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Show World's Most Spectacular Sights"! The Surprising World Of Greyhound Racing It's a spectacular sight . . . and more and more vacationers are traveling to places where they can see greyhounds do what they were born to do. Run. Sometimes reaching speeds as high as 40 miles per hour. If you travel to Australia, Ireland, England, Arizona, Colorado, Massachusetts, Florida, or 11 other states, you'll be visiting sites that have a spectacular sight in common. It's greyhound racing, one of the most popular spectator spec-tator sports here in the United States. In fact, if you enjoy the sport, you have that in common with Cleopatra, Queen Elizabeth I, Wild Bill Hickok and King Tut. The history of the race goes back almost 5,000 years to Cleopatra, whose stable of dogs continued a tradition of Egyptian kings. It then goes on to Queen Elizabeth whose interest brought about a set of written rules and regulations and a name for the race: The Sport of Queens. Greyhound racing didn't make its official American debut until 1906, reports the American Greyhound Track Operators Association. Associa-tion. In that year, O. P. Smith of Salt Lake City, Utah, invented a mechanical rabbit for the greyhounds to chase. And chase they did. In the early 30's, greyhound grey-hound racing came to Florida. Flori-da. The sport has been expanding ex-panding ever since. They are now running in 14 states all across the country. That's because the greyhound grey-hound was born to run, and travelers to states with greyhound tracks enjoy the spectacle every bit as much as the historic figures of the past. The average speed of a greyhound is 40 miles per hour in a 30-second sprint around a 516 mile track. They also run a course of 38 mile in some races. You don't have to bet to have fun, but it adds a lot of excitement (and sometimes profit) when you've got a favorite running. As a matter of fact, the most money ever won at an Arizona dog track on a $2 bet is $13,287.20. It's a sport that's enjoyed by both newcomer and veteran facing fans. |