A Look at the Five Fastest Greyhounds of All Time

Just a few miles per hour short of the world’s fastest land animal, the cheetah, greyhounds are the fastest dog breed on the planet. The top speed of greyhounds can reach is 45mph , in just a matter of seconds. They are slenderly built, with strong legs, low body fat, and short hair. These dog breeds are explosive but can run at longer distances as well. A greyhound can even outrun a thoroughbred horse because it has high instantaneous speed. However, in terms of actual endurance running, the Siberian husky is superior to the greyhound.

Top Five Fastest Greyhounds

On the topic of the fastest greyhounds, fans and aficionados will point to the Australian legend – Shakey Jakey. With a record of one race and one win, this famous greyhound was widely considered to be the world’s fastest running dog. Owner David Pringle had got this dog by mixing Kiacatu Pearl and Collision.

Many experts are doubtful of that claim to fame but the story certainly captured the attention of sports fans around the world and his race numbers are difficult to argue against. Shakey Jakey smashed a Wentworth Park track record back in 2014, hammering the chasing pack by a jaw-dropping 22 lengths. Many experts point to Shakey to be the fastest running dog of all time .

Before his retirement announcement, David Pringle purchased his dog for an undisclosed sum and told his followers they’d be better off selling the dog to the breeder rather than running him again. Mr Pringle rebuffed a reported $1 million offer from Chinese investors and informed the press that his prize now lives in the lap of luxury after rejecting the offer.

It is quite the task to pick which one is the fastest running dog from all of the fast greyhound breeds. But, we did our due diligence and made a list of the five fastest greyhounds of all time..

Tims Crow

Carrying the genes of his famous father, the 1994 Arc finalist Lenson Lad, Tims Crow made the top of our list. He became heir to his sire’s lightning-fast speed and is placed by Greyhound dog racing fans among the top fastest dogs to participate in races on the shores of the United Kingdom.

This speed racer dog won the Golden Sprint in 2003, sponsored by Coral, which was held at Romford, Essex. It was trained by the admired trainer Peter Rich and made the record time of 24.29 seconds despite the 2/1 odds.

That same noteworthy year Tims Crow went through the Peterborough Derby unbeaten, and it was a performance that rewarded it the “Greyhound of the Year” 2003 prestigious award.

After taking some rest, Tims Crow returned to the tracks and went home with the Pall Mall Trophy held at Oxford. His time at Oxford was 26.90 seconds, which is among the top 10 track records at the racetrack.

Its winning streak ended by losing to Droopys Scholes in the Greyhound Derby, finishing second. Tims Crow smashed the previous best at several big locations, making it both one of the fastest running dogs and most famous greyhounds in the history of the sport.

Ravage Again

For the runner-up, we picked the King of Sprinters, Pride of Ireland – Ravage Again. It was no secret that Ravage Again was a popular choice among both greyhound racing aficionados and casual supporters.

This greyhound racing legend started their racing career on the tracks of Ireland after which moved to the UK. Ravage Again will always be remembered as the dog who came agonizingly close to breaking a long-established world record . Ballyregan Bob, also one of the fastest greyhounds in the world, held a record of 32 consecutive victories, a record that seemed to be within reach of Ravage Again.

Ravage’s tally count was up to debate, and Irish bookies scratched out a few races in Ireland. 29 victories were the final count, and his winning streak was ended when he lost to fellow greyhound Base Rate in 1991. Shortly after that, this famous greyhound’s career was finished and he got retired by his managers.

Westmead Hawk

Expert handler Nick Savva and his best buddy Westmead Hawk made it to the top of the Greyhound Derb y for two consecutive years.

With four Derby gold medals on his chest, this London-based handler is considered to be one of the best breeders on the Island. Two of the medals came from one of the fastest greyhounds on the globe, the third on our list – Westmead Hawk. Unlike other greyhound fastest dogs on our list (such as Tims Crow), this breed kept his energy for short bursts and outran his opponents at the end of the race.

In the 2005 Derby final, when he was the bookmakers’ favorite, he came up short in the closing stretch. At the last corner, he jumped to the front and took off, winning by less than two lengths in 28.56 seconds thanks to a shift in gears. A year later, the same happened again with an even better score of 12 hundreds of the second.

Westmead Hawk left the qualifying rounds unbeaten, and its victory at the Derby came as no surprise both for the critics and fans. It’s possible that some of his supporters were taken aback when they saw a 4/7 shot lag behind, but he cranked it up in the last two legs to seize control.

As a two-time winner with a still-standing unbeaten record, we can safely name this hound as one of the most famous greyhounds in the history of the sport. The dog was forced to retire to stud after breaking his hock during a race at Hall Green.

Fun fact: master trainer Nick Savva won the following Derby again, but this time with greyhound Westmead Lord, making it a third consecutive success for the famous trainer.

Westmead Lord

Westmead Lord, one of the fastest greyhounds in the world, was the dog that brought trainer Nick Savva his fourth Derby victory, and it was his third consecutive winning year.

Westmead Lord was the half-brother of Westmead Hawk and had very similar attributes. However, we rated the Lord one place below, because this greyhound was not as explosive and dominant as his relative.

At the 2007 English Derby, Westmead Lord was at 6/1, and his victory came as a surprise, as he was competing against Loyal Honcho which stood at 6/4. Westmead Lord was victorious and cashed out £100,000 . The Lord didn’t snatch away a win during the qualifying rounds but put his speed to his use and made a time of 28.47, which surprisingly was faster than his half-brother’s 2005 finish time.

Ballyregan Bob

We saved the best for the last – world record-holder, Ballyregan Bob.This is a name hard to forget since it is engraved in stone to stand witness for all the greyhound lovers.

The years 1985/86 are the years that brought Bob world fame. He was victorious at Hove in 1985, then set the score for the Racing Post Challenge in the winter of 1986. With not a single race lost in between, this world-famous speedster made it unbeaten to 32-races. A record unbeaten up to this day!

During his run of success, Bob won a few more races, breaking records as he did, and got his owners a fair amount of rewards. He claimed the Olympics at Brighton, the Test at Walthamstow, and Essex Vase around Romford.

Ballyregan Bob ran the victory course all the way up to the final race of the St. Leger greyhound classic competition. Unfortunately, he was declared a non-runner to the disappointment of all of the fans who were eager to see Bob run. Bob’s handler was George Curtis, and bookies always considered him the favorite.

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