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Greyhound Racing...
Feb. 27th, 2023 09:35 pmOkay... right at the start, let me say that I'm pretty much against racing animals for the benefit of the betting public - horses, dogs, frogs, crabs... whatever
The Australian greyhound racing industry & community came in for a bit of a well-deserved walloping a few years ago, when an enquiry sparked by a TV report found multiple cases of animal abuse, inhumane practices, drugs & unwarranted euthanising of dogs who either grew too old, too slow, or just weren't cut out to be race winners. Since then the industry has tried to clean up its act, introducing a raft of reforms, new regulations & creating the Greyhound Welfare Integrity Commission... though this 2022 article from the RSPCA regarding the myriad issues with racing dogs, suggests that not as much 'progress' has been made as you'd like...
So it was a bit of a moral dilemma when Long-Suffering Partner & I found ourselves at Wentworth Park in Sydney, for the weekly greyhound races... ostensibly for panning & tracking practice with our DSLRs - trying to get clear photos of dogs flashing past you at around 60km/h isn't easy - the night wasn't particularly well patronised by the viewing, or betting public, there were a lot of dogs 'scratched' from races for reasons unknown (hopefully because they'd been found unfit to participate & not then forced to run anyway...) & the overall atmosphere of the place was... well, there wasn't one. But the dogs looked healthy & a few of them were prancing excitedly as they were being led (on leashes) to the starting gates & we couldn't see any of the last placed dogs being taken away in unmarked vans, or across the road to the wholesale butchery (Not kidding - there's a big commercial meat supplier's office & warehouse almost directly opposite the track!!). And how is the industry to consider improving itself worthwhile if there's no money coming in. Not that we gave them much - $12 entry fee, then 2 cheap dinners & soft drinks & a $5 token bet where the money went straight to the TAB (Totalisator Agency Board - the betting agency conglomerate in Australia), rather than to the Greyhound Racing industry, though I'm sure they'll end up with some of it... barely enough for one serve of Puppy Chow
Anyway, here are some photos... you can see my panning technique improve race by race...
'Worst' shot of the night, during the first race we were in position for... but I really like this one regardless
Getting there - you can actually see some clear bits of dogs!!
Best dog shot of the night - probably because they'd only just cleared the starting gate & hadn't reached top speed yet...
Best-tracked shot of the lot... & of course it has to be the 'electric rabbit' the dogs chase after. This was taken during its test run before the actual race... so again, probably not at full speed
The Australian greyhound racing industry & community came in for a bit of a well-deserved walloping a few years ago, when an enquiry sparked by a TV report found multiple cases of animal abuse, inhumane practices, drugs & unwarranted euthanising of dogs who either grew too old, too slow, or just weren't cut out to be race winners. Since then the industry has tried to clean up its act, introducing a raft of reforms, new regulations & creating the Greyhound Welfare Integrity Commission... though this 2022 article from the RSPCA regarding the myriad issues with racing dogs, suggests that not as much 'progress' has been made as you'd like...
So it was a bit of a moral dilemma when Long-Suffering Partner & I found ourselves at Wentworth Park in Sydney, for the weekly greyhound races... ostensibly for panning & tracking practice with our DSLRs - trying to get clear photos of dogs flashing past you at around 60km/h isn't easy - the night wasn't particularly well patronised by the viewing, or betting public, there were a lot of dogs 'scratched' from races for reasons unknown (hopefully because they'd been found unfit to participate & not then forced to run anyway...) & the overall atmosphere of the place was... well, there wasn't one. But the dogs looked healthy & a few of them were prancing excitedly as they were being led (on leashes) to the starting gates & we couldn't see any of the last placed dogs being taken away in unmarked vans, or across the road to the wholesale butchery (Not kidding - there's a big commercial meat supplier's office & warehouse almost directly opposite the track!!). And how is the industry to consider improving itself worthwhile if there's no money coming in. Not that we gave them much - $12 entry fee, then 2 cheap dinners & soft drinks & a $5 token bet where the money went straight to the TAB (Totalisator Agency Board - the betting agency conglomerate in Australia), rather than to the Greyhound Racing industry, though I'm sure they'll end up with some of it... barely enough for one serve of Puppy Chow
Anyway, here are some photos... you can see my panning technique improve race by race...
'Worst' shot of the night, during the first race we were in position for... but I really like this one regardless
Getting there - you can actually see some clear bits of dogs!!
Best dog shot of the night - probably because they'd only just cleared the starting gate & hadn't reached top speed yet...
Best-tracked shot of the lot... & of course it has to be the 'electric rabbit' the dogs chase after. This was taken during its test run before the actual race... so again, probably not at full speed
