WEST MEMPHIS, Ark. -- Woodrow 'Woody' Blackwell leads a dog's life.
No, he's not down and out. He's a greyhound racing trainer who's near the top of his profession, plying his craft at Southland Greyhound Park in West Memphis in the spring and summer and then at St. Petersburg in the winter.
The white-haired and soft-spoken Texan thrives on competition and has raced sleek, fast greyhounds all over the country in the more than 35 years he has been in the business.
There are 38 dogs under his care at the R.E. Thomas Kennel. Most will race at least once a week during the May to November season at Southland, just across the Mississippi River from Memphis.
But, while racing is an important part of the job, it's by no means the most time-consuming.
'We take better care of the dogs than we do ourselves,' Blackwell said in a interview at the first turn of the Southland track. 'We have to because that's our living.'
Blackwell's wife, Polly, and an assistant help him keep up the day-in, day-out pace required to win the 100 races a season that has become his trademark.
'This kind of business, if you don't stay on top of it, then you're in trouble,' he said. 'That's why it's so nerve-racking.'
Care for the dogs is the most important item of the day. Blackwell gets up at dawn, even after a night at the races, to exercise his pups. The rest of the morning is filled with schooling, more exercise and grooming.
The kennel is cleaned, each dog is brushed, their toenails clipped, teeth and ears inspected and their beds freshened up. The dogs feast on a special protein-filled diet.
By late afternoon it's time to go to the track and weigh the dogs that will race that night. After a brief trip back home for dinner, it's off again to the track and a night of racing that won't end until nearly midnight.
Not even open heart surgery and high blood pressure have slowed Blackwell down.
He did give up the sport once in 1975 when he joined a trainer boycott at a track in Florida. Blackwell and his wife bought a 12-acre nursery, but almost from the start they missed the tingle of racing. from the start they missed the tingle of racing.
'We weren't nursery people,' said Blackwell. 'Dog-racing is in our system. But, it's a lot of work with no days off. I've worked with a 104-degree fever. It's something that's got to be done.'
The dogs also have to work.
'They've got to have a lot of heart,' he said. 'If they try and do their best I'm satisfied.'
Racing greyhounds hit the track at between 15 months and 17 months. A good dog may do well for three years. But that's about the limit, said Blackwell. 'This really burns them up.'
Greyhounds have had a bad reputation as being vicious animals. Blackwell said they were that way 30-35 years ago when dogs were shipped over to the United States from Ireland and England but he said those traits have just about been bred out of the American dogs.
'They're shy dogs. Not high-spirited,' he said, just before the start of a race in which he had a dog entered.
Blackwell quickly stood up and focused his eyes across the expanse of track as the dogs broke from the starting gate. His entry, Vicki Dian, lagged at the rear of the pack going into the first turn.
'Come on. Turn it on, baby,' Blackwell yelled as the flying feet and surging heads sprinted past.
Vicki Dian took his advice, rallying to finish a close second.
Blackwell, at 58, doesn't even think about retiring.
'Not as long as my health holds out,' he said. 'I still work seven days a week. I enjoy it because I know what I'm doing. I love competition. I love to come over here and know I can out-train most of these guys.
'They beat me tonight, but they better be on the ball because I'll be back.'
