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With the new Millennium upon us, English author Michael Maguire takes a look back at 30 interesting and nostalgic facts about the Greyhound.                         

1*Black greyhounds were frowned upon during the early years of the sport as it was said they were more lightly built and ‘lacked bone.’

2*In the 1920s brindle dogs were favoured for racing and indeed the first winner of the English Greyhound Derby was a brindle. Entry Badge in 1927.

3*Mick The Miller’s trainer, Sidney Orton, was nicknamed ‘The Wizard.’

4*In England in 1014, the Forest Laws decreed that only noblemen could own and hunt with greyhounds.

5*Cigarette manufacturers Carreras were the first company to include cards devoted to greyhound racing in their UK packs. They appeared in their Black Cat brand in 1926.

6*In nineteenth century Britain the greyhound trainer would exercise his coursing dogs on horseback. It was not uncommon for them to cover 20 miles a day, with at least three miles being at the gallop.

7*Greyhound racing (as we know it today) began with the invention of the mechanical lure in 1912.

8*Mrs Billy Quinn was offered £10,000 for her fabulously fast dog Quare Times in 1946. She refused to sell the greyhound. A London house, in those days, could be purchased for £2,000.

9*W.F. Cody (Buffalo Bill) bought a greyhound dog and bitch during his visit to England in 1889 with his Wild West Show. Several pups from the resulting mating appear in the American Greyhound Stud Book.

10*It is believed that the name ‘greyhound’ stemmed from Anglo-Saxon words meaning ‘First grade of hounds’.

11*America pioneered the sport of greyhound racing (known as tracking) and proved it to be a practical proposition. England followed suit, albeit three years later.

12*The first greyhound bitch to win the English Derby was Greta Ranee in 1935.

13*In the 1950s it was discovered that most people who were allergic to dogs did not react badly to greyhounds. This is attributed to their sleek coat and uncommon skin type.

14*The first official greyhound track to open in America was at Tulsa in 1921.

15*In nineteenth century Britain powdered glass mixed with butter was a common remedy to clear greyhounds of roundworm.

16*Historians tell us that the dastardly King John of England (he of Magna Carta fame) would willingly accept greyhounds in lieu of taxes.

17*Although the first greyhound meeting took place in Australia in May 1927 the New South Wales government would not licence tracks for gambling. It was some time before betting on greyhounds was legalised and licences were granted.

18*Because greyhounds were bred to hunt by sight, they can see for a distance of over half-a-mile (one kilometre).

19*The greyhound (not dissimilar to how we know it today) was featured on the ostrich feathers found in the tomb of Tutankhamun.

20*One of the longest British races to have been run in a stadium was over 1,180 yards. This was at the English Catford track in 1948.

21*15,000 greyhounds were exported to Britain between 1940 and 1945.

22*The founding father of U.S greyhound racing was Owen Smith who organised a major race gathering in California in 1919.

23*After Mick The Miller’s death it was discovered by the taxidermist that the champion’s heart weighed one-and-a-half ounces more than normal for a racing greyhound. The Story

24*In 1993 a greyhound named Rhincrew Sean changed hands for £60,000.

 25*Master M’Grath, triple winner of the Waterloo Cup, was summoned to appear before Queen Victoria at Windsor Castle. The Story

 26*In the eighteenth century, Lord Orford, an English nobleman, carried out breeding experiments which included crossing a greyhound with a bulldog to increase stamina. Some of the greatest greyhounds (of today) can be traced back to Orford’s coursing bitch Czarina, who had bulldog blood in her veins.

27*The first triple dead heat ever recorded took place at Bayshore City, USA in 1939. Lags Rogo, White Sox and White Flash were inseparable as they crossed the line.

28*Yards were replaced by metres at British greyhound tracks in 1975.

  29*The shortest (British) odds ever given for a classic event were 10-1 on in a heat of the 1947 St Leger. The dog named Dante, justified its price by winning by fourteen lengths.

30*The late, great, comedy film actor W.C. Fields said in 1938, “I wouldn’t say the greyhound I wagered money on was a coward - but when it left the traps it got bitten by the hare.”

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