Greyhound racing is an organized, competitive industry in
which greyhound dogs are raced around a track. There are two forms of greyhound
racing, track racing and coursing. Track
racing uses an artificial lure on a
track until the greyhounds cross the finish line. As with horse racing,
greyhound races often allow the public to wager on the outcome. In coursing the
dogs chase a lure.
In many countries, greyhound racing is purely amateur and
for enjoyment. In other countries, greyhound racing is part of the gambling
industry, similar to although far less profitable than horse racing. There is
concern in countries with greyhound gambling regarding the well-being of the
dogs and the use of live-baiting. The effectiveness of industry self-regulation
is often called into question.
History
Modern greyhound racing has its origins in coursing. 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". In 1919, Smith opened the
first professional dog-racing track with stands in Emeryville, California. The
certificates system led the way to parimutuel betting, as quarry and on-course
gambling, in the United States during the 1930s.
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 to 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 in turn
introduced them to Sir William Gentle. holding the first British meeting at
Manchester's Belle Vue Stadium. The industry was successful in cities and towns
throughout the U.K. - by the end of 1927, there were forty tracks operating.
The industry of greyhound racing was particularly attractive
to predominantly male working-class audiences, for whom the urban locations of
the tracks and the evening times of the meetings were accessible, and to
patrons and owners from various social backgrounds. 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 gambling.
Greyhound racing enjoyed its highest attendances just after
the Second World War—for example, there were 34 million paying spectators in
1946. The industry experienced a decline from the early 1960s- when the 1960
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
Commercial greyhound racing is characterized by several
criteria, including 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.
In addition to the eight countries where commercial
greyhound racing exists, in at least twenty-one countries dog racing occurs but
has not reached a commercial stage.
Medical care
Greyhound adoption groups frequently report that the dogs
from the tracks have tooth problems, the cause of which is debated. The groups
often also find that the dogs carry tick-borne diseases and parasites due to
the lack of proper preventative treatments. The dogs require regular
vaccination to minimize outbreaks of diseases such as kennel cough.
Recently, doping has also emerged as a problem in greyhound
racing. The racing industry is actively working to prevent the spread of this
practice; 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. 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. In the United States, prior to the formation of
adoption groups, over 20,000 retired greyhounds a year were killed; recent
estimates still number in the thousands, with the industry claiming that about
90% of National Greyhound Association-registered animals either being adopted,
or returned for breeding purposes Other
greyhounds are sold to research labs, such as Liverpool university animal
training school, who have received the remains of dogs killed at Manchester's
Belle Vue stadium. A trainer in Lincolnshire was also exposed offering 'slow'
dogs to the Liverpool school. Additionally dogs are sent to foreign racetracks
such as Spain and sometimes in developing countries. In the North East of
England a man is believed to have destroyed as many as 10,000 healthy
Greyhounds with a captive bolt gun.
Part Two Coming Tomorrow...
Tipster Street.
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