Greyhound racing is a popular sport in Great Britain with attendances at around 3.2 million at over 5,750 meetings, across 26 stadia in 2007 alone. There are 25 licensed stadia in Britain, it is a Parimutuel betting tote system with on-course and off-course betting available, with a turnover of £75,100,000.[1]
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Greyhound racing as it is seen today has evolved from a sport called coursing, in which a dog runs after a live game animal – usually a rabbit or hare. The first official coursing meet was held in 1776 at Swaffham, Norfolk. The rules of the Swaffham Coursing Society specified that only two greyhounds were to course a single hare and that the hare was to be given a head start of 240 yards.[2]
Coursing by proxy with an artificial lure was introduced at Hendon, on September 11, 1876. Six dogs raced over a 400-yard straight course, chasing an artificial hare riding. This was the first attempt of introducing mechanical racing to the UK, however it did not catch on at the time.[3]
On July 24, 1926, in front of 1,700 spectators, the first greyhound race took place at Belle Vue Stadium where seven greyhounds raced round an oval circuit to catch an electric artificial hare.[4] This marked the first ever modern greyhound race in Great Britain. Greyhound racing was brought to Britain from America by Charles Munn, an American businessman who obtained the overseas rights to the mechanical lure (hare). His business partners were Alfred Critchley and Francis Gentle and together they formed the Greyhound Racing Association (GRA) and raised £25,000 to build a racecourse at Belle Vue. They then hurried to open tracks in London at the White City and Haringey.[5]
The sport of greyhound racing in Great Britain currently falls under two sectors: that licensed by the Greyhound Board of Great Britain (GBGB), and an unregulated sector known as 'independent racing' or 'flapping'.[6]
Licensed racing in Great Britain is regulated by the Greyhound Board of Great Britain (GBGB). All in the regulated sector are subject to the Greyhound Board of Great Britain (GBGB) Rules of Racing[7] and the Directions of the Stewards, who set the standards for greyhound welfare and racing integrity, from racecourse facilities and trainers' kennels to retirement of greyhounds. Stewards inquiries and then disciplinary action is taken against anyone found failing to comply.[8]
The GBGB regulated sector approximately consists of 27 racecourses, 1,520 trainers, 4,135 kennel staff, 867 racecourse officials, and in excess of 15,000 greyhound owners with approximately 10,000 greyhounds registered annually for licensed racing.[9]
Independent racing also known as 'flapping' consists of 19 racecourses. The number of trainers, kennelstaff, owners and greyhounds involved in independent racing is unknown because there is no requirement for central registration or licensing, and no code of practice. There are no minimum standards for welfare or integrity as well as no governing or regulatory body.
There are 25 Greyhound Board of Great Britain (GBGB) licensed stadia in the UK.[10] These are:
There are also a number of independent stadia:
There are many types of competitions in Britain,[11] with prize money reaching a staggering £15,737,122.[12]
Greyhound Derby
This race must have minimum prize money of £50,000. The competition has six-rounds and attracts around 180 entries each year. There are two derbys in Britain; Scottish Greyhound Derby held at Shawfield Stadium, English Greyhound Derby held at Wimbledon. With a third in Ireland held at Shelbourne Park open to British greyhounds. There used to be a Welsh Derby but the event finished in 1977 following the closure of the track at the Arms Park in Cardiff.
Category One Race
These races must have minimum prize money of £12,500. They can be run between one and four rounds but must be completed within a 15 day period, except for special circumstances. In any event the competition must be completed within 18 days.
Category Two Race
These races must have minimum prize money of £5000. They can be run with one, two or three rounds but must be completed within a 15 day period.
Category Three Race
These races must have minimum prize money of £1000. They can be run over one or two rounds and within a nine-day period. A category three race can be staged over one day but must have minimum prize money of £500.
Invitation Race
A special type of open race usually staged by the promoter in support on the night of other opens.This will be proposed to the committee by the GBGB or by a promoter, with the racers being invited into the competition rather than the usual process. The minimum prizen money for these races is £750.
Minor Open Race
This is any other open race. The minimum added money for these races is £150.
Graded Racing
This is any other race staged at a track, prize money is varied. This kind of racing is the core of most stadiums and can be viewed in betting shops on the BAGS or BEGS service.
Greyhound racing in Britain has a standard colour scheme.[13]
A racing jacket worn by a reserve bears an additional letter 'R' prominently on each side.
Greyhound racing in Great Britain is regulated by the Greyhound Board of Great Britain (GBGB)[14] In Britain greyhounds are not kept at the tracks and are instead housed in the kennels of trainers and transported to the tracks to race. Officially licensed kennels have to fall within specific guidelines,[15][16] and are checked regularly by officials to make sure the treatment of racing greyhounds is at the highest level.[17] greyhounds' health and condition are checked at the track by the track vet before they are permitted to race,[18] and drugs tests are conducted to check for cheating.[19] Those who race on the independent circuit do not have this regulation.
Drug using has emerged as a problem in greyhound racing. The racing industry is actively working to prevent the spread of this practice, policed by the Greyhound Board of Great Britain (GBGB);[20] attempts are made to recover urine samples from all greyhounds in a race, not just the winners.[21] Greyhounds from which samples can not be obtained for a certain number of consecutive races are subject to being ruled off the track. If a positive sample is found, violators are subject to penalties and loss of their racing licenses by the Greyhound Board of Great Britain (GBGB). 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.[22] Due to the increased practice of random testing, the number of positive samples has decreased dramatically.[23] However the Greyhound Board of Great Britain (GBGB) have no control over independent racing.
After the dogs are no longer able to race (generally, a greyhound's career will end by the age of four to six), owners may keep the dog for breeding or as pets, or they can send them to greyhound adoption groups. Euthanasia is generally a last resort, considered if no other option is viable.[24] The Greyhound Board of Great Britain (GBGB) have introduced new measures to locate where racing greyhounds reside after they have retired from racing.[25]
The main adoption organization in Britain is the Retired Greyhound Trust (RGT). Due to the high number of dogs going through the system each year the Greyhound Board of Great Britain (GBGB) set up the Retired Greyhound Trust (RGT) to re-home the greyhounds who have left or were unable to start racing. The RGT is a charity but is partly funded by the British Greyhound Racing Fund (BGRF), who gave funding of £1,700,000 in 2007 alone.[26]
In recent years the racing industry has made significant progress in establishing programs for the adoption of retired racers. Many race tracks have established their own adoption programs[27] in addition to actively cooperating with private adoption groups throughout the country.
There are also many independent organisations which find homes for retired Greyhounds. Several organizations, such as British Greyhounds Retired Database, Adopt-a-Greyhound and Greyhound Pets of America also exist to try to ensure that as many of the dogs as possible are adopted.
Not all retired greyhounds find homes and a large concern among welfare groups is the well being of racing greyhounds who do not make the grade. Racers who are not adopted upon their retirement may be put down or sold. There have been reports of greyhounds being sold to research labs, both as live subjects and as cadavers for students to practice upon. Liverpool University Animal Training School has stated that it receives the remains of dogs killed at Manchester's Belle Vue stadium.[28] A trainer in Lincolnshire was also exposed offering 'slow' dogs to the Liverpool school as live subjects.[29][30] Greyhounds have also been sent to unqualified euthanization specialists, such as a man in the North East of England has made his trade in destroying greyhounds with a bolt gun.[31]
A number of historical figures and celebrities have owned or raced greyhounds. Alexander the Great, Henry VIII and Prince Albert of Saxe Coburg Gothe all had greyhounds as companions.[32] More recently, Al Capone, Frank Sinatra, Vinnie Jones Freddie Flintoff and the comedian Dara Ó Briain, whose dog Snip Nua featured on BBC TV, have owned racing greyhounds.
The Welfare of Greyhounds - A Parliamentary Report