Modern greyhound racing evolved from a form of hunting called coursing, in which a dog runs after a live game animal – usually a rabbit or hare.

[5] The oval track and mechanical hare were introduced to Britain in 1926, by Charles Munn, an American, in association with Major Lyne-Dixson, a key figure in coursing.

Eventually they met Brigadier-General Critchley, who in turn introduced them to Sir William Gentle.

On 24 July 1926, in front of 1,700 spectators, the first modern greyhound race in Great Britain took place at Belle Vue Stadium, where seven greyhounds raced round an oval circuit to catch an electric artificial hare.

Further factors included the creation of the National Lottery and the increase of social activities made available to the general public.

[3][15] There are 19 active Greyhound Board of Great Britain (GBGB) registered stadiums in the United Kingdom.

There is just one active independent stadium: There are various types and levels of competitions in Britain,[17] with prize money reaching £15,737,122.

This will be proposed to the committee by the Greyhound Board or by a promoter, with the racers being invited into the competition rather than the usual process.

[13] A racing jacket worn by a reserve bears an additional letter 'R' prominently on each side.

[13] In 2018, licensing and inspecting trainer's kennels was conducted through the government-approved, UKAS accredited method.

[22] When the greyhounds finish their racing careers they are retired under the GBGB bond scheme (introduced in 2020) which ensures the homing costs are met.

[27][28] In recent years the racing industry has made significant progress in establishing programmes for the adoption of retired racers.

Several independent rescue and homing groups receive some funding from the industry but mainly rely on public donations.

Concerns were raised that if the shortage of retired greyhounds continued it could force some homing organisations to close.

[32] The most recent independently verified published figures show that the 2021 injury rate was 1.23% which equated to 4,442 from 359,083 runs.

The most common injury was a hind limb muscle at 1,012 (0.28%), this was followed by foot injuries 876 (0.24%), hock 811 (0.23%), wrist 752 (0.21%), fore limb muscle 414 (0.12%), fore long bone 106 (0.03%) and hind long bone 26 (0.01%), other equated to 425 (0.12%).

Greyhounds from which samples can not be obtained for a certain number of consecutive races are subject to being ruled off the track.

If a positive sample is found, violators are subject to penalties and loss of their racing licenses by the Greyhound Board of Great Britain (GBGB).

The trainer is responsible for any positive test regardless of how the banned substance has entered the greyhound's system.

[35] Due to the increased practice of random testing, the number of positive samples has decreased.