Lifelong Advocate – Polly Smith’s Journey Across UK Greyhound Tracks

Polly Smith’s Story in Dog Racing in the UK

Polly Smith is one of our expert greyhound vets who works at Towcester racecourse. Here is her story within the sport.

''I first became involved with dog racing in the UK in 2015 when I went to work as a locum for Simon Gower at Towcester. Prior to this, my career followed a varied path, completely unrelated to greyhounds.

I graduated from Murdoch University in Western Australia and then spent a year at the ‘Herriot Practice’ in North Yorkshire before heading off to South-East Asia where I researched foot and mouth disease and cattle trade networks.   

After several years back in the UK and working in small animal practice, I found that general small animal work really wasn’t for me, and I was looking for something different. It was then, by chance, that I heard that Simon Gower was looking for a locum to help provide veterinary cover at Towcester Greyhounds.  

Although I had grown up around horse racing - my father was a jump jockey, and we spent most holidays camping near various racecourses – my only experience of greyhound racing was a visit to Walthamstow in my teens.  

As soon as I went to see Simon at Towcester, met the greyhounds and trainers, and watched my first races, I was hooked! Simon was a fantastic mentor during this time, willingly sharing his knowledge and experience and helping to familiarise me with veterinary care of the racing greyhound.  

Having only seen the odd retired greyhound in general practice, I found them to be such wonderful animals to work with and soon came to love my new role at Towcester, putting my name down for as many days as I could cover. The more I attended the track, the more rewarding I found my role as track vet, as I started to get to know individual greyhounds and the trainers better. I wasn’t sure how I would be accepted into the sport, being completely new to it as I was. However, I soon found the trainers to be really accepting, and I was really impressed by their knowledge and the high regard in which they held their dogs.  

Throughout my time at Towcester, and for a time at other tracks, I have enjoyed my role as a track vet but have also expanded my work to assist with various welfare initiatives launched by the GBGB. Greyhound welfare is, as it should be, at the centre of this sport and everyone in the industry has a part to play to ensure that all of our greyhounds receive a high level of care during their racing careers and enjoy a smooth transition into a forever home once they have retired from racing. I am now the proud mum of Bob who I fell in love with while he was racing at Towcester! 

I have been involved with a number of welfare initiatives launched by the GBGB, including providing face to face training to kennelhands and trainers, through the apprenticeship program, and a trainer's day at Nottingham Stadium, respectively. I, together with Simon Gower, recorded educational videos as a resource for trainers covering key subject areas such as injury detection and dental care.  

I also helped to develop a Code of Practice for Greyhound Residential Kennels. This document provides information on key areas of greyhound care, health and welfare, with the purpose of supporting trainers in providing a high level of care for their greyhounds.  

As for the future, I look forward to continuing my work with greyhounds, both through track work, my involvement with the Greyhound Board and in any other way that I can support trainers to provide optimum care for these remarkable athletes.''