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History
Greyhound racing has long been known as the sport of the
common man in the UK but it was originally a noble pastime;
in 1041 King Canute of England established the Forest
Laws which decreed that only noblemen could own and hunt
with greyhounds. The ensuing establishment of racing the dogs
was confined to their eyes only. In fact, this lithe, silhouetted
dog has been admired for its athleticism and grace for centuries;
pictures of the early greyhound are etched onto the walls
of ancient Egyptian tombs and the pharaohs considered them
foremost among animals as pets and hunters. Later, the Arabs
were so enamoured with the dog that they allowed them to share
their tents and ride on their camels - indeed, the birth of
a greyhound was considered second in importance only to the
birth of a son!
Greyhound racing involves several of these highly athletic
dogs chasing a mechanical hare around a track with people
betting on the outcome. The first greyhound racing stadium
was actually situated in California, USA, and opened in 1912
but it wasn't long after this that the sport developed in
earnest in the UK. The first custom built stadium, Belle
Vue, opened in 1926 and was situated in the northern city
of Manchester - chosen because of its sporting and
gambling connections. By June the next year it was attracting
70,000 punters a week and a stadium opened in West London
in White City to capitalise on the interest - by the
end of 1927 there were 100,000 people attending the weekly
meetings.
Boom and bust
The racing heyday continued until the 1960s when high street
bookmakers and live televised broadcasts of horse racing caused
a steep drop in interest in the sport. Although London's most
famous stadium, Walthamstow (iconicised on the front
cover of the band Blur's album Parklife), is still
going strong and a slight resurgence in the popularity, the
sport is still going through the doldrums; just recently,
in November 2003 Catford Stadium in London became the
latest track to close down.
Going 'down the dogs' today
Nevertheless, 'going down the dogs' is still a popular pastime
at Walthamstow and for just a few pounds in the popular enclosure
and a little more for the main enclosure throughout the week
you can have an evening of small time gambling (you can bet
at little as 20p, that's about $0.30), drinking and good old
English fare like fish n' chips - one of the capital's cheapest
nights out.
A sport of cruelty?
Like many sports involving animals, there are widespread allegations
of cruelty and mis-treatment of the dogs involved by their
owners, some of whom drug and underfeed the dogs to improve
their performance. The industry itself does little to safeguard
the welfare of the individual animals.
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