1998 There is ‘good news’ when the BGRB announces that crowds rose by 17% and tote by 18% in 1997. In fact, attendances were marginally down, though the BGRB chose to use an ‘average attendance’ figure based on the number of meetings and loss of three tracks.
1960 The highly respected Lord Carisbrooke dies following a 10 year tenure as the NGRC senior steward. The son of Prince Henry of Battenburg, the marquess was the queen’s cousin and the last surviving grandchild of Queen Victoria.
2001 Wimbledon bookmakers seem set to make a point when they return Off The Hook at 1-4f in an A9 graded event (they were then betting 10-1 (x3), 12, 20-1). Ray Peacock’s dog won by three lengths.
1993 Bord na gCon increase the price of unrecorded trials to £3.
2005 Ian Reilly’s Droopys Cahill undergoes emergency surgery to save his life after breaking a leg in the Tote Gold Cup. Meanwhile kennelmate Hee Haws Barney is sold to UK based Andy Johnson for €100,000.
1999 A punt by a punting syndicate sees Try Again Timmy backed from 40-1 to 9-2 to land the Arc. He finishes lame in the first round and is withdrawn.
1978 ITV’s World Of Sport programme announce they will stage “the most extensive live greyhound coverage ever seen on British television” when they broadcast the Trainers Championship meeting from Monmore. Three of the races will form part of the ‘ITV Seven’.
2004 El Ronan is retired after injuring a gracilis muscle at Oxford. The son of Staplers Jo had won 61 of his 117 races. After an abortive attempt to stand him at stud, the former Lister runner was homed through the RGT.
1937 The first greyhound to cross the Irish Sea by Air is Lone Keel. A hitch in his registration prevents him from taking part in a puppy competition at West Ham, but he stays over with private trainer S Wright, who steers him to four wins out of six races during the month.
1968 Ireland’s champion greyhound of 1967, Yanka Boy who won the Midland Puppy Derby at Mullingar, the St Leger at Limerick and the Cesarewitch at Navan, has been sold by his owner Nick Loughnane of Roscrea to Matt Costello for £3,200. He will stand at Matt’s stud farm in Pallas, Upperchurch, Co Tipperary. Yanka Boy (Clonalvy Pride-Millie Hawthorn, Mar 65) was bred by Patsy Richardson of Doon, Co Limerick and sold to Mick Loughnane early in 1967 for £600. He quickly repaid his owner winning over £2,700 prize money in a few months.
1998 Walthamstow trainer Paul Young is sacked after Soda Gale finds 53 spots in a graded race after being backed from 6-1 to 9-4.
2005 The NGRC and Betfair sign a memorandum of understanding. It will allow the Club to request information on betting activity in any race.
1993 Lonely Mixture wins the William Hill First For Freephone sprint for the comparatively unknown Lakenheath based trainer Linda Jones.
1971 Lord Sefton, President of the Waterloo Committee, wins the Waterloo Cup after 51 years of trying, when his red and fawn dog So Clever (Park Picture-How Clever, Mar 67) 4-6 favourite, got up by two lengths for the opening points and in an average course collected more working points to beat Holly Tree 5-4. So Clever is a well-bred greyhound. One of his grandparents is Old Kentucky, winner of the 1957 Waterloo Cup, and two of his great-grandparents, also won the Cup – Holystone Lifelong in 1953 and Holystone Elf in 1958. Lord Sefton has had six previous finalists, Sold Again (1933), Shy Bess (1942), String (1943), Scorpion (1950), Sucker (1953) and Streak Away (1970).
1999 Stephen Rea takes over as general manager at Hall Green from Jean Feltham.
