1947 With food shortages hitting tracks hard, the Wandsworth Group ask owners of any greyhounds currently off the racing strength to take their dog home to be fed.
1935 The NGRC bring in a raft of rule changes following the re-opening of track totalisators. They are – all hurdles races to be staged with six runners instead of five; eight runner fields are allowed on the flat. The experiment lasts less than a year. Only one track entertains six runner hurdle fields, and the rule is then amended to that limit. Eight runner races are even less popular with very few tracks prepared to replace their ‘six runner’ totalisator machines to allow for it.
1950 Wembley have what is believed to be the only Australian greyhound in the British Isles, Princess Roslyn (Minda-Sum Revenge, Dec 47). It is rare to see ‘greyhounds from the Dominions’ noted the racing press, though trainer Probert had several Australian bred greyhounds in his kennels in the early 1930s. Unfortunately ‘Princess’, who has ‘no English or Irish bloodlines within five generations’ proves too slow to grade.
1962 Thomas Stenning Bookmakers issue the year’s first ante post priced on the English Derby little knowing of the twists and turns to come. There are three 10-1 joint favourites, Printers Present, Sallys Chat and Buffalo Bill. However, Present loses form and switches to six bends. By April, he is a 20-1 shot. By that stage, Buffalo Bill had broken a hock and Sallys Chat had been found dead in his kennel.. Meanwhile, Paddy Dunphy’s The Grand Canal starts the year at 12s. He drifts to 25-1 before trialling at White City is a phenomenal 28.70 and is installed at 10-1 joint ante post favourite with Westpark. He is then beaten in special charity race at White City by (1961 Irish Derby winner) Chieftains Guest who becomes the new English Derby favourite (7-1). Guest suffers the same hoodoo when he bruises a toe in his final preparation trial and is withdrawn on the day of the first round. However The Grand Canal eventually adds the English Derby to his wins in the Gimcrack, the Anglo-Irish and the Easter Cup.
1937 A team of dogs supplied by GRA are narrowly beaten in the second of a series of challenges against South African dogs in Johannesburg.
1947 Romford and Dagenham introduce the ‘first past the post’ rule. Until now, any dog seen to fight would cause a race to be made void.”
2005 Trainer Linda Jones announces that she will take a six month break due to ill-health. Assistant trainer Mark Wallis will take over the kennel.
1963 An enterprising Hendon betting shop who invited punters to put losing tickets into a draw with prizes of free bets were fined six guineas costs for contravening raffles and lottery legislation.
1997 A dispute with trainer Dolores Ruth over the ownership of Derby winner Shanless Slippy is settled in favour of Frank McGirr at the High Court in Dublin.
1930 Racing schedules are spasmodic with the majority of tracks, including London White City closed through December and January. Others, like Wimbledon and Walthamstow stage two meetings per week. The busiest track is West Ham who race four times a week.
2014 Hove follow sister track Romford by increasing their open race win prize money from £175 to £200 (£30 also rans).
1980 White City racing manager Bob Rowe asks the NGRC to change its rules on seeding. Rowe is in favour of seeding but against the equal distribution of seeds as he feels the rule is abused by trainers putting ‘wides’ on early early paced railers with the intention that they will cut across the field at the first bend. Rule 76 is duly amended by the stewards.
1951 Fred Trevillion, the Sutton-at-Hone owner of the ‘Trevs’ dogs is ordered by the High Court to pay £6,000 plus costs to another businessman who had loaned him money. Trevillion had borrowed the money with an intention of putting down a deposit on Plymouth greyhound track which he had attempted to buy.
1965 Derby favourite Hi Joe is stolen from trainer Noreen Collin’s kennel in Epping. Miss Collin was at White City when the kennel was broken into, probably around 8pm, by cutting through a padlock. Owner Victor Chandler, who turned down £5,000 for the 63 pound black pup, offers a £500 ‘no questions asked’ reward for the dog. Joe remains 10-1 ante post favourite for the Derby followed by Cranog Bet (12) and Double March (16) but within a fortnight, most bookies scratch Joe from the betting. Eventual winner of the event Chittering Clapton is widely available at 300-1.
2005 Romford general manager Bill Hiscock leaves ‘by mutual consent’. No further details are given. Hiscock’s assistant Cathy Johnston takes over. One of her first jobs is to oversee the opening of the plush new Pavilion restaurant.Sir Trevor Brooking cuts the tape. Meanwhile at sister track Hove, Stuart Walton retires as general manager. Simon Horton takes control.
2014 Over 300 greyhound and speedway supporters crammed into Oxford Town Hall to hear the council unanimously reject plans submitted by Galliard Homes to build 220 new homes on the site. The application fails on eight separate grounds. Galliards appeal the decision. Councillor Katherine Harborne of the Oxford East Conservative Association said: “The stadium is a community heritage asset and must be protected. I hope Galliard Homes now rethinks its project and comes up with something that is both commercially viable and satisfies the needs of the local community. However Galliards do achieve their primary goal when persuading NAMA – the Irish National Asset Agency who provided the funds to buy GRA – to back their football/housing plan for Wimbledon. The Galliards plan is in opposition to a project proposed by Paschal Taggart which will see a new modern greyhound stadium built on the site.
1984 Selection of British track record holders – Belle Vue 460m Fealess Mover (27.04), Bristol 266 & 470m Rolstone Silk (16.33, 28.05), Brouh Park 500m Squire Cass (30.14), Catford 555m Westmead Champ (34.65), Coventry 460m Brainy Prince (28.23), Crayford 462m Zulu Dancer (27.82), Hackney 484m London Spec (29.02), Harringay 475m Yankee Express (28.22), Hove 515m Glen Miner (29.62), Leicester 485m Rikasso Mick (28.17), Nottingham 485m Myrtowns Best (29.56),Oxford 450m First General (26.97), Perry Barr 500m Special Account (30.58), Reading 465m Hilville Flyer (28.13), Romford 400m Blue Style (24.02), Sheffield 500 & 650m Desert Pilot (29.38, 38.80), Walthamstow 475m Deel Joker (28.54), Wimbledon 460m Rhincrew Moth (27.53), Yarmouth 462m Westmead Dance (27.99).
1989 Coral acquire Powderhall for £2m for businessman Norrie Rowan who acquired it earlier in the week from GRA.
2008 A new TV advertisement hits the screens for Kellogs Crunchy Nut Cornflakes. It is filmed at Watlthamstow.
1975 January The Longcross Cup final at London White City is run for the first time over the new metric distance of 680 metres. It was previously over 725 yards. There is a good line up for the £300 and trophy prize. Trap 1 Westmead Bounty, 2 Seafield Poppins, 3 Sampson Flash, 4 Reliable Rosey, 5 Pitmans Brief and in 6 El Raco. Mrs H Mobley’s Westmead Bounty (Westmead County-Hacksaw, Dec 72) trained by her husband is set to show how unlucky he was in the heats after being badly baulked. Bounty is made 11/8 favourite and does not let his backers down by storming home to a 2 1/4 length win in 42.23.
2010 Monmore trainer Michael Harris announces that he is to quit the sport. Charlie Lister’s former head man reveals he is does not enjoy BAGS racing. A month later he joins Hall Green.
1990 The Irish Greyhound Board – currently on strike – nevertheless issues a press statement denying an article written by journalist John Martin suggesting widespread track closures. The piece in the Irish Independent claims that 13 tracks are to close and that all future refurbishment plans will concentrate on the remaining five tracks: Cork, Shelbourne, Tralee, Dundalk and Limerick.
1949 The head of the Bookmakers Protection Association tells members that in the four months since the Government introduced betting duty on greyhound tracks, not horse racing, the number of on-course bookies has halved.
1978 Peter Shotton leaves Brighton after being appointed as Wembley’s executive head of racing. The firebrand Brummie had been at Brighton since 1964 following spells at Wolverhampton, Leeds, Willenhall and Brough Park. He originally worked as a journalist on the Greyhound Express.
2018 John Walton announces plans to leave Belle Vue for Monmore, but Pat Rosney joins the Manchester track.
1953 A greyhound appeared as a witness in court after its owner was charged with “suffering an unmuzzled ferocious dog to be at large.” The dog was brought into court by his Bromley based owner who claimed the dog was friendly and would not hurt anyone. According to the records, “When the dog was brought into court it made for Stapleton and tried to jump onto his lap. The summonses were dismissed.
1993 Chancellor Kenneth Clarke ignored the pleas of greyhound racing and announces the Government is to allow betting shops to operate in the evening upto 10pm.
