This week at Her.ie we had one of those days where everything went to the dogs. 

No, wait – that’s a bad thing. Everyone went to the dogs, and we had a blast!

Team Her.ie and our brothers over at JOE.ie paired up with the Irish Greyhound Board, and on Tuesday night we brought a hundred of our lovely readers along to a special event at Harold’s Cross Greyhound Stadium.

Some of the crew here were veterans of the track, some had never been before and didn’t really know what to expect, but everyone had a superb time.

With thirteen races in all we rocked along for a 7.30 start, race cards in hand and hopes high. It’s no spoiler to say none of us left the track a millionaire, but laughs were plenty and losses were few. 

We spent the first few races learning about what types of bets to place from our resident tipsters, and Her.ie editor Michelle, who has been known to be partial to some horse-racing flutters – unfortunately her knowledge did NOT translate!

Small wins and small losses meant that for the first few races we were breaking even as a team.

Race six, however, was an important one for us. The Her.ie race was upon us, and we couldn’t be seen to lose! To counteract any embarrassing fails – we developed a system whereby we’d each choose a different dog to bet on, so at least one of us was bound to win… genius, right?

Except, we miscalculated slightly, and with about two minutes to the scheduled race time, we discovered that no one had bet on number two – Jake Side. Cue panic all-round, and our Aoibhinn pegging it over to the Tote to get that crucial bet covered in time. Guess who won? 

As the lovely Jake Side had made it past the finish line first, we trekked down to the track in our heels to present the owner with their trophy, and Jake Side with the Her.ie racing coat.

Trivia note – all dogs have a racing name and a non-racing name, so our Jake Side’s name is actually Sue. When we discovered this, it seemed unfortunate that the Sue on our staff hadn’t picked the winner too! 

Back upstairs with us to watch the rest of the races from the comfortable and cosy surroundings of the bar and restaurant at the track. Next up was the JOE.ie race so we made sure to have a punt on that one too, mostly so we could gloat to our male colleagues when we won.

The remaining races flew by, in the meantime we got to meet and greet some more lovely readers, who all told us they were having a great time. For many, it was their first time heading to the dog track and they weren’t too sure what to expect either. One gent in a dashing Marilyn Monroe style wig told us he was winning big and the Milky Bars were on him… you can imagine our disappointment when the night ended without any sign of said chocolate.

We doled out prizes to some of the best-dressed on the night, and as the racing drew to a close the dancing began. One brave reveler treated us to a stunning rendition of Barbie Girl, but all too soon our first night at the dogs was coming to a close.

Our first, but certainly not our last… We’ll be back at the track soon and we’d love for you to come and join us at the next night out. Check back here for details soon!