Greyhound Racing in Austria

The ÖKWZR - Austrian Club for sighthounds, breeding and racing- has three member societies conducting greyhound races throughout the country. The societies are the Vienna Greyhound Racing Club, the WRKA Greyhound Racing Club Austria and the WRCT Greyhound Racing Club Tirol.¹ There is also a group called the Austrian Racing Hounds-Marchegg that is associated with the Austrian Kennel Club and the Austrian Working Dog Sport Association.² In addition to racing, the groups regularly hold coursing competitions. All the tracks in the country are oval with grass running surfaces.

Races are open to a variety of dog breeds but all races are segregated by breed. Members are also able to bring their dogs to the tracks for training on a regular basis. In fact, the Vienna Greyhound Racing Club holds trainings every weekend throughout the year.³ The greyhounds are not housed at the track, but instead are brought to the venues by their owners to race. The racing societies abide by the International Kennel Federation rules for greyhound racing and Austrian Kennel Club Greyhound Racing Rules.⁴

It appears that the racing greyhounds are bred in the country. There are three Austrian greyhound breeding kennels listed on greyhound-data.com, an online database maintained by dog racing gamblers.⁵

There is no wagering on greyhound races in Austria.