Greyhound racing Greyhound racing is an organized, competitive sport in which greyhounds are raced around a track. There are two forms of greyhound racing, track racing (normally around an oval track) and coursing; the latter is now banned in most countries. Tr ...

is a popular sport in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...

. There are 17 stadiums operating in Ireland (two in Northern Ireland) of which nine are fully operated by Rásaíocht Con Éireann /

Greyhound Racing Ireland Greyhound Racing Ireland ( ga, Rásaíocht Con Éireann, formerly ga, Bord na gCon) is an Irish semi-state body charged with regulating and promoting Greyhound racing in Ireland. The organisation has been active in developing the sport in Irela ...

(formerly named Irish Greyhound Board IGB, ''Bord na gCon'') with the remaining six owned and operated by private enterprise but licensed by GRI. Most have modern facilities including grandstand restaurants and

parimutuel betting Parimutuel betting or pool betting is a betting system in which all bets of a particular type are placed together in a pool; taxes and the "house-take" or "vigorish" are deducted, and payoff odds are calculated by sharing the pool among all winnin ...

tote system with on-course and off-course betting available.

History

Greyhound racing as it is seen today evolved from a sport called

coursing Coursing by humans is the pursuit of game or other animals by dogs—chiefly greyhounds and other sighthounds—catching their prey by speed, running by sight, but not by scent. Coursing was a common hunting technique, practised by the nobility, ...

. In 1926 the oval form of racing arrived in Britain at

Belle Vue Stadium Belle Vue Stadium was a greyhound racing track in Belle Vue, Manchester, England, where the first race around an oval track in Britain was held on 24 July 1926. It has also been used for motorcycle speedway, as the home ground of Elite League ...

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The ...

which resulted in the creation of hundreds of tracks all over the United Kingdom and Ireland in the following ten years. The sport of greyhound racing in Ireland mainly takes place in the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. ...

but also in

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label=Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is #Descriptions, variously described as ...

. However, any tracks in Northern Ireland have always been in a regulatory limbo due to the fact that they are licensed neither by the

Greyhound Board of Great Britain The Greyhound Board of Great Britain (GBGB) is the organisation that governs licensed greyhound racing in Great Britain. It does not govern independent tracks or Northern Irish tracks and therefore has no jurisdiction over them. History It was f ...

(GBGB) nor

(named ''Bord na gCon'' until 2020). To confuse matters still further, the industry regards racing as either UK or Irish, the latter including Northern Ireland. Greyhound Racing Ireland provides all of the results from Northern Ireland. The vast majority of greyhounds running in the UK are bred in Ireland (95% in 2017). In recent years, the industry has come under scrutiny regarding the welfare of greyhounds, multiple newspaper articles have reported various stories primarily about the greyhounds that are bred and not used in racing and racing greyhounds after they retire from racing. This led to new legislation and the Irish government creating the Greyhound Racing Act 2019. The Rásaíocht Con Éireann are required to conduct a range of inspections under the Welfare of Greyhounds Act including a traceability system.

Stadiums

Clonmel Clonmel () is the county town and largest settlement of County Tipperary, Ireland. The town is noted in Irish history for its resistance to the Cromwellian army which sacked the towns of Drogheda and Wexford. With the exception of the townla ...

(Private) *

Cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...

(GRI) *

Derry Derry, officially Londonderry (), is the second-largest city in Northern Ireland and the fifth-largest city on the island of Ireland. The name ''Derry'' is an anglicisation of the Old Irish name (modern Irish: ) meaning 'oak grove'. The ...

(N Ireland) * Drumbo Park (N Ireland) *

Dundalk Dundalk ( ; ga, Dún Dealgan ), meaning "the fort of Dealgan", is the county town (the administrative centre) of County Louth, Ireland. The town is on the Castletown River, which flows into Dundalk Bay on the east coast of Ireland. It is h ...

(Private) *

Enniscorthy Enniscorthy () is the second-largest town in County Wexford, Ireland. At the 2016 census, the population of the town and environs was 11,381. The town is located on the picturesque River Slaney and in close proximity to the Blackstairs Mountain ...

(Private) *

Galway Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a City status in Ireland, city in the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lo ...

(GRI) *

Kilkenny Kilkenny (). is a city in County Kilkenny, Ireland. It is located in the South-East Region and in the province of Leinster. It is built on both banks of the River Nore. The 2016 census gave the total population of Kilkenny as 26,512. Kilken ...

(Private) *

Limerick Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2 ...

(GRI) *

Longford Longford () is the county town of County Longford in Ireland. It has a population of 10,008 according to the 2016 census. It is the biggest town in the county and about one third of the county's population lives there. Longford lies at the mee ...

(Private) *

Mullingar Mullingar ( ; ) is the county town of County Westmeath in Ireland. It is the third most populous town in the Midland Region, with a population of 20,928 in the 2016 census. The Counties of Meath and Westmeath Act 1543 proclaimed Westmeath ...

(GRI) * Newbridge (GRI) *

Shelbourne Park Shelbourne Park is a greyhound racing stadium in the south Dublin inner city suburb of Ringsend. Greyhound Racing Opening The plans to open a greyhound track in Dublin were drawn up by Paddy O’Donoghue, Jerry Collins, Patsy McAlinden and Ji ...

(GRI) *

Thurles Thurles (; ''Durlas Éile'') is a town in County Tipperary, Ireland. It is located in the civil parish of the same name in the barony of Eliogarty and in the ecclesiastical parish of Thurles. The cathedral church of the Roman Catholic Arc ...

(Private) *

Tralee Tralee ( ; ga, Trá Lí, ; formerly , meaning 'strand of the Lee River') is the county town of County Kerry in the south-west of Ireland. The town is on the northern side of the neck of the Dingle Peninsula, and is the largest town in Count ...

(GRI) *

Waterford "Waterford remains the untaken city" , mapsize = 220px , pushpin_map = Ireland#Europe , pushpin_map_caption = Location within Ireland##Location within Europe , pushpin_relief = 1 , coordinates ...

(GRI) *

Youghal Youghal ( ; ) is a seaside resort town in County Cork, Ireland. Located on the estuary of the River Blackwater, the town is a former military and economic centre. Located on the edge of a steep riverbank, the town has a long and narrow layout. ...

(GRI)

Competitions

There are many types of competitions in Ireland but the primary race is the Irish Greyhound Derby held at Shelbourne Park. Along with the English Greyhound Derby it is considered to be one of the "Big Two" in greyhound racing. Greyhound Racing Ireland publishes an annual list of feature events. Leading events include the Easter Cup, Champion Stakes, Cesarewitch, Oaks, Laurels and St Leger.

General information

Graded racing

This is any minor race staged at a track, with prize money varying widely. This kind of racing is the most common at the various stadia.

Racing jacket colours

Greyhound racing in Ireland has a standard colour scheme (the same as in the UK). * Trap 1 = Red with White numeral * Trap 2 = Blue with White numeral * Trap 3 = White with Black numeral * Trap 4 = Black with White numeral * Trap 5 = Orange with Black numeral * Trap 6 = Black & White Stripes with Red numeral A racing jacket worn by a reserve bears an additional letter 'R' shown prominently on each side.

References

External links

Greyhound Racing IrelandGreyhound Data
{{UK & Irish greyhound competitions