The American Sighthound Field Association (ASFA) is the premier organization for the sport of lure coursing in the United States. In addition to the member and affiliate club statuses it grants to local lure coursing clubs throughout North America, the ASFA also has a tradition of designating a breed parent club for each of its 16 recognized breeds. For the most part, the ASFA-designated parent club for any particular breed is also the AKC-designated parent club for that breed. However, there is nothing in the ASFA constitution or by-laws which requires ASFA to give breed parent club recognition to the AKC-designated breed parent club.

The Greyhound Club of America (GCA), the AKC-designated parent club for the Greyhound breed, has recently applied to become an affiliate club of the ASFA. As such, the ASFA will consider making the GCA the ASFA-designated parent club for the Greyhound breed. We believe that granting the GCA this designation would not be in the interests of the Greyhound breed and the Greyhound fancy for the following reasons.

The GCA, through its exclusionary policies and practices, has made clear that it has no interest in and no intention of being a "big tent" parent Greyhound breed club which represents all the constituencies of the Greyhound breed in the U.S. Some examples of these exclusionary policies and practices are as follows:

(1) The GCA in its organizing documents officially opposes Greyhound racing. (See GCA Standing Rules, page 8). The GCA takes this stand despite the fact that it is Greyhound racing which maintains and preserves the genetic diversity and athletic excellence of the Greyhound breed. The GCA opposes Greyhound racing despite the fact that the vast majority of the American Greyhound fancy is comprised of owners of racing-bred Greyhounds who support the continuation of Greyhound racing. As recently as last Fall, when the anti-racing Florida state constitution Amendment 13, which banned wagering on Greyhound racing in the state, was being debated, 102 Greyhound adoption groups and the thousands of volunteers they represent came out publicly in opposition to Amendment 13 and in support of Greyhound racing. Even the AKC came out publicly against Amendment 13. The GCA's failure to renounce its position against Greyhound racing only widened the chasm which has existed for many years between the small show Greyhound fancy and the larger community of owners of racing-bred and coursing-bred Greyhounds.

(2) In the recent past, the GCA sought to close the AKC Greyhound Stud Book to all NGA-registered racing-bred Greyhounds. Only action by the AKC Board of Directors prevented the GCA from excluding the largest constituency of the Greyhound breed from being cross-registered with the AKC, or their offspring being registered with the AKC. The GCA has never renounced its anti-NGA Greyhound action, and has in fact denied membership to applicants who publicly criticized the GCA for that exclusionary action. Through this action the GCA made clear that it has no intention of acting as a true breed parent club representing all the constituencies of the Greyhound breed.

(3) The GCA routinely declines membership applications from members of the Greyhound fancy who aren't involved in show Greyhounds or who have criticized its exclusionary practices and policies. Additionally, the GCA makes no outreach or attempt to encourage owners of racing-bred or coursing-bred Greyhounds to join the GCA so that it becomes a welcoming, inclusive and diverse parent breed club. The GCA clearly is content with representing almost entirely, and only, owners of show-bred Greyhounds whose primary interest is the show ring rather than running sports.

(4) There is no inclusion, or even mention, in the GCA's objects or purposes as set forth in its club constitution of the holding or support of running events like lure coursing, open field coursing or racing. Only dog shows are expressly mentioned. Clearly the GCA sees itself as almost exclusively an organization for those whose interest in Greyhounds lies in the show ring, and not at all for members of the Greyhound fancy whose primary interest is running sport. At best, the GCA gives running sports only passing, minor event treatment at its sanctioned events.

(5) For decades, and since the founding of organizations dedicated to sighthound running sports such as ASFA, NOTRA and LGRA, the GCA has shown no interest in membership in or support of those organizations or in putting on any running events sanctioned by those organizations, indicating in yet another way that it does not have any interest in representing or serving the large part of the Greyhound fancy that is interested in those organizations and their running sports.

An organization with so little interest in the Greyhound breed as an athletic, running breed has no business being the ASFA-recognized breed parent club for Greyhounds!