Greyhound Racing: Background information when reading Warlight

Greyhound Racing

This article relates to Warlight

In Michael Ondaatje's novel Warlight, the narrator assists with "importing a dubious population of unregistered foreign dogs" into England for the sport of dog racing.

Modern dog racing is an outgrowth of an older sport called "coursing," in which dogs hunt game by sight instead of using their sense of smell (hounds as a category are dogs bred to hunt and they generally fall into two categories – sight and scent). Two dogs are raced at a time pursuing one hare and are judged by not only their speed and success in catching the hare, but their ability to turn it, trip it, and kill it. This type of racing, first described by the Greek historian Arrian in 15 CE, became immensely popular in England, Ireland and Scotland during the 16th century. The first known set of rules for coursing – "The Laws of the Leash" – was drawn up by Thomas Howard, Duke of Norfolk, and the first known coursing club was established in 1776 in the market town of Swaffham in Norfolk.

Dog racing as we know it, where a mechanical lure is chased around an oval track, originated in the United States. Owen Patrick Smith invented the lure and held a demonstration in Emeryville, California in 1919, opening a full-time track later that year. The sport was exported to England in 1926 when the first oval track opened at Belle Vue, Manchester; it quickly became more popular in the UK than in the United States. Greyhound racing began to fade in the 1960s as other forms of entertainment such as television became more popular.

The greyhound is generally used in track racing. Bred for its keen eyesight and ability to chase prey over short distances, it is the fastest canine on the planet, able to reach speeds of 45 MPH. Its narrow, aerodynamic skull, lean build and the shock-absorbing pads on its feet all contribute to its racing ability. Greyhounds have an average lifespan of 10-12 years, although track dogs generally retire from racing after four to six years, at which point they are usually either put out to stud or adopted. Affectionate, even-tempered, quiet and intelligent, they make great pets as well as great racers.

Groups such as People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) have lobbied for shutting down dog tracks out of concern for the treatment of the canines. Although conditions have improved dramatically since racing's heyday and many dogs (90%-95%) are adopted after they retire, PETA claims many more don't make it to retirement due to illnesses or injuries that result in euthanasia at a young age. Among other issues, greyhounds are not particularly robust and often break leg bones or spines during their racing careers. They also have difficulty with temperature extremes because of their lack of body fat and may suffer from heatstroke in summer and frostbite in winter. PETA further states that dogs may spend up to 20 hours a day muzzled in small cages and are often subjected to drugging to improve their performance (e.g., female dogs are injected with steroids to keep them from going into heat). The organization's website goes into gruesome detail about other more specific abuses they've encountered in recent years.

Today there are fewer than 25 tracks remaining in in the UK attracting a little under two million visitors annually. Although momentum continues to grow for shutting down dog tracks, the sport has actually seen something of a resurgence in recent years due to online gambling. According to onlinebetting.com.uk, in the UK today "more money is bet on the dogs than at any time in history with over £2.6 billion staked annually on over 70,000 races that support over 7,000 jobs directly." Greyhound racing is legal in Australia, New Zealand and Ireland. In South Africa it takes place but is not legal, and in Argentina it was banned in 2016. In America, dog racing is legal in ten states.

Update: In November 2018, a vote to amend the Florida constitution so as to ban dog racing in the state passed by 69%.

Filed under Cultural Curiosities

This "beyond the book article" relates to Warlight. It originally ran in June 2018 and has been updated for the April 2019 paperback edition. Go to magazine.