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| State of Florida Archives |
By Jane Feehan
The first greyhound dog racing track in Florida opened in 1922 amid a rising interest
in the sport across the nation.
References to racing greyhounds appeared in newspaper stories in North Carolina in 1898. A circus came to Raleigh that year with “chariot-racing greyhounds.” (Some say greyhound racing was introduced in England in 1876.) In 1912, Owen P. Smith introduced greyhound racing in Emeryville, California on the sport’s first circular track. Dog racing expanded to other states.
Buzz about greyhound racing appeared in The Herald in Miami
in 1921.
“Out in Missouri a popular sport is dog racing,” an account reads. “The races are most exciting. An electronically propelled device covered with the skin of a jack rabbit is shot across the racetrack and … greyhounds are released from their cages and trail madly away on the trail of the rabbit.”
The
writer praised it as the “cleanest kind of sport” because “there are no jockeys
to bribe and no horses to go lame.” The betting was based only on the “dog’s
record, his health and disposition.”
A fews months after such praise, Florida granted the Miami Kennel Club a charter to conduct business as a corporation. Owen P. Smith was tapped as president and general manager of the club and Florida was, as they say, off to the races. The first track in the state opened at Hialeah Park in 1922, nine years before gambling was legalized. Its inaugural six-week schedule, or meet, ended that April and deemed a success.
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| Hialeah Park greyhound racing 1922 State of Florida Archives |
"Greyhound racing has given Miami a new thrill,” reported the Herald. Its popularity spurred plans for improvements for the next season, including nighttime events, landscaping, a grandstand cover and dancing. Miami leaders were excited about its potential to attract tourism to the area.
Miami leaders had reason for excitement about greyhound racing. About 3,000 attended its first matinee of the 1923 season. Another track, west of Coral Gables, opened in 1927 and the West Flagler Kennel Club opened Jan. 3, 1931.
Other Florida cities capitalized on the sport’s popularity. West Palm Beach, Jacksonville, St. Petersburg and Sarasota soon opened their own dog-racing venues. By 1935, 10 tracks operated in the state; 11 tracks would eventually open in the Sunshine State, including two in Broward and Palm Beach counties.
Greyhound racing was so closely associated with
Miami that greyhound dog racing video clips were captured in the opening mosaic of Miami scenes for the 1980s
TV series, Miami Vice. Greyhound racing was here to stay many thought.
Not so. Enthusiasm for the sport was beginning to wane by the early 1990s. Gambling revenues dropped across the nation. More
important, welfare of the racing dogs took center stage. According to the Miami
Herald, 460 dogs died at state tracks between 2013-2018 due to a variety of causes both on
and off track. Thousands more died yearly around the country.
“A global voice for greyhounds,” Grey2K (https://www.grey2kusa.org/),
was established in 2001 to highlight abuses to the dogs including confinement,
injuries and doping. Other animal rights groups rallied around the plight of
the greyhounds. The awareness campaign resulted in a Florida vote to ban dog racing
in 2018 and phase it out by 2020. The last Florida greyhound race was held Dec.
27, 2020 at the Palm Beach Kennel Club in West Palm Beach.
Thanks to the efforts of Grey2KUSA and other animal advocates,
greyhound racing is now illegal in 42 U.S. states.
Copyright © 2022 All rights reserved. Jane Feehan
Sources:
Raleigh Times, Oct. 28, 1898
The Herald (Miami) Dec. 18, 1921
The Herald (Miami), Feb. 22, 1922
The Herald (Miami), March 8, 1922
The Herald (Miami), April 11, 1922
The Herald (Miami), April 23, 1922
Miami News, Dec. 17, 1923
Miami News, Jan. 8, 1927
Miami Herald, Oct. 9, 1930
Miami Daily News, Jan. 2, 1931
Miami Herald, Sept. 12, 2018
Miami Herald, Nov. 8, 2018
Miami New Times, Jan. 2, 2019
NBC News, Jan. 1, 2021
https://www.grey2kusa.org/index.php
Tags: Miami history, history of Miami, greyhound dog racing, dog racing in Florida, Florida sports history
