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Going to the dogs was once seen as a poor relation compared to a day at the races. But recently greyhound racing has undergone a transformation.

It started in earnest in the UK in 1926, after American Owen Patrick Smith had invented the mechanical hare which could lure dogs around the track. He’d come up with the idea 14 years earlier, hoping to stop the killing of jack rabbits.

Greyhounds are one of the oldest breeds of dog known to mankind, and are said to date back 4,000 years. They are referred to in the Bible and have been celebrated throughout history. They were the dog of the Pharaohs in Ancient Egypt, of rulers of Ancient Greece and of the landed gentry in England. So much so that for hundreds of years in Britain it was regarded as a crime for a peasant to own such an animal, since they were thought of as the sole property of the aristocracy.

During the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1533–1603) hare coursing rules were introduced. The winner of the race was the dog that caught a live hare and this was the first form of greyhound racing. The sport was quick to exploit the fact that spectators were keen to lay bets on the winning dog, and this quickly attracted bigger crowds to the meetings.

Modern greyhound racing began in the UK at the Belle Vue Stadium in Manchester on Saturday 24 July 1926. The first race was won by a dog called Mistley. The sport was an instant hit, with interest spanning the length and breadth of the British Isles. It appealed as much to lords and ladies as it did to the working classes. Leading up to the Second World War it was very much in vogue to be seen ‘at the dogs’. Some hounds, like Mick the Miller, became national superstars. There was a big boom period which lasted right through the 50s and into the 60s, but then high street bookmakers and televised broadcasts of live horseracing caused gate numbers at greyhound stadiums to drop.

During the late 1960s and 70s the sport went through a lean period, and by the time Ballyregan Bob set a world record of 32 consecutive wins in the 1980s, the sport had gone into decline. However, the tracks continued to invest in facilities and went on to benefit from the sport’s resurgence in the 1990s. Indeed, track-based greyhound racing is now a world away from that day in 1926 when it made its first appearance.

There are 26 venues across the country and according to the sport’s governing body it is still one of the most popular spectator sports, with over two million people a year going to watch the live races. The stadiums feature restaurants and bars, corporate entertainment facilities and private boxes, all geared to watching the athletes deliver an adrenaline-packed night out, and the greyhound still stands tall above other breeds. They are the fastest dogs, reaching a top speed of 45 mph compared to humans at 28mph. They are the leanest breed: they have the best vision and are able to see clearly for half a mile, and they are officially the fittest: with a larger heart, lungs and more red blood cells than other canine breeds. In the air, they also have a ‘double suspension gallop’ (to you and me it means they run more like a cheetah than a horse). Indeed greyhounds spend 80% of their time in the air. It’s as close to ‘flight’ as a land mammal can get.

For more information contact the Greyhound Board of Great Britain, at www.thedogs.co.uk