Origin:
Greyhound racing descends from coursing (hunting with greyhounds). The first recorded greyhound racing took place in 1876, near the Welsh Harp reservoir, but the experiment did not have much success and did not develop until the 1920s, when greyhound racing, where dogs were raced on round or oval tracks and a mechanical hare was used instead of a real one, became popular in the United States. In 1926, greyhound racing was brought to the United Kingdom by Charles Munn, Brigadier-General Critchley and Major Lyne-Dixon, who was a key figure in coursing, who launched the Greyhound Racing Association and held the first meeting at Belle Vue, Manchester.
The sport quickly became very popular and by the end of 1927, forty tracks were operated throughout the UK. The audience of greyhound racing tracks was mainly composed of working-class males, who found the sport attractive and convenient because of urban location of the tracks and the evening times of the events. Betting was the main component of the sport from the very beginning. Bets could be made through on-course bookmakers and the totalisator, first introduce in 1930.
Greyhound racing enjoyed the peak of its popularity in the first years after the World War II. In 1946, 34 million people visited greyhound racing tracks. In 1960, a Betting and Gaming Act permitted off-course cash betting, which caused a serious decline in greyhound racing.
With the help of sponsorship, television broadcasts and the later abolition of on-course betting tax, greyhound racing preserved a small part of its former popularity and still can be found in many countries around the world.
Where can you find Greyhound Races?
The countries with the largest number of operative greyhound racing tracks are Australia, Ireland, United Kingdom, New Zealand and the United States, where greyhound racing tracks are located in 15 states: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Colorado, Connecticut, Iowa, Kansas, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Oregon, Rhode Island, Texas, West Virginia and Wisconsin. Greyhound racing tracks are lees popular, but also present at many European Countries (principally in Spain), Argentina, Brazil, Macau (China), Mexico, South Africa, Pakistan and Vietnam.
