Totalisator

The concept of greyhound racing was imported to Britain from the United States by the businessman Charles Munn. Munn and a group of investors formed the Greyhound Racing Association which opened the first track in Britain at Belle Vue, Manchester, in 1926. When the company opened Harringay Stadium in September the following year, it was an immediate success attracting tens of thousands of visitors. Built in Harringay Park on the spoil from the extension of the Piccadilly line to Finsbury Park, the stadium cost in the region of £35,000. Its capacity was around 50,000 spectators.

The stadium attracted a clientele drawn from a variety of social backgrounds. MPs and middle class professionals rubbed shoulders with working men and women. Greyhound racing was considered a glamorous transatlantic leisure pursuit, but also provided an outlet for gambling in the time before betting shops were legalised.

The historic appeal of dog racing was that it was an affordable, enjoyable night out. However, dog racing has declined in popularity from its peak around the Second World War owing to competition from other modern leisure pursuits and new gambling outlets. The legalisation of betting shops under the Betting and Gaming Act (1961) produced a major rival for tracks. Harringay Stadium closed in September 1987 exactly 50 years after it opened.

The stadium's totalisator or 'tote' was designed by the Australian engineer and inventor George Julius and installed in 1930. Tote betting is where an individual's bet is set against the collected bets of all the other gamblers and therefore the odds are not fixed by the bookmaker. This tote is electro-mechanical whereas modern dog tracks use new computerised systems.