Followers

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Yes, Rabbits Have Names

We were asked over the weekend about the names of the lures at Greyhound race tracks.  Yes, at most of the tracks, the lure has a name.  Some are shaped like a rabbit and some are shaped like a bone, but as far as I know they're all made out of fleece. 

Many tracks have lures named Switfy.  Barney ran the lure at Dairyland.  One is named Harrison Hare.  Several go by the name Lucky.  At Hinsdale it's known as The Colonel.  Woodlands calls their lure Woody.  Hambone ran from the Greyhounds at Seminole.  Tri State has twin lures named Sparky and Spunky.  Several tracks including Tampa and Orange Park call their lure Rusty.  Some tracks also call their lure Bucky.

The reason the lure has a name is that the announcer calls it out as the race gets started.  It's an old tradition to announce the lure at the beginning of a race.  If you're curious, it sounds like this.

Sometimes, when a track replaces the lure, the old one is given to someone for an auction.  Usually the auctions benefit Greyhound adoption in some ways.  We have several old track jackets and racing posters, but so far, I haven't been lucky enough to win a lure.  They usually go for big money in auctions.

We were also asked about how long Greyhounds race.  That varies a lot.  We've had dogs here from both ends of the spectrum.  Bunny is the youngest Greyhound we've ever adopted and she was eighteen months old.  She went through schooling, but never raced.  We are pretty sure that she was deemed just too little for the track.  Greyhounds rarely race past the age of five. It's like any other sport, there is always somebody younger and faster than you are who comes along.  Hawk came to us at four and a half and he had a fairly decent career as a racer.  He loved to run.  Lilac was our oldest adoption at seven and a half years old.  After she retired from racing, she went on to be a brood mama to two litters of puppies.  We've also seen Greyhounds adopted out as puppies either because they were born with a genetic flaw that prevented them from racing, because they sustained an injury when young, or because they were from an accidental litter that couldn't be registered.

Hopefully that satisfied your curiosity about a few things!

Blueberry Types for the Blog
Bookmark and Share

19 comments:

  1. Very cool entry! I didn`t know they named the lures.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thank you for sharing this information - and for rescuing these beautiful dogs.

    XOXO
    Lilly, Piper, Carrleigh and Ruairi

    ReplyDelete
  3. I think retirement sounds much better than racing.

    Slobbers,
    Mango

    ReplyDelete
  4. Don't they say never to name sumptin so you don't gets attached...guess they don't qualify here though.
    Uh, dis might bes a persoanl question but what is your oppinion on racing greyhounds. I'm assuming you prolly against it but you've never given that idea so I wasn't sures.
    Puddles

    ReplyDelete
  5. Thanks for the information. BTW you indicated that they thought Bunny may have been to small to race. How big is she? On the photo with her new back-pack we thought that she looked really tall... JP

    ReplyDelete
  6. hello greyhounds its dennis the vizsla dog hay cool info on racing i didnt not there stuffies had nayms!!! maybe i wil start nayming my stuffies!!! hay to anser yore other kwestchuns all of dadas buks are avaylable as ebuks yoo can git them for the kindle from amazon or as regyoolar ebuks frum dadas own storefront eksept yoo cant git nite watchman at dadas store on akkownt of he duznt own the rites to that wun but their is stil a link for it their!!! hope this helps!!! ok bye

    ReplyDelete
  7. Very cool! I did once go to a greyhound race, down in Bonita Springs. It was before I "knew" any hounds, but thought they were amazing (although the one I bet on inevitably wiped out while turning). Wonder what kind of crowd Frenchie racing might draw, they are stealthily fast you know! LOL

    Michelle.

    ReplyDelete
  8. That was a lot of good information. I didn't really know anything about the racing...let alone that the lures had names!

    ReplyDelete
  9. That was furry furry interesting!

    Thanks fur sharing!

    Hugz&Khysses,
    Khyra

    ReplyDelete
  10. Interesting! Thanks for putting this stuff up! I never saw a greyhound race before. I always thought the lures were similar to what they use in lure coursing, but I was wrong!

    ReplyDelete
  11. That was very interesting. We didn't know any of that! Thank you :)

    Kisses,
    Emma Rose

    ReplyDelete
  12. i've heard lots of controversy about greyhound racing. i love dog sports or any sport that a dog loves to do naturally. it seems to me that most greyhounds would love to race. but the controversy i hear about is basically the care of the racing dogs (kept in kennels too small and too many long hours) etc. my question is, is it unheard of to have humane greyhound racing? i've only heard of the inhumane stories among the sport. it makes me sad because like any and all dog sports, it seems like a fun thing for a dog breeded for it. until of course it's time to retire. :)

    ReplyDelete
  13. Have any of your greys ever been to a fun run? We took ours to an event last year in Abilene and they loved it. I cried seeing them run around the track. They were dressed in the racing silks. It was beautiful. Jack heard the lure and went nuts. He wanted to catch it for sure.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Great information for those of us who know very little about the races. I would probably go with "unlucky" for the lure's name, but maybe because I'm still an amateur.
    Twinkie
    PS I didn't get any audio. I hope I was the only one.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Thanks for sharing. As I said before, I had no idea they were named (having never been to a race).

    Interested to see so many readers ask about racing itself. I know that mushing can get a bad rap, too, but all of the mushers I know care greatly for their dogs. Mushing even has an organization called Mush with Pride that is a group of Mushers who organized to guarantee quality lives for the dogs.

    P.S. - Anyone ever catch a lure? Had to have happened somewhere due to a mechanical failure.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Thanks a lot for sharing all that info!
    Kisses and hugs
    Lorenza

    ReplyDelete
  17. I would have never guessed it. I just figured the dogs called them "kitty"...

    ReplyDelete
  18. i liked this post a lot! me and asa and mama learned stuffs we didn't know about greyhound racing! we would have nevarrr guessed that the lure would have a name, but it does make sense.
    *woof*
    the booker man

    ReplyDelete

We love hearing your comments!

Related Posts with Thumbnails

Guestbook