1920’s The Beginning

The mechanical lure or tin Hare was the game changer , designed by engineer Owen Patrick Smith. May 1920 seen its 1st race on an oval shaped track in Emeryville California, an instant hit with the public who witnessed what I still call majestic poetry in motion today.

The Feds closed he’s 1st track not long after opening, but within 6 years Smith had 25 tracks , Florida was popular, Oregon , Montana , he spent money on grandstands , maintenance for the tin hare , and Americans flocked it was for the working class.

“The road from Emeryville” is a book written by Paul c Hartwell in 1980.

Before long the pulse racing Hound sport would spread, July 1926 in Britain Manchester :Belle Vue was the 1st for them,a crowd of 1800 seen the 1st meeting kick off ,the track lasted nearly a century and closed around the same time as the global pandemic.

Belle Vue closure was a sad day for many who had fond memories , but the health of the greyhounds must come 1st , there were some damming reports ,as I will say many times throughout our journey ,in Australia we are on a mission permanently to make improvements and this along with government support are the two main factors of success these two ingredients must coincide for prosperity.

The 1st tracks in Ireland opened together Celtic park in April 1927 and in May the famous Shelbourne park in Dublin was born.

The English used the word Derby from horses and the Irish followed, the honour of winning the derby for greyhounds became the pinnacle of breeders and owners as Irish bred dogs would race in England and the two would battle for supremacy .

Writing this brings back memories of the great dog Moral Standards who won the English derby in 1994 undefeated throughout.

I purchased some pups from him , he had a few on ground in Australia, 30 years ago geez time goes like the hounds , fast !

Both Irish and English derby’s were worth 50000 pounds in 1994 .

Some old footage of Wimbledon hound stadium 1928-2017 would see huge crowds roar for the entire journey as the race reached its crescendo . Closed in 2017 demolished on my birthday in 2018 couldn’t they wait another day !

The new sport !

I really feel there is a glimmer of a resurgence in England similar to what we are experiencing in Australia but it takes dedication and much hard work , I’m probably wrong as the human is evolving down a different path let me know your thoughts , but to have 1 or 2 quality facilities anywhere in the world with health and safety paramount it can happen .

So we can see the pattern the 20’s it went boom next time we catch up Australia will be in spotlight how it began here and I’ll throw in the gimmick of Monkeys 🙈 as jockeys , yes it’s true !! Until next time Hounfrenz 💜