Hey Lady- You Got A License For Those Hounds?

In order to work even as a kennel helper at a greyhound track occupational licensure is required by state law.  Leadouts (those that walk the dogs to the starting box and retrieve them at the end of the race) , assistant trainers (kennel help), trainers, and owners of racing dogs must be licensed and issued identification cards by the states they work or race dogs in.   Massachusetts has some of the strictest laws in the nation for the proper care, racing, licensure, and retirement of the racing greyhound despite what some may wish you to believe.  Amongst other things, required dimensions for crates are clearly delineated, the number of turnouts (dogs’ outdoor exercise periods) per day are specified, and surprise thorough kennel inspections may happen at any time- the State Police accompany the inspectors and the penalties are severe for infractions.  Racing in the Commonwealth at both Raynham and Wonderland is highly regulated and the laws ensure the good care of the dogs.

Henry and I navigate the maze of hallways and stairs leading up above the clubhouse to the Judges’ Office.  Set at the highest vantage point above the track, the office is normally off-limits to all, except for a certain amount of time before daily racing begins and after it ends.  It is during this period that the judges allow licensure testing.  We’ve come to apply for my assistant trainer’s license.  Inside the small room, the judge hands me the test I must pass with at a score of at least 70% and sends me into an adjoining room to work on it.  I’ve been studying the Mass and Racing Commission laws for some time and work my way through the questions.  I’m a wreck.  The judge takes my application form, my test, and the application fee that Henry insisted upon paying for himself (even after multiple arguments…).  She reviews everything, grades the test, and pronounces me licensed!  I don’t even remember walking all the way back downstairs as I was dumbfounded.  The State will perform a background check on me as a routine part of the licensure process.We stop at the racing office to have a photo (eeeks!) ID made before heading to watch Henry’s racers. This is probably been one of the best birthdays I’ve ever had (and I’ve had MANY).  Thank you Henry for teaching me and believing in me enough to fund my application; I hope to someday make you proud.

The Day Begins

The long rays of the early Spring sun cast a slightly golden glow onto the morning air.   Henry has brought six dogs up to the track to sprint for exercise.  Three at a time, we loose them from their leashes and they choose to run together, galloping around the large oval chasing each other in play.  They romp to the tote board on the back stretch and then two decide to run back to us, tails wagging and eyes sparkling.  Powell  thinks he’d like to explore a little more; Henry reaches into his coat pocket for a squawker- he hears it and comes running back for pats and praise.  The track surface at this time of day is open and soft; later before racing starts it will be dragged once again and compacted.  We bring the dogs back to the truck as there are other kennels awaiting their turn to let their dogs freely exercise. 

Back at the kennel, Henry checks the stew’s progress (today’s feature: bell peppers, lentils, chicken, and a little pasta) then starts benching the dogs who will race or school today.  The bench is a wooden two step platform on which the trainer examines, grooms, massages, or treats the dogs.  They love it and most, once they know what to do will step up onto it as they know good things always happen there.  The first step is low and easy to step onto and the second is about a foot higher.  It is here that the dog places the front paws and is comfortable whilst being assessed- the trainer does not have to bend down as much as a result to give care.   Their ears, eyes, and teeth are examined and cleaned as needed.  Toenails are checked and trimmed as there is a correct length for a racing dog’s nails.  The skin, haircoat, and musculature are inspected; the trainer will find any possible soreness or sign if he or she is thorough and believe me, Henry is.  Next, he grooms the coat with a shedding blade and each dog is fitted for a racing muzzle to be put on later today.   As each dog finishes benching they play on the floor, jumping back onto the bench for more or running over to the scale as they know that if they are weighed that they might be racing that day.  It’s cheerful pandemonium in here- the dogs all around us bark because they want to be benched, the “benchee” prances over to Henry to get a marshmallow peep (it’s Easter and they love them) then runs back to their crate very happily.  The racing muzzle is hung outside the crate on a peg with the dog’s regular turnout muzzle and we go on to other preparations.

Steve Sarras benching a greyhound; photo from the Expo website.

It’s great to be here today.  I’ve really missed the dogs and Henry and have at least a thousand new questions to ask him, five hundred of which he has already patiently answered already this morning…  

Watching and Waiting

Gah! I am suffering seriously from Henry and Hounds withdrawal… There has been no word still on the dates for Kennel Week, so here I am watching the Raynham livecast on this murky afternoon- it’s fun to watch and follow the progress of Henry’s dogs.  My buddy Limen will be in the 11th race soon…  he wags his tail as the track judge checks his muzzle and stretch vest.

I’ve decided use the time waiting for The Big News to re-educate myself about our breed and the history of greyhound racing in America. Following are some suggested books to enjoy in case you too would like to explore more deeply. 

The Road from Emeryville, available directly from the NGA is an inexpensive paperback full of history, photos, and interesting details about the sport.  It’s a quick read, yet loaded with information organized by decade.

The Care of The Racing and Retired Greyhound (AKA The Bible) should be a part of all greyhound lovers’ libraries. This exhaustive manual newly revised to include sections on geriatrics and other topics pertinent to adopted hounds can be obtained from both the NGA and GEM. Amongst others, there are chapters covering anatomy, treatment of medical problems, medications, pediatrics and excellent illustrative photos throughout the book.  Dr. Linda Blythe (one of the authors) will join us at the Expo for a book signing- it will be an honor to meet her.

Keefer: The Peoples’ Choice by Leslie Wooten is one of my personal favorites. It is a wonderfully written biography of Keefer, a racing greyhound who through the ups and downs of his career became a huge crowd favorite and a true greyhound celebrity. Ms. Wooten writes with deep sensitivity and obvious love and respect for her subject. I cannot recommend this one strongly enough. If you’d like a copy, the NGA and Amazon both carry the book.

Lastly, want to learn more about racing life and your dog’s past? The Born to Run videos are available on the internet and are a great start.

The New World

10 Feb 08 Sunday

The icy wind blows the cirrus clouds into delicate feathers as I stumble down the driveway to the car. Armed with a very large cup of coffee, I make the ten minute drive to the track. I am not a morning person… Henry has invited me over today even though the kennel helper week has not yet begun to meet the dogs and see his kennel. For this I would get up at 3:00 AM with a smile on my face if I had to. But it’s 8:00, and I remind myself that he’s already been hard at work for two hours after leaving the kennel for home at midnight once all the dogs were settled in after the evening racing.

As I have not been issued the proper identification badge yet, Henry meets me in the track parking lot and I follow his car past the security booth into the kennel compound. Rows of long white buildings border the roads, each numbered and housing two racing kennels. We come to a stop at his building and park; the green and yellow greyhound sign cut-out on the chainlink door says Ryan Racing. Walking past two very clean turnout pens and an enormous freezer, we go in. The kennel is immaculate- white walls brighten the two large rooms which are lined with banks of large crates and 68 greyhounds bark happily in greeting to Henry and This New Person. I check my pulse to see if I have actually died and gone to heaven. Reassuring myself that I still inhabit this planet, I walk across the clean poured cement floor to start visiting the dogs. There isn’t even a shred of bedding paper on the floor much less a scuff mark. One might think that there would be an odor present with this many dogs housed, but the only thing I can smell is the chicken cooking in the stew for the dogs that Henry started when he came in this morning.

I will not detail all we do today but suffice it to say we do everything from feeding to physical care to racing. Instead, I will wait to tell you more about many things once the Kennel Week starts. Today I got to spend a wonderful amount of time getting to know the dogs and had the very special chance to follow Henry around (um, make that sprint as that man is fast) and see racing life from a trainer’s perspective. Incredible AND exhausting! One brief vignette: one of his dogs won his B race, Henry was quietly pleased. However, one of his younger girls in a CJ race (the step at Raynham after Maiden) figured out how to navigate the traffic and passed several dogs at the far turn and into the stretch to finish far better than she had started. He couldn’t wipe the smile off his face- he was so pleased that she used her head and showed a lot of heart in doing this.

It’s now 4:00pm and we return to the kennel so that Henry can get the dogs ready who will be in schooling races later today. We take our leave in the road in front of the kennel and I drive home, turning the events of the day over in my mind. Now we must wait to hear from Gary Temple the Raynham assistant general manager and Linda Jensen about the dates for Kennel Week. It cannot come soon enough, methinks- I look forward to time with the dogs and Henry again and am so thankful for this experience thus far.

First Things First

5 Feb 08 Tuesday

Tuesday is a “dark” day at Raynham (no racing is held) and it’s living up to its name.  I stand in the empty and unlit track lobby looking out onto the silt, sand, and clay track as the rain falls and imagine some of my dogs and many of yours during their racing days here.   In my mind I hear the excited, happy barking that begins when the lure starts then see them flying out of the boxes and down the track in joyous pursuit.  Why am I here today? 

The place is closed- but it isn’t.
I’ve been offered a very special chance to work for a week here as a kennel helper, and I can’t wait.  Today, I will meet Linda Jensen who will introduce me to Henry Chin, owner and trainer of Ryan Racing.  Henry, brave soul that he is, has agreed to take on yours truly as a volunteer, let me hug his dogs, teach me how things are done properly, answer my endless questions, and help me understand every aspect of kennel work and the care of racing greyhounds.  We sit down to lunch in the Grille Room.  Many people in the greyhound industry come from generations of dogmen.  Not so Henry.  He tells us that he came to the races many, many years ago for the first time with some friends.  He loved watching the dogs but most of all, he really wanted to know where they went when they were done for the day.   He had to find out:  working in his family’s  restaurant, he saved up enough money to go to a “greyhound school”  in Taunton that trained students as greyhound trainers.  His face lights up as he tells of his education there- he still keeps the big notebook he compiled in class with him in the kennel all these years later.

Linda had told me that the dogmen tend to be shy people.  But here was this man who could not stop smiling as he animatedly told us about his dogs.  He did not speak of their wins or track records- he spoke of their personalities and temperaments, of how each learns differently, of who likes what, and how he learns to read what they are trying to say, be it a change of tailset or the droop of an ear.  He loves his dogs and works endlessly to keep them happy and healthy- it is the joy of his life.  I am the happiest volunteer in the universe and have learned more in three hours with Henry and Linda than I have in years.

Downing

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