Greyhound racing is an organised, competitive sport in which greyhounds race on dedicated tracks. The modern track form of the sport developed from hare coursing[1] and uses a mechanically operated artificial lure (usually a form of windsock) that travels along a rail ahead of the dogs.[2] As with horse racing, greyhound races frequently involve parimutuel or bookmaker betting.
In many countries, greyhound racing is conducted at an amateur level. In other countries, particularly Australia, Ireland, the United Kingdom and the United States, it forms part of the commercial gambling industry.
Greyhound racing has faced sustained scrutiny from animal welfare organisations, prompting regulatory reforms and, in some jurisdictions, prohibitions on commercial racing.
History
Greyhound on a gallopGreyhound race in 1939
Modern greyhound racing has its origins in coursing.[3] The first recorded attempt at racing greyhounds on a straight track was made beside the Welsh Harp reservoir, Hendon, England, in 1876, but this experiment did not develop. The industry emerged in its recognisable modern form, featuring circular or oval tracks, with the invention of the mechanical, or artificial, hare in 1912 by an American, Owen Patrick Smith. Smith had altruistic aims for the industry to stop the killing of the jack rabbits and see "greyhound racing as we see horse racing".[4] In 1919, Smith opened the first professional dog-racing track with stands in Emeryville, California.[5] The Emeryville arena was torn down in February 1920 to make way for the construction of a modern racetrack using the mechanical lure, described in the press as the "automatic rabbit."[6] The first race at the new park was on Saturday, May 29, 1920.[7]
The oval track and mechanical hare were introduced to Britain, in 1926, by another American, Charles Munn, in association with Major Lyne-Dixson, a Canadian, who was a key figure in coursing. Finding other supporters proved rather difficult, however, and with the General Strike of 1926 looming, the two men scoured the country in an attempt to find others who would join them. Eventually they met Brigadier-General Critchley, who introduced them to Sir William Gentle.[1] Between them they raised £22,000, and like the American 'International Greyhound Racing Association' (or the I.G.R.A.), they launched the Greyhound Racing Association, holding the first British meeting at Manchester's Belle Vue Stadium. The industry was successful in cities and towns throughout the United Kingdom – by the end of 1927, there were forty tracks operating.[8][9]
Middle-class reformers were outraged,[10] and the working-class delighted, with the emergence in the late-1920s of Greyhound racing as an entertaining new sport and betting opportunity. At first it seemed modern, glamorous, and American, but the middle class lost interest when working-class audiences took over.[11][12] The working class appreciated the nearby urban locations of the tracks and the evening times of the meetings. Betting has always been a key ingredient of greyhound racing, both through on-course bookmakers and the totalisator, first introduced in 1930. Like horse racing, it is popular to bet on the greyhound races as a form of parimutuel betting.
By country
Greyhounds rounding a turn on a track
Commercial greyhound racing is characterised by several criteria (varying depending on country) and can include legalised gambling, the existence of a regulatory structure, the physical presence of racetracks, whether the host state or subdivision shares in any gambling proceeds, fees charged by host locations, the use of professional racing kennels, the number of dogs participating in races, the existence of an official racing code, and membership in a greyhound racing federation or trade association.[13]
In Australia, greyhound racing is regulated at the state and territory level. The Australian Capital Territory banned greyhound racing in 2018,[14] while in Tasmania, legislation providing for a staged phase-out passed the House of Assembly in 2025, with racing scheduled to end by 2029, subject to final parliamentary approval.[15] Australia has been described as having the largest remaining commercial greyhound racing industry in the world.[16]
China
Greyhound racing exhibitions were conducted at the Shanghai Wild Animal Park during the 2010s using imported Australian greyhounds.[17][18] Investigative reporting has also examined the export of Australian greyhounds to China in connection with underground racing and breeding operations.[19]
In September 2025, the Prohibition of Greyhound Racing (Wales) Bill was introduced to the Senedd.[25] Subsequent Welsh Government statements indicated that implementation would not be immediate, with Wales' only track expected to close between 2027 and 2030.[26]
United States
Ear tattoo on an American racing greyhound. Ear tattoos (along with microchips) are used for identification of greyhounds during their racing careers.
In the United States, greyhound racing is regulated at the state level. As of 2025, only two racetracks in West Virginia remain in operation.[27] Greyhound registration is administered by the National Greyhound Association (NGA),[28][29] while welfare and adoption initiatives are coordinated by the American Greyhound Council.[30]
Greyhound racing in New Zealand is administered by Greyhound Racing New Zealand (GRNZ) under the Racing Industry Act 2020.[31][32] On 10 December 2024, Minister for Racing,Winston Peters, announced that the sport was to be banned, citing animal welfare concerns.[33] The ban provides for a phased closure over 20 months to allow for the rehoming of an estimated 2,900 racing dogs, with the final race scheduled no later than July 2026.[34]
Defunct racing
Macau (China)
There was a greyhound track called the Canidrome located in Macau, China, which conducted racing from 1932 to 1938 and again from 1963 to 2018.[35]
Vietnam
There was formerly a greyhound racing track in Vietnam at the Lam Son Stadium in Vung Tau, Vietnam from 2000 to March 2023.[36][37]
Mexico
There was one greyhound racing track in Mexico, the Caliente Hipodrome in Tijuana, that hosted races from 1947 to July 14, 2024.[38]
Scotland
Scotland's last remaining track, Thornton Stadium in Fife, suspended operations in March 2025.[39] A Bill proposing the prohibition of greyhound racing was introduced to the Scottish Parliament later that year.[40]
Welfare
Animal welfare organisations have raised concerns regarding injury rates, breeding practices, euthanasia of injured or uncompetitive dogs, and post-racing traceability.
In recent years animal welfare organisations have raised concerns regarding injury rates, breeding practices, euthanasia of injured or uncompetitive dogs, and post-racing traceability, which had led to reforms, particularly in the United Kingdom with the Welfare of Racing Greyhounds Regulations 2010[41] and in NSW the Greyhound Racing Act 2017.[42]
Retirement
A greyhound's racing career typically ends between the ages of four and six[43] when the dog can no longer race or is not competitive. Selected stud dogs and brood bitches may be retained for breeding,[44] while others are rehomed through industry-associated and independent adoption organisations.
In the United Kingdom, the GBGB has introduced measures to record the post-racing location of greyhounds, with records publicly available since 2017.[45]
Approaches to the retirement and rehoming of racing greyhounds vary by jurisdiction. In the United Kingdom, the GBGB introduced the Greyhound Retirement Scheme in 2020, requiring licensed racing greyhounds to be registered with an approved Greyhound Retirement Scheme (GRS) homing centre after racing.[46][47] In the United States, where commercial greyhound racing has largely ceased, adoption organisations report high rehoming rates for retired racing greyhounds.[48]
Medical care
The medical care of a racing greyhound is primarily the responsibility of the trainer while in training. All tracks in the United Kingdom have to have a veterinary surgeon and veterinary room facilities on site during racing.[49] The greyhounds require microchipping, annual vaccinations against distemper, infectious canine hepatitis, parvovirus, leptospirosis, and a vaccination to minimise outbreaks of diseases such as kennel cough.[50] All greyhounds in the UK must pass a pre-race veterinary inspection before being allowed to take part in that race.[51]
The racing industry (in several countries) actively works to prevent the spread of doping cases. Attempts are being made to recover urine samples from all greyhounds in a race, not just the winners. Greyhounds from which samples cannot be obtained for a certain number of consecutive races are subject to being ruled off the track in some countries. Violators are subject to criminal penalties and loss of their racing licenses by state gaming commissions and a permanent ban from the NGA. 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.[50]
A series of research papers have indicated that the greyhound racing industry played an important role in the rise of drug-resistanthookworms. Greyhound farms tended to treat greyhounds with dewormers even when the dogs did not have an active infection, thus enabling worms, which are constantly exposed to drugs, to develop immunity against the drugs among the surviving worms. The rise of drug-resistant hookworms poses a threat to pets and humans more generally.[52]
↑Culpepper Clarke, Carlo F (1934). Greyhound and Greyhound Racing. Methuen & Co Ltd (London).
↑Ash, Edward C (1933). The Book of the Greyhound. Hutchinson & Co. Ltd (London).
↑Norman Baker, "Going to the Dogs—Hostility to Greyhound Racing in Britain: Puritanism, Socialism and Pragmaticism." Journal of Sport History 23.2 (1996): 97-119. Online
↑Mike Huggins, "Going to the dogs." History Today 56.5 (2006): 31+.
↑Daryl Leeworthy, "A diversion from the new leisure: greyhound racing, working-class culture, and the politics of unemployment in inter-war South Wales." Sport in History 32.1 (2012): 53-73.
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