Greyhound Racing
A line of finely muscled specimens, each of them filling up their lungs with cool jets of air, waits in check. Tendons are stretched taut, lean muscles twitching in anticipation of an explosive burst of speed. This is the big leagues and these speed-demon showstoppers are going to raise hell when they are released from their cages. An unsuspecting observer may well pity the hare who zips along at a rate of knots, but punters know better. This is no hunt; it’s a blistering race for total domination. Which prized canine will be the victor? Which beast will be crowned the king of the track? This is Greyhound Racing and the action is piping hot.
Uncovering the mystery behind these lightning rods
Greyhound racing in the USA didn’t come about without a great deal of effort. Indeed it required a large amount of investment and some really nifty marketing to persuade people to set up the stadiums and tracks that were needed for this sport. During 1912 a man by the name of Mr. Patrick Smith was able to win over the right people and he set up an artificial lure system (for the rabbit/hare).
Indeed it was in the year 1910 that Smith patented his innovative device. This faulty system was a work-in-progress and was never going to win him points for reliability, but it was a breakthrough. By 1919 however, Patrick Smith was ready to showcase his innovation yet again – and this time several leading businessmen helped put funds together to make it work. The new track was located at Emeryville in the Golden State – California. This new device which Smith rigged up was motorized and it transported the lure on a wooden rail around the 3/16 mile-long track.
On Smith’s racing tracks there was accommodation for up to 6 Greyhounds to race simultaneously. The results were encouraging. Sports betting fans came streaming in by the thousand, and Greyhound Racing was to catch its first glimpse of stardom.
The trans-Atlantic journey is a runaway success
Whoever thought that the Brits wouldn’t enjoy seeing these hounds zipping across the grass at a furious pace was mistaken. The Greyhound Racing Association (1925) is responsible for the development of the sport in the UK. Patrick Smith sold rights to Charles Munn to allow him to provide the artificial lure system in England in the 1920s.
Today the Greyhound Board of Great Britain acts as the all-new governing authority for licensed Greyhound racing. A staggering amount of 3 million people enjoy attending Greyhound races in the UK and an unmitigated fortune of £2.5 billion is wagered on races each year. With that kind of firepower behind them, Greyhound Racing is a massive industry in the UK.
