Greyhound Nation

“You need to write about what you know. You need to write about what you’ve experienced.”

Charlie Blanning on how his father’s and grandfather’s Greyhound breeding inspired elements of his new novel

Greyhound author and historian Charlie Blanning has released his second work of Greyhound fiction — Electric Rabbit. His latest novel picks up many of the dangling narrative threads from his first novel, Rags to Riches. His latest work stands alone, but he recommends reading both novels to get the most of recurring characters and full historical context of the story.

Speaking of that historical context, Electric Rabbit reads very much like historical fiction. The narrative continues Charlie’s incorporation of elements factual Greyhound sport — Greyhound racing and coursing in Great Britain. This new novel is set in the mid-1920s and focuses on the first Greyhound racing activities in the country.

Without giving too much of the plot away, host John Parker and Charlie sit down to talk about the novel and its Greyhound sport underpinnings. Charlie shares how his family’s background in racing and coursing Greyhound breeding informed Electric Rabbit’s narrative. As always, he brings to bear his considerable corpus of historic Greyhound sport knowledge to paint a vivid and engaging portrait of the Greyhound in early 20th century Great Britain.

“People have jumped to the [conclusion] that, because tracks are closed in the United States, there’s no more Greyhounds…”

Debra Hardman, of GALT-Arizona, describing the state of affairs for Greyhound adoption applications

Former racing Greyhounds are still available to adopt in the United States. However, those Greyhounds will likely be sourced from outside the United States. Adoption organizations that partner with groups like Greyhound Racing Ireland / the Irish Retired Greyhound Trust, Greyhound Racing New South Wales (GRNSW) and Greyhound Racing Victoria (GRV) have effectively resuscitated their programs. These organizations’ leaders, including Bob Koch of Nittany Greyhounds and Debra Hardman of GALT-Arizona, are navigating the ins and outs of rehoming these overseas hounds.

Bob’s adoption group in central Pennsylvania serves adopters regionally — basically the mid-Atlantic and Midwest. At any given time, he has about 50 approved adoption applications. Nittany works with two organizations in Australia — and GRV and GRNSW — but they started international rehoming with Irish racing Greyhounds. According to Bob, the Greyhounds handle the long travel very well and share the same temperament as American racing Greyhounds.

Debra’s experience in the American Southwest is very similar to that of Bob’s organization. GALT-Arizona — a chapter of the Greyhound Adoption League of Texas (GALT) — serves Arizona and surrounding states. Her Australian Greyhounds come directly into LAX for pickup, and she describes the hounds as happy as ever as they finish their long journeys after transport.

In this episode, host John Parker talks with Bob and Debra about these and other experiences rehoming international Greyhounds with American adopters. They discuss the logistics of bringing the Greyhounds into various ports of entry, the paperwork involved and the care given to the hounds as they make their way around the world. Bob and Debra also share a bit about each of their organizations and how they’re adapting to this new source of Greyhounds while also maintaining high welfare and breed support standards.

“They’re built to be a service dog in terms of physicality and temperament…”

Australian animal trainer Steve Austin, on the Greyhound as a breed suitable for therapy dog training

Steve Austin had a knack for training animals at an early age. Growing up in New South Wales, Australia, he realized the value of positive reinforcement for dog training. As a teenager, Steve and his first dog — a stray by the name of Sooty — entertained the crowds on paydays at the local pub. Sooty was trained to balance a “schooner” of beer on his head.

In Steve’s words, “When he got it right, I made a lot of money that night…”

Steve describes Sooty as rough, tough, black and mean — a dog that would live to the age of 17. “He loved me, and I loved him.” Along with dog obedience competitions, Steve fed his passion for animal training, and his skills as a trainer would expand beyond dogs to other animal species, including elephants and pigs. Steve’s accomplishments include training animals for TV and film, prison dog behavior programs, and preparing PTSD dogs for Australian soldiers returning from combat. His book — Working Dog Heroes — is a heartfelt memoir of all these experiences as a trainer.

In this episode, host John Parker explores Steve’s latest initiative — training former Australian racing Greyhounds as police therapy dogs in the United States. Steve shares the inception of the partnership with Greyhound Racing New South Wales and the results of the first Greyhound placements. He discusses the characteristics of the Greyhound breed that make them suited for training, and he waxes poetic about his expectations of his first ever personal Greyhound adoption.

“[Tommy] felt strongly that the lure coursing world had given him a mission, and he felt strongly that he needed to give back…”

Trina Bianchi, on her late husband, Tommy, and the “joy” which put into Injoy Lure Coursing products

The Injoy Lure Coursing story is one that started in the 1970s. Tom “Tommy” Bianchi and his wife, Trina, were living in Vermont and attended a dog show in Quebec in 1977 when they discovered sighthounds — in the form of Salukis — and sighthound sport of lure coursing. Tom was on the fence about acquiring a Saluki and getting into the sport, but Trina gave him a friendly nudge, and off they went.

At a lure coursing meeting in 1978, their Saluki was injured during the meeting. Tom was an accountant at the time, but his passion was woodworking, and he was always on the lookout for a way to turn his hobby into a full-time career. When he observed the less-than-safe equipment at the meeting, he realized that he could, in Trina’s words, “build a better mousetrap.” He believed he could design and building safer, high quality lure coursing equipment for the sport. Together, he and Trina would build and grow Injoy Lure Coursing equipment as the premiere brand for the community.

The company would take a hit in the 2000s when Tom developed cancer and later succumbed to the disease. Trina would continue to carry the torch, but in 2023, she realized that she needed someone to pick up the Injoy torch and carry it for the lure coursing community. Enter Eddie and Selma Kominek — Afghan Hound and lure coursing enthusiasts since 2004, they expressed interest in purchasing Injoy and continuing to build the high quality product that started with Tom and Trina.

In this episode, host John Parker sits down the past and present owners of Injoy Lure Coursing equipment — Trina, Eddie and Selma. They talk about Tom Bianchi’s commitment to excellence in all things — doing things with “joy in his heart” — and how this shaped Injoy Lure Coursing. John also learns how this philosophy was important in the recent purchase of Injoy by the Komineks and what it means for the future of the company and for the sport of lure coursing.

“We all have the same goal in helping our men and women, whatever they need…”

Officer Joe King, Dallas Police Department — on the mission of the Dallas PD Wellness Unit and therapy Greyhound, Aussie

Joe King is a 27 year veteran of the Dallas Police Department. He spent almost two decades in one of the toughest beats in the department. Today, he serves his fellow officers in the department’s Wellness Unit alongside other officers and a new four-legged partner, former racing Greyhound Aussie. Together, they work to provide counseling and support to police offers and other first responders suffering from PTSD and other mental health and personal challenges.

Aussie has been specially trained as a police therapy dog. He is part of a pilot program in the United States between Greyhound Racing New South Wales (GRNSW), the US Fraternal Order of Police, and the Dallas Police Department. The Greyhound Adoption League of Texas (GALT) serves as the local support and training Liaison. Russ Feilen, International Rehoming Director for GRNSW, partnered with former marine and GALT Chairman John McQuade to initiate the pilot program.

By day, Aussie visits different divisions within the Dallas PD and serves in outreach programs for the department. After hours, he lives the life of a retired racing Greyhound with Joe and his family. John continues to work with Joe and the Dallas PD to refine Aussie’s therapy dog development. Meanwhile, Russ and the team at GRNSW are looking for the next candidate police department for these specially trained Greyhounds.

In this episode, host John Parker sits down with Russ, Joe and John to talk about this unique Greyhound therapy dog training program for police departments. Russ shares some of the success of Australian Greyhound adoption to date in the United States. Joe and John talk about the Greyhound candidate identification process and training of the selected Greyhounds in the program.

“It was like a fairy tale, really — it just kept happening. Oh my god — this is amazing!”

Kim Gooding on her 1989 Waterloo Cup Greyhound, React Fagan, reaching the final

Greyhound trainer Kim Gooding started out wanting a lurcher when she visited stables as a young woman. Little did she know that she would go on to train both coursing and racing Greyhounds. What is even more extraordinary is that her first coursing Greyhound nominated for the Waterloo Cup — React Fagan — would win the 1989 classic.

When they first cast their eye on React Fagan, Kim and her then husband Russell did not have enough money to purchase Fagan. They ended up borrowing the funds from her mother-in-law. In short order, the hound was nominated for the Waterloo Cup, and thus so began their coursing “Cinderella story.”

After winning the Cup in 1989, Kim continued her career in coursing through the 1990s until the English ban on the sport in 2005. After working several years for the Retired Greyhound Trust to transition and re-home Greyhounds from the British racing industry, Kim would get back to training racing Greyhounds. Some of those Greyhound would become tied to this very podcast.

In this episode, host John Parker and Kim sit down to talk about React Fagan’s amazing rookie run at the Waterloo Cup, as well as the coursing adventures that followed. Kim also shares some of the training techniques and anecdotes from those years of English coursing before she shifted to racing Greyhound training.

“Some would argue I’ve got the best job in the world…”

Sean Stanton, Animal Welfare Strategic Projects Manager at Greyhound Racing Victoria

Sean Stanton (Australia), Rory Goreé (United States) and Tina Kelly (Canada) all share the same mission. They are dedicated to international Greyhound rehoming. Specifically, they collaborate to find new homes for former Australian and Irish racing Greyhounds.

Sean serves at the Animal Welfare Strategic Projects Manager for Greyhound Racing Victoria (GRV). He has spent the past ten years in the role with GRV’s Greyhound Adoption Program (GAP). His family has a background in Greyhound racing, and he previously managed one of Australia’s racing clubs for 3-4 years.

Tina’s journey in rehoming former racing Greyhounds started in Ontario in 2003 with her first Greyhound adoption. She attended a conference to learn about Irish Greyhound racing, evoking an epiphany about where Canadian Greyhound adoption should be moving. She partnered with Greyhound Racing Ireland (GRI) and the Irish Retired Greyhound Trust (IRGT) to bring Irish Greyhounds to Canada, setting up FLIGHTS (Finding Loving International Greyhounds Homes Together & Salukis). In 2023, FLIGHTS expanded its mission to include former Australian racing Greyhounds.

Rory Goreé, a former president of Greyhounds As Pets – National (GPA), recognized the long-term need to find adoptable Greyhounds as the passage of Florida’s Amendment 13 impacted track operations and breeding numbers in the United States. The general public in the U.S. perceived the closure of Florida’s tracks to mark the end of adoptable Greyhound availability. Rory partnered with Irish and Australian Greyhound adoption groups to welcome a new source of dogs for eager adopters in the U.S.

In this episode, John sits down with these pioneers of international Greyhound adoption to talk about their efforts and the outcomes of the programs to date. Sean shares details about GAP and the impact it’s having on Australian Greyhound adoption. Tina and Rory both discuss their experiences in traveling abroad to establish relationships with international Greyhound adoption organizations. Finally, Sean and Rory preview an Australian Greyhound conference for all interested volunteers and adopters, tentatively slated for 2024 in Victoria, Australia.

“I became fond of all the characters. I couldn’t wait to get to keyboard to write down what they were going to do next.”

Author Charlie Blanning on writing his first Greyhound novel, Rags to Riches

Charlie Blanning admits that he’s “never frightened by a blank page.” He’s proven this once again with the release of his latest book, Rags to Riches. The book, available to order from Charlie’s Facebook page, The Greyhound & the Hare, is his first work of fiction. It captures in Ireland and England after World War I through the lens of a young girl, a Greyhound, and the sports of coursing and horse racing.

As with his previous three non-fiction books about Greyhounds, Charlie pulls from several sources with which he is very familiar. Rags to Riches features (re-named) family members from his past, as well as prominent historical figures from Greyhound coursing and horse racing of the period. Charlie also channels his love of theater and past experience as a coursing correspondent to bring the characters to life.

In this exclusive virtual book launch episode, host John Parker and Charlie discuss Rags to Riches, from the fiction writing process to private label publishing of the final product. Charlie shares some of the historical backstory that brings life to the characters and the settings of the book. Listeners will find themselves insiders to a much larger Greyhound story than they may have expected.

“That was the enjoyable part — walking a dog and dreaming of what might happen…”

Robbie Britton, Australian racing Greyhound trainer, on growing up tending to his father’s racing Greyhounds

Robbie Britton often measures his life as an Australian racing Greyhound trainer in hours and kilometers. Two hour haul to one track. Another airplane flight with five Greyhounds. Twenty-four hours to Brisbane. Such is the life of one of the most successful trainers in all of Australia.

Robbie’s a second-generation Greyhound trainer and breeder. His father paved the way for all the Britton kids to grow up with Greyhounds. His father’s first was a black hound acquired in the 1960s. Robbie’s job was to walk the hounds. His first Greyhound — Vixen — won on her second start, cementing his decades-long career as a trainer.

When his father went on a long-term contract in the 1980s, Robbie took over the family’s Greyhounds and transitioned from hobby trainer to professional trainer. He expanded Britton Racing into North America with a farm in Abilene, Kansas, home of the American Greyhound Hall of Fame. There, he became enamored with his American counterparts at the Fall and Spring meetings of the National Greyhound Association.

In this episode, host John Parker and Robbie discuss training the Australian racing Greyhound, including breeding, training routines, and nuances of the track system in Australia. Robbie also shares his experiences breeding Greyhounds in America and finding homes for retired racing Greyhounds in Australia.

“You’ve always got your eyes on the dogs. You’re always on your toes to make sure the dogs are 100% healthy.”

Kurt Trzeciak on his number one responsibility as a racing Greyhound trainer

Born and raised in Texas, Kurt Trzeciak had a love for Greyhounds and Greyhound racing. As a kid, while visiting Florida, he’d sit with his grandpa and sister in the car at the track listening to the race calls at the Sarasota Kennel Club. They would sit and pick their favorite Greyhounds to win while his mother and grandmother enjoyed the races in person.

At the age of eighteen, Kurt was invited to visit a Texas kennel and experience the turnout of Greyhounds. He was instantly mobbed by all the happy hounds. In that moment, he knew that he wanted to spend his life working with and training these dogs. It was the start of a 30 year career in racing Greyhound training, covering thirteen different tracks.

In 2018, Kurt found himself in the position of industry advocate in the face of Florida’s constitutional Amendment 13 to ban gambling on Greyhound racing. He became an active participant in public hearings on the amendment. He also experienced firsthand the challenges of communicating the trainer’s point of view on Greyhound racing welfare and sport.

In this episode, John and Kurt dive deep into the 30 year career of an American racing Greyhound trainer. They discuss every aspect of the job, including rising through the ranks at a racing kennel, being an advocate for each Greyhound’s health and well being, and tips and techniques for feeding, training, and rehabilitation. John also introduces Parker’s Lightning Round — a quick series of questions for our guest that is certain to become a staple in future episodes.