Everything to Know About Greyhound Racing

Greyhound racing is one of the oldest-known sports on our planet as its roots date back to 1876. Over the years, both British and American enthusiasts managed to put their focus on this sport a lot which is why it reached high popularity levels in such a short period.

One interesting fact about it is that just after WWII, the UK had recorded its highest attendance in greyhound racing as the number of annual visitors exceeded 75 million in 1946. These days, greyhound racing remains a popular sport and many sports fans are willing to learn a thing or two about these races, which is exactly what we are going to help them with.

Greyhounds are the Fastest Dog Breeds

Many people wonder why are greyhounds specifically used for these races? After all, there are countless dog breeds – Labrador, Golden Retriever, German Shepherd, Boxer, and so on. The answer is that greyhounds are by far the fastest dog breed on the planet.

Statistics show that an average greyhound’s speed is around 45mph, which is quite impressive. Just to compare, the world’s fastest man, Usain Bolt, was running at a speed of 27mph when he broke the 100m world record (9.58 seconds). As you can see, that’s almost twice as fast as him, meaning that these dogs are thunderous.

Their muscular legs and slender build is what makes them born for running and hence, the best choice for these races.

The Most Popular Greyhound Races

As we mentioned earlier, there are tons of greyhound races that take place throughout the world. Some of the most popular races and events that you should always keep an eye out for are the East Anglian Derby, English Oaks, Scottish Deby, English Greyhound Derby, Irish Greyhound Derby and National Sprint.

All of these events are known for having massive prize pools, are highly attended and since the odds in these races are always great, punters are more than happy to throw in a wager or two. Out of all these races, the English Greyhound Derby is the most prestigious event on the calendar.

The winner carries a winning purse of £100,000 and it is run between April and May at Colwick Park in Nottingham.

Greyhound Racing is Popular In The Betting Industry

Speaking of throwing in a wager or two on these races, it is worth sharing the fact that the betting industry and greyhound racing have gone side by side for as long as we can remember. Punters have always been fond of placing bets on the games due to the fact that the races are highly unpredictable and hence, the odds are always fantastic.

Back in the day, the only option was to either bet the races on-site or visit brick-and-mortar sportsbooks and wager on the races there. But thanks to recent technological advancements, all of that has changed. In the past 5 years, online sportsbooks began taking the centre stage and millions of betting fans from around the world are now fonder of placing bets online.

To be honest, online sportsbooks have a wider coverage of greyhound racing and thanks to the fact that they offer bonuses and promotions to players, they are highly likely to end up with higher rewards. All it takes for players to gain access to these sportsbooks is to open their official website and register an account. The process doesn’t last more than 2-3 minutes.

Participants Are Subject To Doping Tests

Each sports competition has an independent testing agency that randomly tests athletes for doping. That way, organizations will make sure that they are clean and have no illegal disadvantage over other competitors. This is especially important in individual sports such as MMA.

Let’s take the UFC as an example. The UFC has partnered with USADA, a non-profit US anti-doping agency that just randomly shows up at fighters’ homes and decides to test them. Many fighters have stated that the agency teams often come at the most unpleasant time – 4 am in the morning, during family gatherings, etc.

Well, the case is the same with greyhound racing. The dogs, just like any other athlete, are regularly tested to see whether they use performance-enhancing drugs. After all, millions of dollars are at stake with each race and that is why everyone must make sure that the playing field is levelled.

Greyhounds Have a Short Career Span

Finally, it is worth noting as the only dog breed that is mentioned in the Bible, greyhounds have a very short professional career. They usually begin racing when they are 18 months old and they end their career at 4 to 6 years old.

However, that doesn’t mean that their obligations stop there. Upon retiring, the best greyhound dogs are often used for breeding and in many cases, they are adopted as home pets.