Its not well supported. Ive been going for about 20yrs. Nowadays, the "other breeds" usually outweigh the Afghans. Never any betting of course, but then the tracks wont allow their use because they cannot profit from it and they MUST be operated by trained people. Its great fun, dogs love it.

It wouldn't work as the thousands of trainers are in it for the money, there is the odd one that does it for fun but they are the small man with just a couple of more pet type dogs.
They couldn't afford to have all these greyhounds there and pay to take them to races if there was not an income coming back from the winnings etc etc. The majority of People who go to watch greyhound racing go because they want to bet and gamble not because they are interested in the welfare of the greyhounds. They simply wouldn't go anymore if they couldn't bet.
Greyhound race tracks need looking at too as the bends, especially the first one sees most accidents and injuries which are often serious. These dogs collide at speeds of around 40mphor more on these bends so you can imagine a what sort of awful injuries they sustain. Good trainers will get them treated by a vet if they survive, but the other trainers won't.
A few race tracks have already shut down (thank goodness) because there was not enough people gambling their money on the dogs to sustain the upkeep.

Daft idea, If your idea went ahead what do you think would happen to the greyhounds that trainers have now, nice homes, rescue spaces or more likely a bolt gun to their heads.

I also have mixed feelings about dog racing. I believe there are some good tracks and trainers, but there are also a lot of bad (as in all of the dog world), but a lot of Greyhounds are bred for racing, and most of them will end up in rescues eventually, and some even killed when they retire. But does anyone ever ask what happens to horses when they retire?
And if we banned racing in the UK, USA, etc, would breeding stop, or would they be exported to countries where welfare standards are not so high? Perhaps we could tighten up on regulation of this sport.
I have a retired racer, and I don't feel that he has ever been mistreated. I also have a Lurcher, who was probably bred for a now illegal sport, who was abandoned. Which is worse?
I would like to live in a perfect world where animals do not suffer at the hands of man, but sadly, were are a long way off that, and I do believe there are a lot more abuses deserving of our attention.

woah, such a mixed bag of responses. i get that some places may treat the dogs bad and that is terrible but some places are really nice to the dogs.

just look at them brushing their teeth!

I know there are a few people round here who do it for fun with their terriers. They did a display at devon county and got loads of people with dogs to join in, including an unruly pug who just ran around in circles barking like a loon

That video is NOT done at a trainers yard it is one of the many RGT rescue/ rehoming kennels around the country like the one I work with, they do not get that sort of attention and treatment in the majority of training kennels.
The lucky few greyhounds who get into rescue will have their teeth cleaned and the rotton ones extracted before they go to their new homes. But you should see the state the majority of their mouths are in when they arrive at the rescue.
As I said before there are a few good trainers out there and I know a couple personally who look after their dogs well. But the sickening cruelty of the greyhound world is beyond belief.

I don't think it is a daft idea at all if people never came up with alternative ideas bad practices would remain .

First you think of ways to change things for the better then you look at how they can be implemented maybe by phasing them in gradually.

Hi Sam I think the response is typical for this subject when discussed on a forum , but then you may be new to forums . Did you expect otherwise?


ETA Sam it would be lovely to see photographs of your Italian Greyhounds ,a lovely breed not often seen these days,

Fair enough, so how would you gradually change greyhound racing, where would you start.