Do not buy this book if you want to read about Ballyregan Bob, Westmead Hawk, or the closure of Wimbledon. In fact the final pages of the book cover a period not long after the Plough Lane stadium was built.
But so not stop reading!
When Please Mister – the Golden Age of Greyhound Racing first pitched up, my first observation was that it was a thing of beauty.
I expected no less from Charles Blanning, whose previous body and soul creation The Greyhound and the Hare is the only item on my bookshelf that just might sit comfortably alongside a book on fine art.
But on leafing through the first few pages, my reaction was more ‘I’m not sure that this is my kind of thing’, than ‘bring it on’
The reason for the reticence is that the story begins on the open plains of the USA in the 19th century.
By any stretch, that might appear just a little too historic for the average RPGTV viewer. In fact, the first half of the book is practically devoted to the story of the origins of greyhound racing in America.
The starting point is as old as time, man’s battle with nature manifesting itself in hunting with hounds.
But while Britain had its great estates and hare coursing, American country folk battled with its second cousin twice removed, the jack rabbit.
The pesky critters cost farmers millions of dollars, and if they weren’t be rounded up and clubbed to death in their thousands, they were being hunted by men with greyhounds.
In the 19th century coursing jack rabbits became a huge sport with major stakes including of course an American Waterloo Cup – with lots and lots of gambling.
Things progressed with the Americans introducing ‘park’ or enclosed coursing. The idea had first been introduced in England with Sandown, Kempton and Gosforth Park, where, instead of the crowds going to the hares, the hares were caught and brought to them.
Given the geography of America, and the distribution of its population, it was absolutely vital if coursing was to thrive.
The title of the book stems from a line whereby a young girl questions whether the dogs need to kill ‘the rabbit’ and leads to the invention of the first workable mechanical lure by O.P. Smith.
Yes – the ‘humane’ lobby was a powerful force in American greyhound history in the 1890s, with the sweet irony being that but for those antis, track racing may never have been invented.
The preceding few lines might give you the basic outline of history but are very dour indeed compared to the author’s dry wit and infectious telling of (true) tall tales.
The book is laced with chancers, gangsters and entrepreneurs and all told in incredible detail. Characters like ‘Lucky Baldwin’, who went west in a covered wagon and discovered a gold mine, would be worth a book on their own!
One shocking photo shows the blood spattered body of the 1920s czar of greyhound racing in the USA, gunned down in his car, almost certainly on the orders of Al Capone.
The world’s most famous gangster was actually a greyhound racecourse promoter himself (insert your own jokes) in Chicago with the sums of money being turned over being absolutely incredible. A new track could pay for itself within a month.
It wasn’t just the track owners who coined it either. O.P.Smith’s unique hare and starting traps inventions earned him a fortune – though it was certainly no overnight success.
All of which inevitably leads to that famous date at Belle Vue back in 1926. But DO NOT think you know the whole story.
A gentleman such as Charles Blanning might describe the original GRA directors as “colourful presenters” of the facts. This ex-kennelboy might edge closer to ‘upper class bullshitters’. The truth is probably somewhere between the two.
Greyhound racing in Britain is more correctly portrayed as an instant payday – since it was. Shares in GRA went from shillings to many pounds in just a few months. White City paid for itself in two months. Interestingly, most of the early beneficiaries were Americans.
Getting it across the line though, took innovation, determination and cold calculating nerve.
The book ultimately moves on then to early racing in Britain, Mick The Miller et al.
So – no this is not a book about greyhound racing as you, or I, know it.
It is so much more than that, and a bloody good read.
Floyd Amphlett – Editor
Alternatively you may order by email to [email protected] confirming your postal address and telephone number (essential for overseas shipping) and your payment by BACS transfer to the NatWest account of Mr CT Blanning & Mrs SE Blanning account number 00918989 sort code 52 41 19.
Or you may order by post to “Withymoor”, Withypool, Minehead TA24 7RD enclosing a cheque made out to CT Blanning.
Price UK £35 post and packing free
Republic of Ireland £35 + £5 post and packing
Europe £35 + £10 post and packing
USA & Rest of the World £35 + £15 post and packing
