2005 October 24 Northern Irish track Ballyskeagh, near Lisburn, shuts down. It will eventually re-open as Drumbo Park.
1937 October 17 In the final of the Northern Flat Championship at Belle Vue, Golden Alexander is made a short-priced favourite after he won his semi-final by six lengths in 28.56, only 7 spots off the track record. But Demotic Mack owned by D McKenzie, trained at Clapton by C W Cross and starting at 7-1, turns the tables on the favourite by winning the £100 first price by a length in 28.66 for the 500 yards.
2012 Mayor Boris Johnson declines to intervene in the plan to develop Walthamstow Stadium for housing.
1980 Rahan Ship adds the Irish Leger to his recent victory in Navan’s Cesarewitch. Ship is owned by Midlands wholesale butcher Ray Camplejohn and trained by Ballintee based Londoner John Haynes.
2008 In a shock move, Wimbledon announce that general manager Darren Kennedy had resigned. No explanation of his sudden departure is ever given.
1960 Three offspring of exported English Derby winner Endless Gossip reached the American Derby Final at Taunton. Big Gossip finished the best of them in second place with Velvet Sis fourth and Mardy Girl seventh. Interestingly, the winner of the $15,000 race, Serape was a son of Black Magic II, who was based with Jim Hookway at Sheffield and won the Orient Cup, finished second in the St Leger and reached a string of top staying finals.
2012 Galliard Homes launch their plan for the Wimbledon Stadium site. It includes a 15,000 seater football stadium, a substantial retail park and between 450-500 homes – but no greyhounds.
1998 BS Group are granted permission by local planners to build a new greyhound stadium adjacent to the MK Bowl.
2007 GTA chairman Jim Reynolds is attempting to resolve the impasse with his executive – who recently passed a vote of no confidence in him – by calling for mediation.
1996 Monmore re-opens after a £250,000 revamp of the racing circuit which took three weeks to complete. The ‘new Monmore’ features a new bigger circuit and the Sumner hare replaced with a ‘Swaffham’.
2012 Mark Wallis sends out TV Trophy winner Blonde Reagan and the winners of six other opens on the same night. His prize money total of £202,795 is more than double that of closest trainer rival Paul Young, and five times that of third placed Chris Allsopp.
1979 Honeygar Kid, who will go on to win a string of major events, including the 1980 and 1981 Cock O’The North finals, is sold at Shelbourne Sales for 1,500 guineas.
1995 Trainer John Coleman is declared bankrupt following an application by Customs & Excise.
2001 The Dolores Ruth trained Sonic Flight wins a thrilling finish to the Co-op Superstores Irish Laurels. Headed in the betting by Longvalley Max, the blue jacketed Sonic (3-1) was led up up by Larkhill Lo, Micks Mystic and Premier County. By the third bend, Sonic was in third place and moved up on the rails around the last as Micks Mystic ans Larkhill swung wide. Showing a superior finish, the big black got home by half a length in 28.41 with Larkhill a similar distance third.
