The killing jaws are muzzled and there's no tearing of limb from limb but if the hounds were not blood-thirsty there would be no point in the pursuit. The lethal edge of closed coursing has been blunted but it retains a certain primordial hunter-quarry element which gives it magnetism to watch.
Mix that with the opportunity for serious betting and convivial socialising and you have the recipe which drew a crowd of some 11,000 to Powerstown Park, Clonmel, Co Tipperary, yesterday for the National Coursing Meeting.
There was an urgency about those who trekked through muddy car parks to catch the early courses. Once inside, form and bookies' odds were studied intensely and thousands stood in the stands, eyes riveted to every run-off as the finalists came through.
Nonetheless, it was also a family occasion. There were children aplenty, some in buggies, and senior citizens. To the newcomer, however, the finer points were obscure. Clearly, if you weren't an owner or betting, you weren't really at the races, so to speak.
But you could tell this is a very specialised sport and a substantial industry. Stalls sold everything from canine dietary supplements to muzzles, leads and "magnetic greyhound collars" (for "bad travellers, bad kennellers, stiff or sore neck, hyperactive dogs").
An electronic therapy unit was on offer for £452, commended because "ultrasonic energy is accepted worldwide as an extremely effective and proven method of treating racing greyhounds".
On the field, the courses followed fast and furious - or curiously repetitive if you were not engaged in the performances.
Frequently, the small, brown hare made a clear run to safety. More often, the sleek and sinewy hounds "turned" their prey once or several times.
A few times, the dogs seemed to trap their quarry, their heads working vigorously as they tried to "worry" it. Once or twice the hare was flung or "headed" into the air.
The crowd divided into two types of punter - those who stayed at the rails or on the stands and those who chose to watch on close circuit television in the bars and tea rooms.
Spirited performances by hare or hound evoked equal praise. "He's a real good hare. See that, he's a real good hare. He's a real good hare," one man said. Bundles of £20 notes were slipped to bookies. English and Northern accents abounded and all the bookies seemed to offer: "Bet sterling. Paid sterling."
Tickets were on sale for a "monster raffle" being run by Borris-in-Ossory and Rushall coursing club. It is trying to buy a new, permanent field for its once-yearly, two-day meet.
One seller estimated it would need about 15 acres, between parking and other facilities. "We run one of the best meets in the country. You can come down and look at us. You wouldn't invest a fiver, would you?" The first prize was a 12-month dog, the second prize an 11-month bitch, and third prize £1,000.
Between slips, an energetic group of musicians belted out country and western numbers. You could buy caps or trousers, toys, cheap quartz watches, books on dog breeding, prints of hounds on the chase, greyhound badges - even a two-foot brass effigy of a greyhound.
Mr Gerry Desmond, secretary of the Irish Coursing Club, said about 20,000 greyhounds were named each year in this country. "The reason Irish greyhounds are so dominant worldwide is because of the coursing lines."
He claimed that no hares had died in the first two days of racing this week - "the kill is effectively removed from coursing now". Muzzling of dogs was introduced in 1993, the year Mr Tony Gregory introduced his Private Member's Bill on the sport. It has not affected the spectacle in the slightest, said Mr Desmond.
It would be a good night in Clonmel. The three-day meet is a major economic boost to the area - the local Chamber of Commerce estimated five years ago that it generated spending of some £6 million on accommodation, food, drink and sundries.
Outside the main gate, a line of about a dozen protesters from the Irish Council against Blood Sports maintained a vigil, with placards proclaiming: "You can't muzzle cruelty." Spokesman Mr John Tierney said it remained uncompromising in its objections to using live lure in front of greyhounds and "muzzling is simply not acceptable to us".
He claimed the muzzles frequently caused injuries to the dogs when they hit the ground at speed and hares were continuing to be killed, though not as spectacularly.
"This is basically about respect for animals. The harsh reality is that once the muzzles went on, this became a dead issue. We're fighting to put it back on the agenda."