There was a time when greyhound racing was the most popular sport in the United Kingdom.
At its height, millions of people would go to see the sport over the course of the year. In 1946, for example, more than £196 million was taken in bets on the totalisator, suggesting that around 75 million will have attended races.
The sport’s popularity began to die out when the likes of football became the main sport of the country, whilst the fact that punters could play the lottery or place bets online began to mean that the need to go to a greyhound track reduced.
Now the sport seems to be growing again, but the question is why.
Greyhound Races Increasing
The number of greyhound races has been on the rise in the United Kingdom in recent times, which is obviously seen as a good thing by those involved in the industry. The question for many is why that is the case, with Greyhound Rescue Wales believing that it is largely due to the fact that more people are streaming races in order to bet on them.
Valley Stadium is the only greyhound racing track in Wales, gaining a licence last year. Based in Hengoed, Rhymney Valley, it held 42 races in the November of 2023 but saw 168 races taking place in the October of 2024, less than a year later, which is a huge jump.
The Hidden Cost of Greyhound Racing: What Happens to Unwanted Irish Greyhounds?
This video is just one example.
There’s a lot more to the industry than what you see at your “night at the races.”
Every year, thousands of Irish greyhounds, deemed “unfit” or “too slow” for… pic.twitter.com/OSj6ipjzvf
— Richie 🇵🇸🔻 (@RichieDuprey_) December 5, 2024
The Greyhound Board of Great Britain believes that it is due to the fact that the track was given a licence in August last year, meaning that more races could take place with formal safeguards and increases welfare measures in place. The GBGB said that Valley Stadium boasted a ‘strong, local core of racing enthusiasts who appreciate and enjoy the sport and, importantly, value the measures now in place to protect welfare’.
With a vet on-site at all times as well as a national network of experts in place to offer advice and visit the residential kennels of trainers, the sports now offers the ‘highest standard’ of welfare and integrity.
Is it Just About Betting?
The Chief Executive of Greyhound Rescue Wales, Tim Doyle, is of the belief that the main reason Valley Stadium has so many races is in order to ‘serve live-streaming contracts’. He said, “A lot of people have this rose-tinted view of greyhound racing as a night out at the dogs, that the tracks are packed with people of an evening.
That’s not really where the majority of business is coming from”. Given the fact that the industry has been in decline for the last 20 years or so, critics like Doyle are disappointed that streaming and the desire to gamble on the outcome of races is allowing it to continue ‘clinging on’ instead of dying off.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the Greyhound Board of Great Britain disagrees. A spokesperson said that the high standards put in place for the welfare of the dogs taking part in races was why they are ‘proud to uphold that British licensed greyhound racing remains a popular product of choice for broadcasters here and globally – something which… contributes £166 million to the British economy’.
It is probably the final point that means that little will happen to see greyhound racing return to its previous decline any time soon. After all, money is what makes the world go around and that is as true in sport as it is in political elections and the like.
Should Greyhound Racing be Banned Altogether?
A petition was put forward in Wales asking for signatures to support a ‘gradual end’ to the sport in the country, as well as a Senedd committee looking at the subject. It garnered 35,000 signatures at the same time that a petition in support of greyhound racing gained 10,000 signatures.
Part of the reason why so many people are against it is that dogs can die from running, whilst re-homing them after their race is run is becoming increasingly difficult. From the Cost of Living crisis through to fears over the rising costs of going to the vets, fewer and fewer people are willing to take on a rescue greyhound that has spent its life racing.
New Zealand has banned greyhound racing!!!!
This is great news.
— Windsor Beaver (@windsorbeaver.bsky.social) 10 December 2024 at 02:34
There are many in Wales who are hoping that the country will follow in the footsteps of New Zealand. On the tenth of December 2024, it emerged that the country was going to introduce a complete ban on greyhound racing. The ‘wind down’ on the sport will begin over the next 20 months, with dogs being re-homed and workers transitioned into other jobs.
The sport has long been criticised in the country and the steps to ban it came in after an ‘unacceptably high’ rate of injuries were flagged up. Whilst it would be nice to think that other countries might follow suit, the likelihood is that New Zealand will be an outlier rather than a flag-bearer.