Greyhound Racing?

[BurghFan]

First of all this is coming someone who does not follow or have any interest in greyhound or horse racing.

So there was an investigative report on my local news tonight about Greyhound Racing at a local racetrack that was basically reporting on how the dogs how the dogs can suffer serious injuries and even death. However, the report failed to convince me that Greyhound Racing is really such an evil sport mainly because it didn't provide any comparative statistics to injury and death rates in horse racing and didn't show any evidence of blatant mistreatment of dogs.

So, I was just wondering what OS's take on this is.

Here's the video story

<iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/video/embed?video_id=510747118978706" width="720" height="396" frameborder="0"></iframe>

And here's my comment that I posted on FB regarding it.

Let me start by saying that I don't have any interest in animal racing whether it be horse or greyhound. On that note, I feel that this report failed to make a convincing argument of why greyhound racing is so bad. They say that the dogs can suffer devastating injuries and give the injuries at one particular track, but don't provide any comparison to injury rates in the various types of horse racing. One doesn't even have to follow horse racing to know that horses can also suffer devastating injuries. One needs only recall the amount of coverage Barbaro's breakdown got a few years back. It was all over ESPN. How do injury rates in greyhound racing compare to injury rates in horse racing. The greyhound report didn't indicate that dogs were being mistreated or kept in unhealthy conditions or anything of the sort so I fail to see anything wrong with it. It would seem that people's opposition to greyhound racing without opposing horse racing is merely due to having a stronger and closer attachment to dogs than to horses. I would need more evidence that injury rates are significantly higher in greyhound racing than in horse acing and that they racing dogs are being mistreated and abused in order to convince me that it is so wrong

Also, note that my argument is not in support of the sport, but rather that the story failed to convince me of the evils or the sport.

[p_rushing]

Re: Greyhound Racing?

I'm not sure about the racing, but I know there are a lot of charity groups that try to help find homes for the dogs after they stop racing. Basically since they aren't racing, the owner doesn't care any more and has no financial reason to keep the dog.

[areobee401]

Re: Greyhound Racing?

Live greyhound racing stopped here about 3 years ago. The combination of cost and animal rights groups put an end to that. I remember a trainer being busted for giving his dogs cocaine before races, stories about abuse, and the list goes on and on.

They still hold simulcasts 5 days a week there still. A good amount of people still pack in to gamble on the dogs. Live or not.

My feelings are indifferent on the matter. I have bet on the dogs in the past and had a good time. But it also wouldn't bother me if the "sport" was done away with all together.

[Chrisksaint]

Re: Greyhound Racing?

I was kind of entering this thread hoping for a Fast and The Furious type of video but involving Greyhound buses.