Episode 37: Recorded June 1, 2023

"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

Show Notes

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.

Links

Britton Racing (Facebook)