Greyhounds & Racing
Greyhounds are members of the Sight hound family
Sight hounds are dogs that primarily hunted using their sight instead of their scent.
Greyhounds are thought to have existed in Turkey as far back as 6000BC.
In Egypt the greyhound was highly honored and considered second in line to a parent losing a child.The death of a beloved greyhound was treated as great as that of a beloved lost human family member. The whole family shaved their heads, openly mourned and even mummified the lost animal.
In Ancient Greece coursing was also known as a popular sport.
It was when the Greyhound caught the eye of the Romans that it became famous for coursing and also as a companion dog.
Greyhounds are the only dog breed featured in the Bible (Proverbs 30:29-31)
The legend of Saint Guinefort was a 13th century greyhound that received local veneration as a saint after miracles were reported at his grave.
Because of the famine and plague, the greyhound breed nearly became extinct. Thankfully, a group of monks or other clergy began to breed the dogs a companion of nobility.
King Howel of Wales enacted a law that made the punishment for killing a greyhound was death.
It was in the 1800’s that the Greyhound became the interest of the Irish and British settlers who came to live in the Midwest and the Western states.
The Greyhound was introduced to Britain and Ireland as a coursing dog,
it was then that the breed became more popular for its distinguished athletic body.
In the 1870’s park coursing began,
this was where coursing would take place in an enclosed park with an 800 yard course rather than a 3 mile open course as was previously used.
The Greyhounds speed became more apparent and the stamina used during the coursing became less important.
In various states of the United States coursing was illegal, but
in 1905 Owen Patrick Smith opened the first track in the United states using an artificial lure and within six years he owned multiple tracks, oval tracks were introduced as to make the race more risky and exciting for the onlookers, the dogs falling on these bends and sustaining injuries were disregarded.
Greyhound Racing was first introduced to Great Britain in 1926 by the US and the first meeting was held at Belle Vue Stadium in Manchester.
Due to the exploitation and abuse of tens of thousands of these dogs each year Greyhound racing has lost its popularity, at one time 17,000 people flooded the gates of Belle Vue stadium but in 2012 on a busy night Belle Vue attendances are around just 1500 people, who are seemingly more interested in the booze and grub rather than the dogs.
in 1905 Owen Patrick Smith opened the first track in the United states using an artificial lure and within six years he owned multiple tracks, oval tracks were introduced as to make the race more risky and exciting for the onlookers, the dogs falling on these bends and sustaining injuries were disregarded.
Greyhound Racing was first introduced to Great Britain in 1926 by the US and the first meeting was held at Belle Vue Stadium in Manchester.
Due to the exploitation and abuse of tens of thousands of these dogs each year Greyhound racing has lost its popularity, at one time 17,000 people flooded the gates of Belle Vue stadium but in 2012 on a busy night Belle Vue attendances are around just 1500 people, who are seemingly more interested in the booze and grub rather than the dogs.
