Episode 43: Recorded April 3, 2024 "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 Show Notes 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 --...

Episode 42: Recorded February 7, 2024 "[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 Show Notes 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...

Episode 41: Recorded December 13, 2023 "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 Show Notes 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...

Episode 40: Recorded October 15, 2023 "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 Show Notes 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...

Episode 39: Recorded August 27, 2023 "Some would argue I've got the best job in the world..." Sean Stanton, Animal Welfare Strategic Projects Manager at Greyhound Racing Victoria Show Notes 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...

Episode 38: Recorded June 25, 2023 "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 Show Notes 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 &...

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...

Episode 36: Recorded April 2, 2023 "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 Show Notes 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....

Episode 35: Recorded February 23, 2023 "Our most western track...is a 14 hour drive from Sydney..." Rob Macaulay on Broken Hill, one of the 30 community run Greyhound tracks in New South Wales Show Notes Rob Macaulay served as legal counsel for Greyhound Racing New South Wales (NSW) four years ago and immediately immersed himself in the sport of Australian Greyhound racing. When the opportunity presented itself, he applied to serve as Greyhound Racing NSW's Chief...

Episode 34: Recorded January 15, 2023 "If you could bottle what I felt and sell it, I'd be a rich man…" British racing Greyhound owner George Sell describes seeing his first Greyhoundk, Steeple Road Teddy, win a race Show Notes George Sell lives the life of a travel and real estate writer, business owner and "horse husband" in the south of England. His wife is an accomplished equestrian. They both love and own Whippets. He's also involved in a couple of racing...

Episode 33: Recorded November 19, 2022 "He had become the darling of the crowds in England...we're talking about crowds...of a hundred thousand people..." Author Charlie Blanning on Mick the Miller, one of his "top five" Greyhound picks Show Notes Charlie Blanning and Gary Guccione are second to none when it comes to declaring the "top five" racing Greyhounds in the modern era. Charlie -- author of three Greyhound history books -- gravitates towards the finest English...

Episode 32: Recorded October 18, 2022 “Training is not something you do to your dog but something that you do with your dog.”Lee Livingood on the importance of a dog owner’s investment in bettering their dog Show Notes Lee Livingood wanted to be a veterinarian as a child, but she settled on always having a dog in her home. During college, she adopted a mixed breed dog from a local shelter and discovered it suffered from severe separation anxiety. Lee helped find the right...

Episode 31: Recorded August 28, 2022 "He definitely had a huge, big heart. He just had that will to win..."Irish Greyhound breeder and trainer Dolores Ruth, on training champion racing Greyhound, Razldazl Billy Show Notes Irish Greyhound breeder and trainer, Dolores Ruth, describes her 2006 Irish Greyhound Derby champion, Razldazl Billy, as an enigma. Clever. Superhuman. Named after Billy Flynn, a principal character from the musical, Chicago, Razldazl Billy seemingly put...

Episode 30: Recorded August 2, 2022 "I don't know how to describe heaven for a dog...it's hard for a lot of people to understand how much these Greyhounds love to run..."Dr. Rob Gillette on Auburn University veterinary students seeing Greyhounds run for the first time Show Notes Dr. Rob Gillette has been around working and sporting dogs his entire life. He was born in Great Bend, near Cheyenne Bottoms, Kansas and grew up hunting with retrievers and bird dogs. Cheyenne...

Episode 29: Recorded June 26, 2022 "He said to me, 'Why don't you make it a personal record? Put more of yourself into it...'"Charlie Blanning, on the advice given to him while writing Twenty Two Waterloo Cups Show Notes Charlie Blanning's latest book -- Twenty Two Waterloo Cups -- is more than just another history of the famous English Greyhound coursing meeting. It also tells the story of the author's involvement in the Waterloo Cup as a correspondent for various...

Episode 28: Recorded February 15, 2022 "I literally grew up with Greyhounds..."Leslie Wootten, on her childhood at the Tucson Greyhound Park Show Notes Leslie Wootten's earliest memories of Greyhounds are from the Tucson Greyhound Park around 1953. Her father was hired as the plant superintendent at the race track, and her family lived in a house near the paddock on the track grounds. She heard the Greyhounds every night outside her bedroom window when there was...

Episode 27: Recorded January 8, 2022 "It was indescribable -- the elation -- but also a sadness -- things can't get better than this..."Jackie Teal, Greyhound coursing and racing trainer, on winning her first Waterloo Cup in 2002 Show Notes At the age of ten, Jackie Teal really wanted a pony. Instead, she found herself helping a local businessman out with his Greyhounds. She would bathe and feed them, ride with them out to the local track, and fall asleep with them at the...

Episode 26: Recorded December 16, 2021 “Why don’t you pick up the baton and write [about] the final years of the Waterloo cup?”Charlie Blanning on the inspiration for his next Greyhound history project Show Notes Charlie Blanning — respected Greyhound historian and regular guest on the Greyhound Nation podcast — has a new Greyhound history project in the works. In this episode, host John Parker and gets an exclusive preview of Charlie’s next book. Join the Nation for...

Episode 25: Recorded November 15, 2021 “I think of you as the Sir Mark Prescott of American coursing...”Host John Parker on Steve Downs and his involvement in coursing in the United States Show Notes Steve Downs is a fourth generation Greyhound man. His father's family hailed from California and became interested in hunting hares, also referred to as as jackrabbits in the United States. Steve caught his first hare around the age of five with the first Greyhound he could...

Episode 24: Recorded September 23, 2021 “As long as I could reach the window to the ticket seller, I could place a wager…”Gary Guccione, talking about placing his first wagers at the Butte, MT Greyhound racing track Show Notes Gary Guccione’s life in Greyhound racing started in Butte, Montana. His father served as racing secretary and racing kennel owner at the Western Montana Kennel Club. One of his earliest memories was reaching up to the counter at a parimutuel window...

Episode 23: Recorded August 17, 2021 "Gamal started to gallop, and King said, 'I know this -- I can run!'"Cynthia Branigan, on her first Greyhound's experience with Gamal, America's last diving horse Show Notes Cynthia Branigan took her first Greyhound, King (fka Low Key Two), to visit a very special horse, Gamal. Gamal was the last of the Atlantic City Steel Pier diving horses. When he was "retired" and put up for auction in 1980, Cynthia purchased him. She rescued King...

Episode 22 (Bonus): Recorded August 22, 2021 “I hope you children will have happy memories of today.”Charlie Wilby, butcher and coursing enthusiast, 1987 Show Notes Our first bonus episode revisits our conversation with Charlie Blanning and Sir Mark Prescott in Episode 12: The Greatest of Coursing. In that episode, Sir Mark shared an anecdote about a butcher from Norfolk -- Charlie Wilby -- who would bring his Greyhounds to coursing meetings. He was also known for sharing...

In my mind and memory, she is and always will be the blithest of greyhound spirits...The One Who Got Away, Dennis McKeon Show Notes Greyhound Nation went “on the air” as a brand new podcast for Greyhound enthusiasts on August 11, 2020. Our first guest was Dennis McKeon, a former racing Greyhound trainer and respected essayist on the breed. Since then, we’ve released over twenty episodes covering a variety of topics on the Greyhound breed. In our first year, we've sought...

"Track Greyhounds -- too much engine and not enough frame. But I am addicted to that speed."Michele Houghton, amateur Greyhound racing enthusiast Show Notes Michele Houghton had her first lure coursing experience in 1992. At the time, she had a kennel of nearly 40 Greyhounds. Michele loved the sport, but she soon realized that hard New England fields were better suited to smaller breeds than her Greyhounds. In 1998, she discovered amateur racing, and everything...