Greyhound Owners

Greyhound racing as a spectator sport is exciting, sociable and plain good fun.

If you get carried away when you go once a year for an office party or hen night and have your £5 'on the dog wearing the stripey coat' imagine how that feeling is magnified if you actually own that dog? You walk him most Sundays at his kennels, you know his favourite food, his dislikes and have watched him progress through the ranks at your track. You probably know most of the dogs and owners in his race and might even stand to win a memento for your mantlepeice should he win. Win, lose or draw - well dead heat - you will feel the thrill of having your pride and joy step out on to the track, having your name in the racecard and shouting Fred or Spot round the first bend.

If you are new to the thrill of ownership then this is the section for you - Find out if ownership is for you, learn your responsibility, find out how to get involved from choosing your trainer to registering your greyhound to changing his name.

Droopys Marco - Scottish Derby winner 2005

Ericas Equity - duel TV Trophy winner with Hannah and Tom Ryan

SO YOU WANT A RACING GREYHOUND...

If horse racing is known as the 'Sport of Kings', then greyhound racing is the 'Sport for Everyone'.

While there are some similarities there are many differences between owning a greyhound or a racehorse. Price is a fundamental one - relatively few people could afford the initial outlay and training cost for a racehorse - whereas most people could easily afford to get involved in greyhound ownership - and SYNDICATES where you share the costs and also have a ready made sociable fan base for your greyhound are increasingly popular.

Unlike a racehorse which will run at a variety of tracks across the country most greyhounds are known as GRADERS and will run at just one track throughout their racing career. This is because most greyhound trainers are 'attached' to a specific track - they are contracted to provide greyhounds so that every race of six dogs - often up to 13 races a night - is filled.
So before you think about buying your greyhound find out which are your CLOSEST TRACKS. Go racing there a few times on different nights. If you plan to use your greyhound as a marketing tool for your business perhaps as well as a personal hobby you might want to check out the corporate hospitality potential there. If you just plan to have a syndicate of friends then you might be more bothered by the cost of beer.

The best way to learn is to speak to other owners and trainers at your prospective track. It will be pretty obvious from those shouting home their dogs who owns them (or who has had a very large bet!). Find out how they got involved. Ask if there are any pitfalls they can help you avoid.

CAN I AFFORD THE COMMITMENT?

Owning a greyhound is a big commitment. It will probably take over your life - in a good way but you really must think about the dog. It will be racing in your name for your pleasure and when his track career comes to an end the greyhound will be relying on you to make provision for the rest of its life - see the RETIRED GREYHOUNDS page for further information. When you register as the owner of your greyhound you become responsible for the greyhound after racing and this responsibility should not be underestimated. It is included in the Rule Book of the GBGB and must be strictly adhered to. For full details of the specified rule click here.

It costs between £5 and £7 a day to train your greyhound. This includes his food and training and also transport to the track for his races - generally a greyhound will race every seven to ten days. If you are lucky enough to own an open race class greyhound you will also have to pay for transport to what could be a trip half way across the country.

As to how much your greyhound will cost - he will cost anything from a few hundred pounds to many thousands - depending on his age and his breeding. As a general rule of thumb you do get what you pay for and while a greyhound may be cheaper when younger and unproven it may be worth spending a little extra on a greyhound that has already had several runs at your track and is more of a known quantity.

HOW TO GET INVOLVED

When you have been racing a few times contact some trainers. You can either get their details from your racecard or look up a trainer in your area via the GBGB web site. Meet them at the track or ask to visit their kennels on a Sunday. Most trainers encourage owners to their kennels on Sunday morning. It is traditional to use that time to walk your dog, feed him a treat and meet fellow owners and would be a great place to go as prospective owner.

HOW TO REGISTER YOUR DOG

Once you have chosen your trainer he or she should be able to help you with the form you have to fill in and sign as you become an official registered greyhound owner. For more information please see the GBGB page Registering a Racing Greyhound.
The GBGB licences around 10,000 new greyhounds and their owners every year.

WHAT'S IN A NAME?

If your greyhound already has a racing name it is possible to change it for a small fee when you buy the dog. It has to be no more than 16 characters including spaces and no apostrophes. And nothing rude! For more details contact the GBGB.