GREYHOUND RACING.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIV, Issue 19736, 8 September 1927, Page 17

GREYHOUND RACING.

ELECTRIC HARE IN LONDON.

aspects on the new sport

WORK FOR THE " OLD FIRMS."

[FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.] LONDON, July 26. Some 40,(XX) Londoners go to see the dog-racing three times a week. It has been given a .name —"the poor man's sport." As the great majority of the people pay only Is 2d for their stand jn the great amphitheatre, the name is , pot inappropriate. It is an entirely new ' gport for London and it merits some critical analysis. In the first place, the racing has been made possible because of the "electric hare." The element of cruelty has thus been eliminated and the approval of the general public has been obtained for the sport itself. In spite of this, however, at Bradford last %veek the Wesleyan Conference "roundly condemned greyhound racing, the totalisator, Sunday games and a variety of other diversions." Greyhound racing was put first, but perhaps the Yorkshire ministers have a different idea of the racing. So far as one can judge, each dog does its very best from first to last. The race is certainly exciting and is a fine sight. Why, then, is greyhound racing roundly condemned by the virtuous ones sitting in conference at Bradford? A visit to the stadium at the White City assists one to understand. The "Old Firms" at Work. gjn a pleasant- summer evening these 40,000 people might be distributed over the many /Open playing-fields of London and suburbs with, space and to spare and seats for the modest price of twopence. They prefer to stand packed tier after tier, crushed and jostled by 'their- neighbours. There is a cry of "They're off!" the six lean beasts flash past and in 30 seconds the race is over. Then there are 20 minutes to wait for the next flash. No, there must be some further attraction beyond the race, itself to draw these 40,000 people together—there were 50,000 when the Prince of Wales and Prince George visited the arena the other night. Studded all over that sea of human heads are little notice boards. There are hundreds of them. They proclaim many "old firms"—Steve Johnson, Joe Hyams, Jim Rivers —and beneath the notice board Steve,- Joe and Jim lay the odds for the benefit of their patrons. The whole of the arena is green turf. The outer circle of the course, which has wire netting on each side of it, measures about 500 yards. Low down on the outer rim is a wooden wall on which is affixed the electrified rails. From these rails a rod protrudes and is fixed to the stuffed hare. The latter is mounted on a single pneumatic-tyred wheel. The rails are covered by a wooden shelter. Procession and Race. Beforo each race there is a solemn procession. Each greyhound, clad in a coloured coat, is led out by an attendant wearing a white dust-coat and black "bowler." They parade in single file all round the course, so that the carriage and lines of the competing animals may be studied by the prospective oackers. The procession completed, the dogs are placed m their trapdoor kennels in accordance with their handicaps. The hare appears on 'the course and makes a solitary revolution of it. This is to work up speed. It hashes past the kennels, the trapdoors are raised at the same moment flnri the dogs dash out. As is the case m numan racing, the dog which gets tiie lead on the inner side of the course holds an advantage. Sometimes they swing outward at the curves and lose this advantage. It is for the officer actuating the electric power to keep the hare, well ahead of the pack. In most races the hare appears to be about 30 yards in front. In the case of the hurdle races the hare passes through a trapdoor at the bottom of each hurdle and this closes behind it before tiie dogs have an opportunity of following. They perforce must clear the hurdle. A Series of Fiascos.

It is all very exciting and interesting ■while it lasts, but the times for the 525 yards flat racing are in the region of 31 seconds, so the excitement is not prolonged. At the end of the race the .haro disappears through a trapdoor at the side of the track and the dogs smell round, thoroughly disappointed. One may well inquire whether the dogs which race often will not some day realise how they are being deceived and refuse to chase a stuffed toy. So far they seem to be satisfied. But there have been accidents. One day last week two dogs raced neck and neck down the finishing straight, when they lost sight of the hare, which was exceeding its speed limit. One dog stopped some distance from the finishing line. The other went on to within a few inches of the line and there stopped. The race had to be rerun. On the same day at Hull the hare met with some mishap in one race and in another a dog ran in the reverse direction, met the oncoming hare and was injured. A race at Manchester, too had to be rerun owing to the dogs fighting.