Modern greyhound racing was an immensely complex and integrated business. It was largely financed by the middle classes who invested modestly in order to gain from what they saw as an immensely profitable, if precarious, opportunity for gain. The business models that developed were based upon the different sizes of stadium, variable use of the tote, the varying dependence on gate money, varying urban areas they, and the type of clientele they wished to attract. Despite such differences there was a basic uniformity in the design of the tracks, the essential facilities that were provided, and the ceremony involved in preparing for, and conducting, raceday. The National Greyhound Racing and the National Greyhound Racing Club provided a higher quality of racing on the tracks they controlled and the small flapping tracks were conscious of the fact that their tracks did not meet these high standards.Nevertheless, both types of tracks were important in catering for their local public and their local communities, possibly directly employing up to 27,000 people, full-time or part-time, by the late 1940s, as well as indirectly providing work for many thousands more through the building of stadiums, engineering works, and in the breeding and training of dogs.