a small
animal with long ears, a
short tail and soft fur. A rabbit?
n. a
mechanical rabbit that travels on an electric
railing, used as a lure in
dog racing.
Dog racing originates from a sport known as coursing, where
dogs raced after live
rabbits (or other
game) on
straight courses. Often,
rabbits were caged at the finish
line. In answer to protest against the
use of live
rabbits, in 1919 the
mechanical rabbit was invented.
Dog races were then
run on oval or circular tracks with the "rabbit" being attached to an electric
railing. A
pack of six or more
dogs are
set loose from starting boxes to
chase the rabbit. The
dogs never actually
catch the rabbit except by accident, as its speed is regulated with
mechanical controls. In their attempt to overtake the rabbit the
dogs show great speed, with the fastest
dogs running close to 40 mph (65 km/h).
the
mechanical rabbit that circles a
greyhound dog racing
track on an
electrified rail. This rabbit was invented by an
American, Oliver P.
Smith, in 1919. Earlier,
dogs raced after live
rabbits.