Editing Whippet (section)

==Racing==
{{multiple image
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| footer = The two suspensions of the double suspension gallop, as demonstrated by racing Greyhounds
| image1 = Greyhound Racing 2 amk.jpg
| alt1 = A tan dog wearing a blue jacket emblazoned with the number two. The dog is running, with all four legs fully extended and off the ground.
| caption1 = Full extension
| image2 = Szombierki greyhound 18.09.2011 2pl.jpg
| alt2 = A black and white dog wearing a red jacket emblazoned with the number one. The dog is running, with all four legs tucked under its body and off the ground.
| caption2 = Full contraction
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[[Dog racing]] was originally an extension of [[hare coursing]].<ref name="Age">{{cite news | url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ovpUAAAAIBAJ&pg=6667,7130865&dq=whippet+-car&hl=en | title=The wiry whippet | work=Weekender | date=14 November 1980 | agency=The Age | access-date=25 January 2013 | author=Rule, Andrew | location=Melbourne}}</ref> Whippets began to be bred to race in the mid-nineteenth century and became popular for racing.<ref name="Barron8" /><ref name="Walsh" /> The first form of the sport was a rudimentary version of coursing known as 'ragging', and dogs who participated were said to be 'trained to the rag'.<ref name="Walsh" /> Dogs were kept on a leash by a person known as a ''slip'', who was often also the race judge.<ref name="Walsh" /> The slip would release the dogs from their collars at the same time, and they would race towards their owners, who were standing at the opposite end of the track waving towels to encourage the dogs to run toward them.<ref name="Walsh" /><ref name="Age" />

Whippet rags were a popular Sunday event in the north and [[Midlands (England)|Midlands]] at the time.<ref name="Walsh" /> There were also international events; in [[Australia]], at a track known as Gurney's Paddock, races with more than 300 Whippets were held every Saturday, and three nights a week at the White City track.<ref name="Age" /> Eventually, the sport evolved, and dogs were divided into four groups: those who hunted rabbits, which was not governed by rules; those who coursed [[hare|hares]], for which a set of rules was established; those trained to the rag; and those trained to chase a mechanical lure in a fashion similar to [[greyhound racing|Greyhound races]].<ref name="Walsh" /> Few of the Whippets in any of the four groups were [[purebred]], as maintaining a purebred bloodline was not considered as important as breeding dogs that could win races.<ref name="Walsh" /> Many racing dogs were part-[[terrier]], part-Greyhound, or part-[[Lurcher]].<ref name="Walsh" />

In 1967, the ''British Whippet Racing Association'' was established to introduce reforms and standardize race rules and procedures for races involving non-purebred Whippets.<ref name="Walsh" /> A year later, viewing the non-purebred dogs as a threat, the ''Whippet Club Racing Association'' was established to regulate racing exclusively for purebred Whippets.<ref name="Walsh" />