Episode 51: Recorded July 13, 2025
"One of the things that really struck me...the car park was the most egalitarian place in all of England..."
Harry Jennings on the "great leveler" of the Waterloo Cup
Show Notes
Many first-time Greyhound adopters will tell you that they didn’t grow up with Greyhounds as kids. Their interest in the breed started with a meet-and-greet at a local rehoming event, or they had a friend or relative that had adopted a Greyhound. Harry Jennings didn’t grow up with Greyhounds either, but he did become interested in them in quite a peculiar way.
He discovered the breed in graduate school while thumbing through medieval French literature manuscripts about coursing.
Harry’s first Greyhound — Charlie — actually belonged to his housemate, Lauren, but it was his gateway Greyhound into the vast and varied world of the breed. Charlie had an Australian pedigree, having raced in Florida and been adopted out of the Philadelphia area. Harry and Charlie took to the road to try out lure coursing in 1992. By 1993, Charlie was the number one Greyhound in ASFA lure coursing.
The making of the Jennings Greyhound man continued with ownership of American racing Greyhounds and a visit to the Waterloo Cup in England in 1999. There, he crossed paths with this show’s host, John Parker, and together they experienced the premier coursing event in the world at the time. There on the field, the two “Yanks” and a few other American friends found themselves before the microphone of English television presenter Clarissa Dickson Wright as part of her Clarissa and the Countryman series.
In this episode, host John Parker explores this unconventional making of a Greyhound man -- Harry Jennings -- one who immersed himself in all things Greyhound-related over three decades. Harry shares his thoughts on training and conditioning for lure coursing; navigating the ins and outs of Greyhound racing organizations in the United States and England; and remotely participating in the sport of Greyhound racing through the syndicate model.
Links
Waterloo Cup episode of Clarissa and the Countryman (YouTube)
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1:15:46
The Virtual Coursing Museum with David Midwood and Charlie Blanning
Episode 50: Recorded May 24, 2025
"[The Virtual Coursing Museum] dovetails so nicely with some of the goals of our podcast..."
John Parker, on the announcement of the Virtual Coursing Museum by the National Coursing Club in Great Britain
Show Notes
For the 50th episode of the Greyhound Nation podcast, we have the unique privilege of announcing the opening of the Virtual Coursing Museum by the National Coursing Club on June 24, 2025. The website is open to anyone interested in learning more about the sport of coursing and the Greyhound breed. It features video interviews, historic photographs, artwork, and more. It captures the rich history and heritage of coursing and the Greyhound in Great Britain.
The museum is the brainchild of former Waterloo Cup chairman, David Midwood and historian and author, Charlie Blanning. In fact, the museum can be considered an extension of Charlie's The Greyhound and the Hare, published in 2018. Additionally, both David and Charlie felt an urgency to document and preserve the history of the sport, including photographs of trophies and memorabilia, anecdotes and interviews from its most famous characters, and a catalog of coursing- and Greyhound-related artwork.
In this episode, host John Parker sits down with David and Charlie to talk about an idea that became reality -- the Virtual Coursing Museum. John explores the process by which the museum came to be, including all the work involved in cataloging its contents. David and Charlie also reminisce about some of the people most associated with the sport of coursing and Greyhounds in Great Britain, such as Sir Mark Prescott and the late Peter Sant.
Links
The Virtual Coursing Museum (Website)
The National Coursing Club and Greyhound Stud Book (Website)
The Greyhound and the Hare (Facebook)
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Dr. Couto and the Greyhound Health Initiative
Episode 49: Recorded March 6, 2025
”If someone has a giant nose, you’re not going to cut off their nose…”
Dr. Guillermo Couto on why he chose to focus his career on Greyhounds and their unique physiology and health characteristics
Show Notes
Dr. Guillermo Couto’s veterinary career started in the 1970s in Buenos Ares, Argentina. He started with a small practice across the street from his parents. Five years later, he became board certified in veterinary internal medicine and oncology at the University of California, Davis. In the 1980s, he started a thirty year career at The Ohio State University where he made a name for himself as the foremost expert and researcher in Greyhound hematology and oncology.
That focus on Greyhounds started 30 years ago when Dr. Couto adopted his first Greyhound. He was intrigued by the unique physiology of the breed, and he sought answers to questions about Greyhound health that other veterinarians and researchers might have dismissed as abnormalities. In 2013, Dr. Couto retired from teaching and founded the Greyhound Health Initiative (GHI) to further explore the internal medicine and oncology landscape of the breed.
Meanwhile, Mandy Albert started her veterinary career as a registered vet technician in 2004. Two years after Dr. Couto founded GHI, Mandy joined the organization to help establish its canine blood bank. Together, they have expanded the GHI well beyond its canine blood bank. The organization’s current initiatives include Greyhound and sighthound research, education and outreach, advocacy for retired racing Greyhounds and collaboration with veterinary professionals.
In this episode, host John Parker sits down with Dr. Couto and Mandy to explore the doctor’s career, the origins of the Greyhound Health Initiative, and the contributions that both professionals have made and continue to make to the well-being of the Greyhound. It’s an exciting hour of discussion about everything from Greyhound blood factors to osteosarcoma to the cutting edge of Greyhound orthopedic research.
Links
Greyhound Health Initiative (Website)
Greyhound Health Initiative - Videos (Website)
Couto Veterinary Consultants (Website)
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David Peck: Breeder and Trainer of the American Racing Greyhound
Episode 48: Recorded February 21, 2025
"I've never screamed so loud. The bug had bit. I had a tremendous passion for it."
David Peck on watching his first Greyhound nearly win a stakes race at Victoryland
Show Notes
David Peck started out training bird dogs in the early 1970s. One of his clients was a friend who became involved in the new parimutuel racing in Texas. He visited David and recommended that he try his hand in training Greyhounds based on his success with bird dogs. Greyhounds gave David "renewed energy and lit me up."
David started out with two pups, and he started training them like his bird dogs. His methodology worked, and one of those first Greyhounds became a top competitor at the Victoryland Greyhound track in Alabama. During one of his summer bird dog training sessions, he was called away to cheer on his Greyhound at a final stakes race. That hound took second place, just barely beaten at the wire. It was the start of an American Greyhound racing career that lasted well into the 2010s.
After founding Clear the Way (CTW) Kennels, David continued to improve his training methods. In particular, he focused on track design and surfaces. He encouraged American dog tracks to adopt Australian-style track design to improve the overall footing and safety for racing Greyhounds.
In this episode, host John Parker talks with David about his decades of dog training -- bird dogs, American racing Greyhounds, and -- now -- Belgian Malinois. David shares his experiences with both training and breeding Greyhounds, describing the differences and similarities between the breeds with which he's worked. He also talks about how he worked to make Greyhound racing safer and keep the sport alive.
Links
Victoryland Dog Track (Wikipedia)
Greyhound Adoption League of Texas (Website)
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Charlie Blanning and Sir Mark Prescott: Coursing Characters We Have Loved or Not Loved
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.
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.
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