They look ancient because they are.
Eight in all, each one led by a teenaged handler in a royal purple t-shirt, the dogs cut a silhouette at odds with their surroundings. Moving from the paddock to the gated starting blocks, they squat and sniff and occasionally bark, appearing most themselves, or most familiar, when flattened in profile: the elegant, tapered snout, stretched-out torso, and tiny waist; the massive haunches and sickle-shaped curve of the belly. The same stark, primeval outlines can be found in Roman mosaics and temple drawings dating back to 6000 BC. The Greeks, the Celts, the Egyptians—they all loved the greyhound, or its close relations.
