Greyhound Nation

Written by: John Parker and Michael Burns
  • Summary

  • Greyhound Nation is a podcast for Greyhound enthusiasts, produced by Greyhound enthusiasts. Each episode will feature informative discussions with a diverse variety of people from the Greyhound community. The format will include one-on-one interviews and moderated roundtable discussions. Topics will cover all aspects of the breed, including but not limited to sports, history, adoption, wellness and behavior. Host John Parker and producer Michael Burns invite you to join the “nation.” Learn more about the show at greyhoundnation.dog.
    ©2020-2024 Greyhound Nation. All Rights Reserved.
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Episodes
  • Charlie Blanning and Sir Mark Prescott: Coursing Characters We Have Loved or Not Loved
    Dec 29 2024
    Episode 47: Recorded December 22, 2024 "With the loss of any sport or pastime, it's the people you miss in the end…" Sir Mark Prescott on the people he met over four decades of coursing Show Notes Every sport has its share of characters — the people that influenced and shaped the sport, for better or worse. Babe Ruth. Lester Piggot. Hank Aaron. Sterling Moss. Michael Jordan. Caitlin Clark. Eric Liddell. David Beckham. Mike Krzyzewski. Bobby Knight. Billie Jean King. Depending on your perspective, these names can elicit a variety of emotions and memories of your favorite sport. The world of Greyhound coursing has its own cavalcade of characters who left their own mark or legacy on the sport. Historical figures like Colonel North and Edward Dent influenced the glory days of the sport. Lord Sefton, while influential, left artifacts and records of the Waterloo Cup to be burned and abandoned after his passing. Then there are the memorable judges, owners and trainers that left their mark on the sport of coursing. Jack Chadwick judged meetings from atop a horse with a permanently outstretched leg. Owner Lilah Shennen delivered both criticism and support of the sport and its organizers over the years. Harry Skinner made contributions to the sport in the design of the fields and courses to be run. In this episode, host John Parker sits down with his own favorite coursing characters — Charlie Blanning and Sir Mark Prescott — to talk about the larger community of coursing’s beloved and not so beloved. Their discussion covers the gamut of historical figures to coursing’s contemporaries right up until the last Waterloo Cup. Links The Greyhound and the Hare (Facebook) Heath House Stables (Website) Dedication This episode is dedicated to Michael's Greyhound, Raleigh (fka Mr. Bates), 3/2/2016 - 12/13/2024. Raleigh was one of ten puppies in the Dublin and Kell's Casino litter from 2016. This was a hobby bred litter courtesy of John Parker. If you'd like to learn more about Greyhound hobby breeding, listen to our fifth episode -- the Hobby Breeder Roundtable.
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    1 hr and 15 mins
  • Wayne Billett: Continuing a Legacy of Australian Greyhound Racing
    Oct 18 2024
    Episode 46: Recorded October 4, 2024 "Greyhound racing -- I will be forever grateful. It owes me nothing, and I owe it everything." Acting CEO of GRNSW Wayne Billett on his third generation Australian Greyhound racing legacy Show Notes In the 1930s and 1940s, Wayne Billet's grandfather served on the Dapto Agricultural & Horticultural Society that would introduce Greyhound racing to the Syndey suburb. Wayne's father and uncle would work at the Dapto Greyhound track as well. At the age of 15, as the third generation of Billetts, would start work in the Dapto Greyhound kennels. Forty odd years later, Wayne serves as the acting CEO of Greyhound Racing New South Wales (GRNSW). In that time, he graduated from kennel work to starter, club steward, and race club manager. Today, he manages the whole of Greyhound racing in the Australian state of New South Wales. Under Wayne's leadership, GRNSW is prospering. The Million Dollar Chase draws large crowds and "punters" to see the biggest single Greyhound race payout in the world. The Taree Super Track recently opened with new technologies and safety features for Greyhounds. Finally, a dedicated rehoming facility for North American adopters is open for business with more than fifty adoptable Greyhounds waiting to cross the Pacific. In this episode, host John Parker and Wayne sit down to talk about his family's background in Greyhound racing, The Million Dollar Chase, and the future of Greyhound Racing in New South Wales. John also challenges Wayne to Parker's Lightning Round of Greyhound questions. Links The Million Dollar Chase (YouTube Livestream) The Million Dollar Chase (Website) The Taree Super Track (Article)
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    1 hr and 17 mins
  • “Electric Rabbit”: Charlie Blanning’s Latest Work of Greyhound Fiction
    Aug 24 2024
    Episode 45: Recorded August 11, 2024 "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 Show Notes 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. Links The Greyhound & the Hare (Facebook; place your order) Text: 0 79 01 824 556 (UK SMS to express interest) Owen Patrick Smith, Greyhound Hall of Fame inductee (Website)
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    1 hr and 12 mins

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