While it may not be as popular as horse racing, thousands of people each week flock to watch the dogs. The UK and Ireland are home to many famous and popular greyhound races, but the sport is even more popular in the likes of the USA and Australia. With a long and prestigious history – it’s believed that greyhound racing was inaugurated in the UK in 1926 – let’s take a look at some of the biggest races that are actively raced today.

English Greyhound Derby

By far, the most prestigious greyhound race in the calendar, the English Greyhound Derby was first raced in 1927, and has since been held at five different racetracks. Its home has been Nottingham for the last two editions, where it is raced over a distance of 500m. You may have recently seen the odds on the likes of the Betdaq exchange, as due to the coronavirus pandemic, the event was moved from May to October, with the final being held on October 31^st. Deerjet Sydney, trained by Pat Buckley, may have come second in his heat and the semi-final, but saved his best run for the final, where he beat the favourite Southwood Jet (who could only finish fifth). The prize pot for the winner is usually anything between £100,000 and £175,000, however, the 2015 race saw a record prize of £250,000!

Scottish Greyhound Derby

A year later, in 1928, the Scottish Greyhound Derby was inaugurated – and it is considered one of the classics in greyhound racing. It too, has changed venues over the years, but it has been hosted at Shawfield Stadium since 1989. Now taking place over a distance of 480m, the prize fund sits at £20,000 for the winner. Last year’s victor was Braveheart Bobby, landing Buckley a memorable double – while this year’s edition was postponed, amidst the global pandemic. Shawfield is the only active and licensed racetrack in Scotland.

Irish Greyhound Derby

Why not complete the hat-trick? The Irish Greyhound Derby has been in existence since 1928, although officially, it’s been running from 1932. It is considered to be Ireland’s premier greyhound race, although it’s considered equally as important as its English counterpart. The Derby has been raced at Shelbourne Park in Dublin since 1932, although initially it alternated with co-host Harolds Cross. It has been the sole venue since 1968 and the Irish Derby is raced over a distance of 550 yards. This year’s winner was one of the favourites, Newinn Taylor, who won his heat and first semi-final, before winning the final – his 16^th victory in 18 starts. The favourite Pestana sadly broke his leg.

East Anglican Derby

Held at Yarmouth, since the race was founded in 1975, the East Anglican Derby is another of the big races in the greyhound calendar. Raced over a distance of 462m, every winner has recorded a time of less than 30 seconds – with the record standing with the 2013 victor Any Dak, who won the race with a time of 27.34 seconds. Also in the record books is former trainer Charlie Lister OBE, who has won the event a record 12 times. The prize for the winner is £10,000.

Select Stakes

Last but not least, this Nottingham-based event is amongst the most popular with punters and fans alike. The Select Stakes was originally raced at Wembley, from its inauguration in 1952 to the racetrack’s closure in 1996. Since then, Nottingham has been its home and the distance has been capped at 500m. It’s an invitational race, usually raced in July – but due to its popularity, the Select Stayers Stakes was introduced, and is also raced at Nottingham.