Greyhound Betting

Greyhound Betting - History - Betting Tips - Winners - Glossary

Greyhound History

Greyhounds during Renaissance

Greyhounds’ races chasing live rabbits became popular during the sixteenth century. Queen Elizabeth I of England had Thomas, Duke of Norfolk draw up rules judging competitive coursing. These rules established such things as the hare's head start and the ways in which the two greyhounds' speed, agility and concentration would be judged against each other. Winning was not necessarily, dependent on catching the hare. Often the hare escaped. Wagers were commonly placed on the racing greyhounds.

Greyhounds: Eighteen Century

The English Earl of Oxford created the first coursing club open to the public in 1776 at Swaffham in Norfolk. At this same time, horse racing went public as well and both sports became very popular with the public.. One of the most famous greyhounds of this century is Snowball, who won four cups and over thirty matches in his coursing career. In the eighteenth century breeders began to keep proper pedigrees of their dogs.

Greyhounds in the Nineteenth Century

The popularity of greyhound coursing in Britain increased greatly in the nineteenth century, as the Industrial Revolution gave the manufacturing classes the wealth and time to enjoy such activities, also, the expansion of rail made it easier to get to coursing events. Formal greyhound coursing meets reached their peak of popularity in the late 1800s. Some of these greyhound meets, such as the Waterloo Cup, are still held today.

Greyhounds in the Twentieth Century

Owen Patrick Smith opened the first greyhound track (circular in shape) in Emeryville, California. Six years later he owned 25 tracks around the nation, including one in Florida, Montana, and Oregon. Florida became the US capital of the sport after dog racing was introduced in 1922. The first track race in England opened in 1926. Greyhound racing became very popular with the working classes in America and Britain. Before long it spread to Ireland and Australia as well.

Greyhound racing has become one of the most popular spectator sports in America. Attendance at tracks was nearly 3.5 million in 1992. The largest track was Gulf Greyhound Park near Houston, with an average attendance of 5,000 for each of its 467 performances in 1992.

Greyhounds racing in America

During the decade of 20s and the next five there was an explosion in the number of tracks nationwide, as patrons were drawn in by the combination of gambling and the seemingly harmless spectacle of beautiful dogs out for a run. In the 1920s the International Greyhound Racing Association, was formed to regulate racing and try to control industry corruption. Its modern successor is the National Greyhound Association. All racing greyhounds today are registered with the NGA.

Greyhound racing reached its peak in the 1970s. Since then, growing public awareness of the mass killing of unwanted dogs and the inhumane conditions rampant in racing kennels has steadily undermined patronage at the track. So has growing competition from casinos, lotteries and other forms of gambling. Greyhound racing is a dying industry, but has continued to survive in part due to legislative handouts tracks have received across the country.

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