You bet, they die! Greyhounds make great pets: they are intelligent, affectionate, laid-back, and clean canine companions. Although they're considered large dogs, they're usually unobtrusive and polite. Male greyhounds average between 65 and 80 pounds; females average 50 to 65 pounds. They just need love, affection, a backyard (or better yet, a field to run in to get their exercise), toys, and the basic needs for a dog. Greyhounds would benefit from sweaters to keep them warm during the winter because they are thin dogs with very short hair. Greyhounds deserve so much more than to be forced into racing which can lead to many severe injuries and/or death. Greyhound racing should be banned in the United States due illegal gambling,  the lack of safety for the dogs, and abuse of the greyhounds. 

Greyhound racing is banned in 41 states due to illegal gambling for human enjoyment. For example, in an article from The Humane Society of the United States, the author writes, “With a historic law we helped pass that bans greyhound racing in Florida about to take effect at the beginning of 2021…Earlier this year, Alabama and Texas closed their last racetracks. Forty-one states, including Florida, have banned greyhound racing.” (Banning Dog racing/Illegal Gambling) The tracks have guard rails to run the decoy animal on what is like a toy race track where the car just goes around and around, so when the dogs see it (because they’re sighthounds that have prey drive), they chase it. Greyhounds were bred to be sighthounds, Sighthounds are a type of hound dog that hunts primarily by sight and speed, unlike scent hounds, which rely on scent and endurance. So that makes them have quite a lot of prey drive and when they run the dummy/decoy animal on the guard rails they chase it because it's in their genetics to run after prey for their handlers.

In almost every race a greyhound gets injured and gets put down because of the injury.  This fact was stated in an article by The Coalition for the Protection of Greyhounds.  The article states, “While stewards’ reports reveal the large numbers of greyhounds that die on racetracks, many more dogs are killed away from the tracks after being injured.” (Coalition for the Protection of Greyhounds) The tracks are often dirt and gravel. When they race the dogs in extreme weather conditions like heat, rain, fog, and more; when the dogs race on the track in the heat it can cause burns on their body.  Racing in the heat can cause a dog to suffer from heat stroke or exhaustion, and if the dogs don’t soak in water or drink some water in time they could die. The problem with fog is it makes it harder for the dogs to see each other and where they're going.  If they can’t see each other they might collide and trample the dogs that fell after the collision.  The reason rain is not good for the dogs to race in is that when the track is wet the dog's paws make an imprint in the dirt/gravel and once that track has dried the prints stay there and become unsafe as dogs can step wrong because the ground is uneven. It causes them to slip and fall sometimes even rolling under other dogs or tripping them and having them fall back too. The guard rails that surround the inside of the track can cause large, open wounds from other dogs pushing each other into those guard rails. There are many instances of evidence showing that this can happen. When people see how much money trainers and the owners of a racing greyhound can get, they get greedy and jealous and think, “Hey if I get a greyhound and join the racing industry I'll make money just like the trainers and other people do”. 

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Greyhound racing is unsafe for the dogs. In a video from GREY2K USA, the largest greyhound protection organization in the United States, the dangers of greyhound racing is shown.  This video shows that many dogs have been pushed into the rails, and sadly, some snap their necks and spines. (GREY2KUSA)  If they are lucky enough not to snap their necks, and the least they get large, open wounds from this. If the dog hasn’t already passed where it landed, the crew takes it to the on-track vet to be put down. In almost every race a dog gets hurt. They get fractures, dislocations, strains, pulls, and so much more, and no matter how small the injury, they take the dog to get put down.  It doesn’t matter if the injury can be fixed or corrected, they don’t care. All they think about is whether the dog can race again and most of the time they can’t, so to them, the dog is useless after they get injured and the vet puts the dog down.  “The living conditions of the animals are not much better—dogs at racetracks are typically confined to stacked, warehouse-style metal cages barely large enough for them to turn around in, usually for 20 to 23 hours each day.” (Safety for Dogs)

On the other hand, some people disagree and believe that making money is more valuable than the life of a greyhound.  For instance, according to the Geelong Racing Club, “There are more than 1300 people actively involved in the greyhound industry in the Barwon region, and from an economic outlook, the industry contributes $26.5 million in value to the economy in the City of Greater Geelong alone.” (Economic Benefits of Greyhounds to local community)  The trainers, handlers, and kennel personnel will sometimes give the dogs drugs to enhance their racing abilities.  Said drugs can often have adverse side effects, and at times can even lead to death. They do it if the dog has had the most money bet on them or the trainer or the handler just wants the money because it's their dog. One of the drugs they give the dogs is Stanozolol, a synthetic anabolic steroid that has been banned for its performance-enhancing influence. Barbiturates are central nervous system depressants and are serious performance-affecting drugs. Morphine has been used as a masking agent in greyhounds to make dogs less aware of any injuries they may have. “In New Zealand, the Racing Integrity Unit found forty-four greyhound drug positives from 2014 to 2021. According to New Zealand’s Judicial Control Authority, some of these positives were morphine. Additionally, two greyhound trainers tested positive for cannabis.” ("Drugs" Grey2KUSA-non-profit 2024)

People say greyhound racing is a good thing. The Texas Greyhound Association says the kennels have heating and cooling for the greyhounds during the different weather seasons. They also say that the greyhounds are often checked for injuries or sore muscles. The greyhounds are supposedly fed top-quality meat that they feed raw along with the best dry kibble and all the supplements a racing athlete needs to stay healthy and in shape. The greyhounds are let out into the turn-out pen which is just a little sandy area that the dogs can run, socialize, and play in. Females and males are turned out separate. to prevent females from going into heat they are given a hormone to make sure there are no puppies at the race track. On race days before the race the state vets check the greyhounds for injuries and get a weigh-in and the vet then decides whether the greyhound is eligible to race 

Greyhound racing should be banned:  it causes people to illegally gamble, is unsafe for the dogs, and is animal abuse.  The injuries to these dogs and the long-lasting effects can lead to trauma.  However, humans are more concerned with making money and their selfish enjoyment than the health and well-being of these sweet, lovable dogs.  Based on the evidence, it is clear that racing greyhounds is inhumane. One thing we can all do to help this problem is to spread the word to ban this awful sport. 

Works cited:

grv-aue-prd-fasttrack-web-01.azurewebsites.net/RaceVideo/RaceVideo/988295156 

grv-aue-prd-fasttrack-web-01.azurewebsites.net/RaceVideo/RaceVideo/694218178 

greyhoundcoalition.com/media-resources/2023-australian-track-deaths-and-injuries/ 

youtube.com/watch?v=yBK2gUFduPo 

grey2kusa.org/about/drugs.php 

geelong.grv.org.au/2022/04/12/economic-benefits-greyhounds-local-community/ 

tgagreyhounds.com/greyhound-racing/ 

humanesociety.org/blog/greyhound-racing-all-dead-florida-prepares-its-final-races#:~:text=Forty%2Done%20states%2C%20including%20Florida%2C%20have%20banned%20greyhound%20racing.

tgagreyhounds.com/greyhound-racing/