In early Arabian culture, the birth of a Greyhound was second in importance only to the birth of a son.

Persians believed that Greyhounds were permitted in the next world to give information and evidence about mankind.

Greyhounds are the only canine breed mentioned in the Bible, Proverbs 30:29-31, King James translation. It was Egyptians, who first raced Greyhounds for sport in open fields with a wild hare as quarry and no rules of the game except speed. During the 15th Century, the Greyhound became of symbol of aristocracy. British commoners were prohibited from owning them and were decapitated if they were in possession of one.

In the latter part of the 15th Century, the first formal rules of coursing (pursuit of hares were eestablished by Queen Elizabeth I, dubbing it the “Sport of Queens” and making the beginning of formalized dog racing. Greyhound racing preceded horse racing by at least 1000 years. At the end of World War I did commercial Greyhound racing attain prominence, and unfortunately, it was in Emeryville, California, in 1920, that the very first track was built and Greyhound emerged as the olympic-style athlete he is now. The Greyhound is thrill to watch: a dog of beautiful lines, bred to cover ground with fluid power, at great speed, in full stretch and in close competition. It was very quickly learned that there was money to be made in Greyhound racing, and nine or ten years after it became established in this country, commercial Greyhound racing spread to other parts of the world.