Greyhound racing is very popular entertainment and for a corporate event it is a relaxed and informal way to spend an evening giving everyone an opportunity to ease up a little and to have some fun. You will find that everyone enjoys the atmosphere and most of your group will enjoy a bit of a flutter. This is a great team building activity that will suit the whole team.

Greyhound racing

Greyhound racing is the sport of racing greyhounds. The dogs chase a lure (an artificial hare or rabbit) on a track until they arrive at the finish line. The one that arrives first is the winner.

In many countries, greyhound racing is purely amateur and conducted for enjoyment. In other countries (particularly the US, UK, and Australia), greyhound racing is a popular form of parimutuel gambling, similar to horse racing. There is some popular concern in the latter countries regarding the well-being of the dogs; the effectiveness of industry efforts to address these concerns is controversial. A greyhound adoption movement has arisen to assist retired racing dogs in finding homes as pets.

History

Modern greyhound racing has its origins in coursing. The first recorded attempt at racing greyhounds on a straight track was made beside the Welsh Harp reservoir, Hendon in 1876, but this experiment did not develop. The sport emerged in its recognizable modern form, featuring circular or oval tracks, with the invention of the mechanical or artificial hare 1912 by Owen Patrick Smith. O.P. Smith had altruistic aims for the sport to stop the killing of the jack rabbits and see "greyhound race as we see horses".

The certificates system led way to parimutuel betting, as quarry and on-course gambling, in the United States during the 1920s. In 1926, armed with the Smith patents and a hand shake, it was introduced to Britain by an American, Charles Munn, in association with Major Lyne-Dixon, a key figure in coursing, and Brigadier-General Critchley. The deal went sour with Smith never hearing from Munn again. Like the American, International Greyhound Racing Association, the In.G.R.A. Munn and Critchley launched the Greyhound Racing Association, and held the first British meeting at Manchester's Belle Vue.

The sport was successful in cities and town throughout the U.K. - by the end of 1927, there were forty tracks operating. The sport was particularly attractive to predominantly male working-class audiences, for whom the urban locations of the tracks and the evening times of the meetings were accessible, and to patrons and owners from various social backgrounds. Betting has always been a key ingredient of greyhound racing, both through on-course bookmakers and the totalisator, first introduced in 1930. Like horse racing, it is popular to bet on the greyhound races as a form of parimutuel gambling.

Greyhound racing enjoyed its highest attendances just after the Second World War—for example, there were 34 million paying spectators in 1946. The sport experienced a decline from the early 1960s, when the 1960 Betting and Gaming Act permitted off-course cash betting, although sponsorship, limited television coverage, and the later abolition of on-course betting tax have partially offset this decline.

Greyhound racing today

Today greyhound racing continues in many countries around the world. The main greyhound racing and gambling countries are:

Treatment of racing dogs

Living Conditions
In the United States, greyhound racing is not governed by the Animal Welfare Act, so treatment of the dogs depends largely on the industry's self-regulation [2]. Kennels are indoor crates stacked two levels high, with the females usually kept on the upper level, and males on the lower level. While the space allocated to each dog varies between locations, typical crate size is 3-1/2 feet wide by 4 feet deep by 3 feet high. While living on the track these dogs will spend most of their time in these kennels.

In addition to state regulation, most tracks adopt their own rules, policies and procedures to ensure greyhound welfare. In exchange for the right to race their greyhounds at the track, kennel owners must sign contracts in which they agree to abide by all track rules, including those pertaining to animal welfare. If kennel owners violate these contract clauses, they stand to lose their track privileges and even their racing licenses.

In several European countries (Belgium, Denmark, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland) greyhound racing is carried out by the owners of the dogs without financial interest. This amateur form of the sport is also found in some countries, such as the United States, where professional racing exists. In these countries the dogs often live as pets.

In Australia
In Australia greyhounds live in kennels at night that meet guidelines set by The Greyhound Racing Authorities in Australia, and by day many greyhounds are put into running yards or day yards to keep them entertained and exercised. This is aimed to keep greyhounds as fit, happy, and healthy as possible.

Greyhounds are checked for parasites, malnourishment, or any other medical conditions by an on-course vet before being able to compete.

The Greyhound Racing Authorities in Australia regulates greyhound welfare and living conditions and all racing authorities in Australia finance Greyhound Adoption Groups, which house dozens of greyhounds a month.

In Great Britain
In the UK Greyhounds are not kept at the tracks and are instead housed in the kennels of private individuals, and transported to the tracks to race. Unfortunately this can sometimes leave the dogs exposed to substandard treatment from their owners. Dogs health and condition are checked at the track, and drugs tests are conducted to check for tampering with the dogs. Due to the high number of dogs going through the system each year the National Greyhound Racing Association have set up The Retired Greyhound Trust to rehome the Greyhounds who have left or were unable to start racing, it is a charity but is partly funded by the National Greyhound Racing Association and presents a better view of Greyhound racing to the public. There are also many independent organisations who do not agree with racing who are finding homes for retired Greyhounds.

Medical Care

In places that allow gambling on Greyhound racing the owners often treat the dogs as short-term investments. This often means that the care they receive is intended only to help them perform on the track, not for their long-term health. Greyhound adoption groups frequently report that the dogs from the tracks have tooth problems the cause of which is debated although it is likely related to either a low-quality raw meat diet or damage to the gums from chewing on metal cage bars. The groups often also find that the dogs carry tick-borne diseases and parasites due to the lack of proper preventative treatments. Due to the dense living conditions in the kennels, the dogs require regular vaccination to minimize outbreaks of diseases like kennel cough.

After the dogs are no longer able to race (generally, a greyhound's career will end by the age of three to five), owners either keep the dog for breeding or dispose of the dog. They will sometimes kill the ex-racing greyhounds if they do not want to go through the expense of finding the dogs homes. The ratio of dogs killed to those adopted is greatly debated. There is much debate between the racing industry and anti-racing activists about the quality of the dog's care making the exact details hard to determine.

Recently, doping has also emerged as a problem in Greyhound racing. The racing industry is actively working to prevent the spread of this practice; attempts are made to recover urine samples from all greyhounds in a race, not just the winners. Greyhounds from which samples can not be obtained for a certain number of consecutive races are subject to being ruled off the track. Violators are subject to criminal penalties and loss of their racing licenses by state gaming commissions and a permanent ban from the National Greyhound Association. The trainer of the greyhound is at all times the "absolute insurer" of the condition of the animal. The trainer is responsible for any positive test regardless of how the banned substance has entered the greyhound's system.

Several organizations, such as British Greyhounds Retired Database, Adopt-a-Greyhound and National Greyhound Adoption Program, try to ensure that as many of the dogs as possible are adopted. Some of these groups also advocate better treatment of the dogs while at the track and/or the end of racing for profit. In recent years the racing industry has made significant progress in establishing programs for the adoption of retired racers. In addition to actively cooperating with private adoption groups throughout the country, many race tracks have established their own adoption programs at various tracks.

In recent years, several state governments in the United States have passed legislation to improve the treatment of racing dogs in their juristiction. During the 1990's seven states banned live greyhound racing.

In venues where greyhound racing does not involve gambling, the dogs are almost invariably pets and are, therefore, generally well treated.

Doping (sport)
Doping drugs on display at The Olympic Museum in Lausanne, SwitzerlandIn sports, doping refers to the use of performance-enhancing drugs such as anabolic steroids, particularly those that are forbidden by the organizations that regulate competitions. Some doping substances, however, are permitted in low doses (alcohol and caffeine). Another form of doping is blood doping, either by blood transfusion or use of the hormone erythropoietin (EPO). Also considered "doping" by many is the use of substances that mask other forms of doping.

Currently, tetrahydrogestrinone (THG) and modafinil are causing controversy throughout the sporting world, with many high profile cases attracting major press coverage as prominent United States athletes have tested positive for these doping substances. Some athletes who were found to have used modafinil protested as the drug was not on the prohibited list at the time of their offence; however, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) maintains it is a substance related to those already banned, so the decisions stand. Modafinil was added to the list of prohibited substances on August 3, 2004, ten days before the start of the 2004 Summer Olympics.

In recent years, gene doping has been reported as being an emerging form of doping. Gene doping would be very difficult to detect and when used it will last for many years.

Reaction from sports organizations
The International Amateur Athletic Federation, now the International Association of Athletics Federations, were the first international governing body of sport to take the situation seriously. In 1928 they banned participants from doping, but with little in the way of testing available they had to rely on the word of the athlete that they were clean.

It was not until 1966 that FIFA (soccer) and Union Cycliste Internationale (cycling) joined the IAAF in the fight against drugs, closely followed by the International Olympic Committee the following year.

Progression in pharmacology has always outstripped the ability of sports federations to implement rigorous testing procedures but since the creation of the World Anti-Doping Agency in 1999 more and more athletes are being caught.

The first tests for athletes were at the 1966 European Championships and two years later the IOC implemented their first drug tests at both the Summer and Winter Olympics. Anabolic steroids became prevalent during the 1970s and after a method of detection was found they were added to the IOC's prohibited substances list in 1976.

A handful of commentators maintain that as outright prevention of doping is an impossibility, and that all doping should be legalised. However, most disagree with this assertion, pointing out the harmful long-term effects of many doping agents. With doping legal, all competitive athletes would be compelled to use drugs, the net effect would be a level playing field but with widespread health consequences.

Another point of view is that doping could be legalized to some extent using a drug whitelist and medical counseling, such that medical safety is ensured, with all usage published. However, under such a system, it is likely that athletes would cheat by exceeding official limits to try to gain an advantage, policing such a system would be as difficult as policing a total ban on performance enhancing drugs.

Notable drug scandals and use in professional sport
The first recorded attempt to enhance performance occurred as early as the 8th century BC, when Ancient Greek Olympians ate sheep's testicles; today we would recognize these as a source of testosterone.
As early as the late 19th century professional cyclists were using substances like caffeine, cocaine and ether-coated sugar cubes to improve performance, reduce pain and delay fatigue.

In the 1904 Olympics, Thomas Hicks (USA) won the marathon at St. Louis and collapsed. It took hours to revive him; he had taken brandy mixed with strychnine to help him win his gold medal.
Nazi Germany athletes were rumored to use the first rudimentary testosterone preparations in the 1936 Summer Olympics.
World Weightlifting Championships of 1954 was the first unconfirmed testosterone injections by Soviet Athletes doping attempt ending in the Soviets winning the gold medal in most weight classes and breaking several world records.
In early 1960s Dr. John Ziegler (who was the US Team Coach in the 1954 Soviet-dominated World Weightlifting Championships) administered his weightlifters Dianabol tablets and the US dominated the 1962 World Championships.
In 1965 Dutch swimmers used stimulants.[citation needed]
During the 1967 Tour de France, Tom Simpson collapsed during the ascent of the Mont Ventoux. Despite mouth-to-mouth resuscitation and the administration of oxygen, plus a helicopter airlift to a nearby hospital, Simpson died. Two tubes of amphetamines and a further empty tube were found in the rear pocket of his racing jersey.

A famous case of illicit drug use in a competition was Canadian Ben Johnson's victory in the 100 m at the 1988 Summer Olympics. He subsequently failed the drug test when stanozolol was found in his urine. He later admitted to using the steroid as well as Dianabol, Cypionate, Furazabol, and human growth hormone amongst other things. Carl Lewis was then promoted one place to take the Olympic gold title. Later it was revealed that he also had been using drugs.
In the 1970s and 1980s, many athletes from Eastern bloc nations were suspected to be augmenting their ability with some kind of pharmacological help. After the fall of communism in Eastern Europe and the reunification of Germany, documents surfaced proving that the East German sport establishment had conducted systematic doping of virtually all of its world-class athletes.

In 1998 the entire Festina team were excluded from the Tour de France following the discovery of a team car containing large amounts of various performance-enhancing drugs. The team director later admitted that some of the cyclists were routinely given banned substances. Six other teams pulled out in protest including Dutch team TVM who left the tour still being questioned by the police. The Festina scandal overshadowed cyclist Marco Pantani's tour win, but he himself later failed a test. More recently David Millar, the 2003 World-Time Trial Champion, admitted using EPO, and was stripped of his title and suspended for two years. Still later, Roberto Heras was stripped of his victory in the 2005 Vuelta a España and suspended for two years after testing positive for EPO.

In July 2005, founders of California's Bay Area Laboratory Co-operative pleaded guilty to steroid distribution and money laundering. Those implicated or accused in the ensuing scandal include athletes Dwain Chambers, C.J. Hunter, Marion Jones and Tim Montgomery, baseball players Barry Bonds, Jason Giambi and Gary Sheffield, and several members of the Oakland Raiders.
At the 2006 Winter Olympics, Walter Mayer fled from the police when, acting on a tip, the Italian authorities conducted a surprise raid to search for evidence of doping.

The 2006 book Game of Shadows alleges extensive use of several types of steroids and growth hormone by baseball superstar Barry Bonds, and also names several other athletes as drug cheats.
In 2006, Spanish police arrested five people, including the sporting director of the Liberty Seguros cycling team, on charges of running a massive doping scheme involving most of the team and many other top cyclists. Several potential contenders in the 2006 Tour de France were forced to withdraw when they were linked to the scheme. For more details, see Operación Puerto doping case.

Less than a week after the 2006 Tour de France it was revealed that winner Floyd Landis had tested positive for an elevated testosterone/epitestosterone ratio (with normal levels of testosterone and deficient levels of epitestosterone) after his stunning stage 17 victory. Secondary tests have also confirmed the preliminary findings of deficient levels of epitestosterone resulting in a skewed T/E ratio, and a decision to strip him of the title is currently pending.
On July 29, another American champion failed a drug test - Olympic and world 100-meter champion Justin Gatlin.