Greyhound racing has been a well-known pari-mutuel gambling sport since the early 1900s. But it has taken a nasty turn. Many greyhounds that are used for racing are being treated like money-making machines. Trainers and owners get so bent on winning that they will do illegal and cruel things to their dogs. Some will even drug their dogs with cocaine or anabolic steroids to improve their running capability and speed. Another illegal method of training that some might use is called baiting or blooding. This is when a live animal is used instead of an artificial one. Greyhounds are also abused, neglected, and lack the attention and affection of their owners. They are treated like they are nothing until they start making money. Once their time on the track is …show more content…
Usually going to a new home through a rescue organization, or being tossed away to a breeding farm or sent to be killed. The origin of greyhound racing takes its roots in coursing, an ancient sport of using sighthounds, dogs that hunt by sight, to hunt animals such as rabbits, hares, foxes, and deer. The very first greyhound races took place on a straight track in 1876 by the Welsh Harp Reservoir in Hendon, England. At that time, the sport didn’t gain much popularity and therefore quickly died. But in 1912, Owen Patrick Smith, an American, created the very first oval greyhound track. He wanted the sport to be more like horse racing and less bloody. In 1919, he opened the first professional greyhound racing track in Emeryville, California. It had a rocky start, but when the sport started taking bets, it became extremely popular. Greyhound racing may have been a success and extremely profitable at one point in time, but in reality, the sport is dying. For the past few decades, awareness of greyhound racing issues has become more widespread, causing the sport to lose its popularity. Between the years of 2001 and 2012, the amount of money
Dirt track racing is exactly what is says; dirt racing is a type of auto-racing that takes place on an oval dirt track (“What Dirt?”). The National Dirt Racking Association was formed in 1978, by Mr. Robert Smawley. Smawley was born and raised in Kingsport, Tennessee. Smawley promoted his first race in Newport, Tennessee. He gave the winner (the first to finish the 100 lap race) $10,000 (“In”).
Lexington had been without a racetrack since the deteriorating Kentucky Association plant operated its last meeting in the spring of 1933. Racing was needed in central Kentucky, and something had to be done. Horsemen and Owners knew that something desperately needed to be done to keep the tradition of Kentucky racing alive. If something was not done then the great industry of Thoroughbred racing would definitely decline.
Most of the dogs on this list are common household pets, like the Labrador retriever, and are normally non-aggressive and very friendly. Many times these dogs show no sign of aggression and pose no threat to society. Perspective One Breed-specific laws were put in place with the expectation to help prevent dog bites and attacks. The State and Federal government both came to the conclusion that this is a positive way to promote safety from dog attacks. “Both state and federal courts consistently uphold the constitutionality of breed-specific pit bull laws.... ...
The year 1750 is generally accepted as the date on which the English Jockey Club came in to existence in England. At the beginning it was on the lines of a social club where aristocrat owners could exchange opinions about the sport and its conduct. This was in place of a governing body exercising and enforcing overall. As far as 1757 there are still records of disputes being passed from Ireland to Newmarket. However on this point it must be noted that well in to The Turf Club’s establishment they were requesting the help of the Jockey Club on certain occasions. The men that founded the Jockey Club were some of the most influential people in the England at the time. Initially they met in London at the Star and Garter in Pall Mall. They then further went on to meet on St. James’ Street and Hyde Park before the club soon relocated to Newmarket, famously at the Star and Garter pub.
There are three stories about where the first demolition derby was held. Islip Raceway (Long Island, NY), Hales Corner Raceway (Hales Corner, WI), and an unknown town in Ohio. The first and only story with creditable proof is that Larry Mendelson, a 28 year stock car racer noticed that the most cheering and excitement happened when cars crashed. He held the first demolition derby in 1958 at Islip Raceway. Another story is that Hales Corner Raceway had held a demo years previous to Islip. According to legend, 'Crazy Jim' Groh had a few too many cars on his dealership lot. So he got a few people to drive them as a promotion. The only other proof to back this story are the Happy Days episodes 64, 64, 66 'Fonzie loves Pinkie part1, 2, 3' shows demolition derbies. This show was based in Milwaukee during the 50's. These episodes featured Fonzie battling it out with the Mallachi brothers. The last account is that an un-named town in Ohio was a scene of road rage gone wild in the mid- 50's. Two cars collided at a busy intersection and both continued to battle it out drawing a large crowd to the scene. This story fails to name a town or date, and only gets some credit ability because Ohio is a mecca for demolition derbies (geocities.com par. 2-5).
Almost one hundred years later the birth of Saratoga racing had begun. In 1863, during the middle of the civil war, the Saratoga association was formed. The Saratoga association was a continuation of Saratoga attractions such as boxing, gambling, and what brought people to famous Saratoga in the first place, its water. In 1863, a racing meet for thoroughbreds marked the beginning of "the oldest race track in America."(Longrigg, 222-223) The race course bears the additional distinction of being the oldest sports facility in the country. With the exception of 1911 and 1912, when the track closed in response to gambling reforms, and 1943-45, when meets were cancelled due to World War II, the track has continued to operate and grow in popularity. Attendance at the famous Travers Day race has been known to double the city's population.
The first Indianapolis 500 was held at the Indianapolis Speedway in 1911 and was called the International sweepstakes. The race would last for 200 consecutive laps before finishing. 40 cars raced in the first Sweepstakes in 1911. The price for first place was $14,250, no small amount, and was won by Ray Harroun. He had an average speed of 74 mph during the race. Every driver in the race had a ride-along mechanic to help with possible repairs, and to spot cars behind. Everyone except the eventual winner, Ray Harroun. The lack of extra weight made his car faster, contributing to his win. 80,200 people were at the first Sweepstake, the ticket price was $1. In 1912, the sweepstakes were raised to $50,000, attracting more drivers. It was won by Joe Dawson with an average speed of 78 mph. In 1915, not many European drivers participated in the race as WW1 was underway. Only 21 drivers participated in the race in 1915. The race was shortened to just 300 miles in 1916, the race featured the smallest amount of spectators in the race's history. There was no race in 1917 as the U.S just entered WW1.
My impression from the fieldtrip is that the sport is more popular for the elder generations, whereas in the generation change, there will most likely be less loyal supporters of the industry irrespective of the exposition of serious ethical problems involved in the industry. Polls also show that more than 60 percent of the people supports the ban of the sport ("More than 60pc of people support greyhound ban: RSPCA", 2016). The global trend indicates that we will see less of greyhound racing the next years, also considered the regulatory changes, whereas they want to reduce the number of races and the dogs involved. Greyhound racing is now illegal in 39 states in the U.S, and recently Colorado also banned greyhound racing – which indicated increased consensus that the ethical issues overrides the gains alleged from the sport. Nevertheless, the sport is gaining growing popularity in Asia, whereas Australia is exporting numerous greyhounds to China and Vietnam (“RSPCA”, 2016). It is hard to predict the future of greyhound racing in Australia due to the newly implemented regulatory changes, but it seems that there is only a small chance that greyhound racing has a particularly long life span left in the Australian sporting
Have you ever been to a horse race? Seeing the riders give their horses a pat and an apple after the race, people cheering for their horse as it runs rapidly to the finish line? Seems like a great time. But what happens to those horses after they are done their race. What happens to the people who gambled their family’s lives savings. All horse racing should be shut down due to the well being of the horses, the effects of gambling, and the lack of interest.
One of the most famed horse races in the world, fans flock to Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky on the first Saturday in May to watch the most exciting two minutes of sports. The first racecourse was laid out in 1789 in Lexington, Kentucky. 100 years later, in 1875, Churchill Downs became the official home of the Kentucky Derby. The first Kentucky Derby race was run at one and a half miles in front of a 10,000 person crowd. Of the fifteen horses that competed in this race, the first winner was a horse named Aristides (Kentucky Derby History).
The Circus Maximus has a lot of history due to all of the events that had happened over the years of the Circus Maximus, the concept of chariots speeding around a track to see which horse would come in first. A chariot was a two wheeled, horse drawn vehicle. It was invented in the west in about 2,000 BC. The Circus Maximus started in approximately 50 BC. The Circus Maximus was first used for public games and entertainment by the Etruscan king of Rome. He built the Circus Maximus and made it out of complete wood. It measured 621 meters in length and 150 meters in width. It was capable of holding about 270,000 spectators to watch the races ("Circus Maximus princeton.edu") In 81 AD, Emperor Domitian connected his new palace on the Palatine to the Circus Maximus so he could have an easier view of the races. This happened to be a large action because they had to change around the whole racing course to fit in his window where he could watch. In 64 BC, they had a fire started from ...
NASCAR was formed by William France, Sr., who was an auto mechanic from Washington D.C. The current CEO is Brian France who is the grandson of Bill France. NASCAR headquarters is in Daytona Beach, Florida and it has several offices throughout the United States and some in Mexico and Canada. Before Bill France started NASCAR, racing was a very dishonest business where the promoters often stole money from the drivers. France believed that if racing became an organization with rules it would become an honest type of business. In December 1947, France asked many drivers and promoters to meet in Daytona Beach, Florida to create racing rules. NASCAR was created on February 21, 1948 and starting out racing on a track that was half sand and half asphalt. The track was called Daytona Beach and was located in Florida. (Jordan) I feel that NASCAR is a great sport for the fans and anyone else who likes racing in general. NASCAR has an interesting history and is still fun to learn about today.
Furthermore, I have had the opportunity to participate in many projects with Queen City Greyhounds related to rescuing greyhounds from the vicious cycle of dog racing. Many states have previously outlawed this practice, but in many southern states, major cities host greyhound racing as a commodity. Consequently, the dogs are viewed as nothing more than a means through which to make profit; if a dog is no longer able to race well enough to generate money, they will either be euthanized or put up for adoption by a
The discrimination against pit bulls is wrong and uncalled for. Pit bulls have been given a bad r...
The equestrian sport in the Olympics first debuted in 1900, in Paris, France. Many people do not believe that horseback riding is a sport, but according to the Olympics, the horse is considered as