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Kilmarnock Herald
June 4, 1948

Electric Hare Installed At Stevenston
After seeing racing for five weeks with the use of a ball hare, regular customers at Granvue Stadium, Stevenston, arrived at their favourite track last Saturday evening to find that a new electric hare had been installed. It is of the Sumner variety, but it is not an inside hare-it is to the outside of the track's perimeter. It is understood that not many tracks have outside hares, but the obvious advantage of this one was seen last week at Stevenston there was much less bunching by the dogs at the corners.

As a boy, I can remember hearing the hare. You could hear it for miles.
Anybody got any ideas what a ball-hare is?
JD.

John Donnelly wrote: ↑Fri Jun 04, 2021 9:25 am Anybody got any ideas what a ball-hare is?

I'm only guessing, John. We know that dogs love chasing balls, so perhaps the hare was in the shape of a ball.

Hughie wrote: ↑Fri Jun 04, 2021 11:58 pm

John Donnelly wrote: ↑Fri Jun 04, 2021 9:25 am Anybody got any ideas what a ball-hare is?

I'm only guessing, John. We know that dogs love chasing balls, so perhaps the hare was in the shape of a ball.

Without making this too complicated, I believe that early mechanical hares hugged the bends for some reason and because of the barriers were often lost from the sight of the chasing greyhounds, and to resolve the problem an actual ball was attached to the side of the hare to create a 'bounce off of the barrier' effect which meant that the hare was only momentarily lost before coming back into the view of the dogs .

Thanks for the suggestions folks.
However, I was more curious about how the hare (or ball) was propelled round its track at the side of the dog-track.
JD.

Again, apologies for my laziness. Just spent nearly an hour on Google to very little avail.
Wikipedia informs me that O.P. Smith introduced the mechanical hare in America in 1912, with the altruistic aim of stopping the killing of the jack-rabbits. The mechanical hare was introduced to Britain in 1926 by Charles Munn, in Manchester I think.
The original entry on this topic refers to a 'ball hare' which suggests that there was some element of mechanisation involved, perhaps a dragline on a straight course.
JD.

Thanks, Penny and John. Here's some more information. I've unashamedly copied the reply I got to my query about the dog track I posted on FB. I must thank Betty Maxwell for replying to my query there. Spot any relatives in the crowd? What a great photo!

Thanks for taking that trouble Hughie. I still cannot visualise how the wheel was driven to pull the rope, and more to the point, how did it get round the bends?
I wonder how many people will recognise the name 'inqenu?'
My father told me when I was a youngster it was pronounced 'inginee, and meant the 'in-going-eye.'
It was a generic name for the entrances to mines, as opposed to pits, and I also came across it in Newcastle when I lived there in my 20's.
JD.

Were there bookies with regular pitches at the track?

The bookies were at the back of the stand against the corrugated wall. At least they were when my Dad's dog "Queqeg" raced there. He was a big brindle dog with ears which went vertical when he heard the hare - those ears made him instantly recognisable!

Jim McCreadie wrote: ↑Fri Jun 11, 2021 1:30 am The bookies were at the back of the stand against the corrugated wall. At least they were when my Dad's dog "Queqeg" raced there. He was a big brindle dog with ears which went vertical when he heard the hare - those ears made him instantly recognisable!

How many bookies were there? And we’re they local?

JimMcCreadie

I remember your dad's dog Queqeg from Dippin Place. My mother in law Peggy who worked on the buses was their neighbour. Was the name related to Moby Dick? I think it also raced at Townhead track in Irvine.


Madge