being made to recover urine samples from all greyhounds in a race, not just the winners. Greyhounds from which samples cannot be obtained for a certain number of consecutive races are subject to being ruled off the track in some countries. Violators are subject to criminal penalties and loss of their racing licenses by state gaming commissions and a permanent ban from the National Greyhound Association. The trainer of the greyhound is at all times the "absolute insurer" of the condition of the animal. The trainer is responsible for any positive test regardless of how the banned substance has entered the greyhound's system.[19]
A series of research papers have indicated that the greyhound racing industry played an important role in the rise of drug-resistanthookworms. Greyhound farms tended to treat greyhounds with dewormers even when the dogs did not have an active infection, thus enabling worms, which are constantly exposed to drugs, to develop immunity against the drugs among the surviving worms. The rise of drug-resistant hookworms poses a threat to pets and humans more generally.[21]
Retirement
Generally, a greyhound's career will end between the ages of four and six – after the dog can no longer race, or possibly when it is no longer competitive. The best dogs are kept for breeding and there are industry-associated adoption groups and rescue groups that work to obtain retired racing greyhounds and place them as pets. In the United Kingdom, the Greyhound Board of Great Britain (GBGB) has introduced measures to locate where racing greyhounds reside after they have retired from racing and as from 2017 records have been available to the public.[22]
Several organizations, such as British Greyhounds Retired Database, Greyhound Rescue West of England, Birmingham Greyhound Protection, GAGAH, Adopt-a-Greyhound and Greyhound Pets of America, and the Greyhound Trust try to ensure that as many of the dogs as possible are adopted. Some of these groups also advocate better treatment of the dogs while at the track and/or the end of racing for profit. In recent years the racing industry has made significant progress in establishing programs for the adoption of retired racers.[18] In addition to actively cooperating with private adoption groups throughout the country, many race tracks have established their own adoption programs at various tracks.[18]
Greyhounds Australasia was formed in 1937 (as the Australian and New Zealand Greyhound Association) and consists of governing bodies in Australian states and New Zealand, which regulate greyhound welfare and living conditions.[23]
Greyhound racing is a popular industry in Ireland with the majority of tracks falling under the control of Rásaíocht Con Éireann (GRI) which is a commercial semi-state body and reports to the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine.[24] The vast majority of greyhounds racing in the UK are imported from Irish breeders (estimated 90%). In the greyhound industry Northern Irish tracks are considered to be in the category of Irish greyhound racing and the results are published by the GRI. They do not come under the control of the Greyhound Board of Great Britain.
Racing in New Zealand is currently governed by the New Zealand Racing Board (NZRB) in accordance with the Racing Act 2003[25] but on 10 December 2024, Winston Peters the Minister for Racing announced that greyhound racing was to be banned in New Zealand to protect the welfare of the racing dogs.[26] The sport was to be phased out gradually over 20 months to allow time to rehome the estimated 2900 racing dogs.[27]
In the United States, greyhound racing is governed by state or local law, however, as of 2023 only two racetracks in West Virginia continue to operate.[30] Greyhound care is regulated by the American Greyhound Council[31] and the National Greyhound Association.[32][33]
Other countries
There was one greyhound racing track in Mexico, the Caliente Hipodrome in Tijuana, that hosted races from 1947 to July 14, 2024.[34]
There was formerly at greyhound racing track in Vietnam at the Lam Son Stadium in Vung Tau, Vietnam[35][36] from 2000 to March 2023, but it has since closed.[37][38] As of 2023, the company that owned the Lam Son track is building a new horse and greyhound race track in Lam Dong province.[39]
There was also a greyhound track located in Macau, China at the Canidrome which conducted greyhound racing for about 90 years, but discontinued racing in 2018.[40]
The EnglishGreyhound, or simply the Greyhound, is a breed of dog, a sighthound which has been bred for coursing, greyhound racing and hunting. Since the rise in large-scale adoption of retired racing Greyhounds, the breed has seen a resurgence in popularity as a family pet.
A lurcher is a crossbred dog resulting from mating a greyhound or other sighthound with a dog of another type such as a herding dog or a terrier. The lurcher is not a "breed," but is a generic descriptor of a group of varying dogs. It was for hundreds of years strongly associated with poaching; in modern times, it is kept as a hunting dog or companion dog.
Hare coursing is the pursuit of hares with greyhounds and other sighthounds, which chase the hare by sight, not by scent.
Belle Vue Stadium was a greyhound racing track in Belle Vue, Manchester, England, where the first race around an oval track in Britain was held on 24 July 1926. It has also been used for motorcycle speedway, as the home ground of Elite League team Belle Vue Aces from 1988 until 2015, and from 1999 until 2019 for stock car racing and banger racing.
Greyhound racing is a sport in the United Kingdom. The industry uses a parimutuel betting tote system with on-course and off-course betting available. Attendances have declined in recent years, mainly due to the decrease in evening fixtures with the majority of fixtures being held in the daytime.
The Greyhound Racing Association was a UK-based private company founded in 1925 and existed until 2019. It was involved in the management of sports venues, notably greyhound racing stadia. The GRA was responsible for introducing Greyhound racing in the United Kingdom and was the largest racing operator for 70 years but diminished when trading as GRA Acquisition from 2005-2019. Despite its name, it was not involved in the administration of greyhound racing itself.
Greyhound Racing Ireland is an Irish semi-state body charged with regulating and promoting Greyhound racing in Ireland. The organisation has been active in developing the sport in Ireland since its founding on 11 July 1958.
The Greyhound Board of Great Britain (GBGB) is the organisation that governs licensed greyhound racing in Great Britain. It does not govern independent tracks or Northern Irish tracks and therefore has no jurisdiction over them.
Greyhound racing is a popular sport in Ireland. There are 17 stadiums operating in Ireland of which nine are fully operated by Rásaíocht Con Éireann / Greyhound Racing Ireland with the remaining six owned and operated by private enterprise but licensed by GRI.
Greyhound racing in Australia is a sport and gambling activity. Australia is one of several countries with a greyhound racing industry. The industry laws are governed by the State Government but the keeping of greyhounds is governed by the Local Authority.
A greyhound trainer is a person who trains greyhounds for racing. This involves exercising, feeding, and grooming them, in addition to keeping the greyhound in race condition to enable the greyhound to race to the best of its ability.
The 2010 UK & Ireland Greyhound Racing Year was the 85th year of greyhound racing in the United Kingdom and Ireland.
The 2009 UK & Ireland Greyhound Racing Year was the 84th year of greyhound racing in the United Kingdom and Ireland.
The 1932 UK & Ireland Greyhound Racing Year was the seventh year of greyhound racing in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The total annual attendance across the country for 1932 topped 20 million, increasing to 20,178,260 from 17,906,917, a sixth consecutive annual increase.
The 1947 UK & Ireland Greyhound Racing Year was the 22nd year of greyhound racing in the United Kingdom and Ireland.
The 2019 UK & Ireland Greyhound Racing Year is the 94th year of greyhound racing in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The year marked an end of an era when the 94-year-old company the Greyhound Racing Association (GRA) or more recently the GRA Acquisition came to an end.
Greyhound racing in the United States is a sport and parimutuel gambling activity. The industry is regulated by state law and greyhound care is regulated by the American Greyhound Council (AGC) and the National Greyhound Association.
The 2020 UK & Ireland Greyhound Racing Year is the 95th year of greyhound racing in the United Kingdom and Ireland.
Greyhound racing in New Zealand consists of eight Greyhound racing clubs. They are all affiliated with Greyhound Racing New Zealand (GRNZ). Racing in New Zealand is governed by the New Zealand Racing Board (NZRB) in accordance with the Racing Act 2003. On 10 December 2024, Winston Peters the Minister for Racing announced that greyhound racing was to be banned in New Zealand and would end by 2026.
The 2022 UK & Ireland Greyhound Racing Year was the 97th year of greyhound racing in the United Kingdom and Ireland.
References
1 2 Genders, Roy (1981). the Encyclopaedia of Greyhound Racing. Pelham Books Ltd. ISBN0-7207-1106-1.
↑ Norman Baker, "Going to the Dogs—Hostility to Greyhound Racing in Britain: Puritanism, Socialism and Pragmaticism." Journal of Sport History 23.2 (1996): 97-119. Online
↑ Mike Huggins, "Going to the dogs." History Today 56.5 (2006): 31+.
↑ Daryl Leeworthy, "A diversion from the new leisure: greyhound racing, working-class culture, and the politics of unemployment in inter-war South Wales." Sport in History 32.1 (2012): 53-73.
↑ Particulars of Licensed tracks, table 1 Licensed Dog Racecourses. Licensing Authorities. 1946.
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