Greyhound Racing 1:
Origins in Coursing
Greyhound racing originated in an ancient sport called coursing, in which a dog chases a game animal. Scenes of what appear to be coursing have been found on Egyptian tombs dating back to before 2500 BC and the dogs depicted look very much like modern greyhounds.
The greyhound is an exceptional hunting dog because of its speed and vision. Unlike most hunting dogs, the greyhound doesn't have an acute sense of smell. Instead of scenting quarry, it tends to chase moving objects, which it can spot at long distances, and it can run up to 45 miles an hour in its pursuit.
In Medieval England, commoners were forbidden to own greyhounds, so the dog became a symbol of high status. The dogs roamed freely through the grounds and palaces of nobility, catching and killing rodents.
Originally, coursing was a sport that exhibited a single dog's skill in sighting and catching a game animal. During the 16th century, though, it became a competitive sport, with two dogs matched against one another in a race for the game. The owners of the dogs usually had a sizeable bet on the result and, at some coursing races, spectators also gathered and placed side bets on one dog or the other.
The first official coursing meet was held in 1776 at Swaffham, Norfolk, England. The rules of the Swaffham Coursing Society specified that only two greyhounds were to course a single hare and that the hare was to be given a head start of 240 yards.
In 1837, the Waterloo Cup Meet was established as a coursing tournament for greyhounds, and it's been run annually ever since then. During the late 19th century, the meet drew crowds of up to 75,000.
Greyhound racing with an artificial lure was introduced at Hendon, England, on Sept. 11, 1876. Six dogs raced over a 400-yard straight course, chasing an artificial hare riding on "an apparatus like a skate on wheels" along a single track, according to a newspaper account.
Dubbed "coursing by proxy," the race drew little interest and the idea was abandoned. But it was revived 31 years later in the United States.