EDITORS CHAIR – KEEP TRACK OF WHAT IS IMPORTANT

Am I the only one who found it telling that the 2025 English Oaks has been designated to a track that doesn’t exist? 

Quite how far progress has been made in building a greyhound track at Wolverhampton Racecourse is anybody’s guess. 

As an organisation, ARC could teach the Kremlin a few things about ‘need to know’. 

Thus far, the only vibes coming out of the place suggest that greyhound racing will very much play second fiddle to horseracing. 

Whether that is true, or even fair, is a closely held secret within ARC’s Millbank Sharktank HQ. 

The fact that GBGB are prepared to sanction the event, says as much about where the industry power lays, as to whether the place will be a suitable venue for one of the most important events in the Calendar. 

Thankfully, thus far, the Board haven’t made any announcement about the 2026 English Derby but I have already heard suggestions that “Wolverhampton would be ideal”. 

Why? 

“Because of its location, and its hotel and transport links, blah de blah.” 

REALLY? 

Aren’t we missing something far more important here? 

Which is the best track to stage the most important event of the year? 

For my money, and only dealing with tracks with a proven record, there are only three possible contenders: Hove, Central Park and Towcester. 

In all honesty, Hove’s recent reputation has waned a little recently. I had numerous complaints from trainers about the going during the summer months, though it has improved in the last two or three weeks and the standard of racing certainly has. A well run stadium too. 

The investment in Central Park’s racing circuit has certainly paid off in consistency and quality of racing, though its other facilities are not necessarily up to the job. 

But while Towcester’s detractors moan about its lack of local infrastructure, with a lack of hotels, taxis etc, how big a deal is that really? 

It can easily host a once-a-year crowd of 5,000 folks and although it is a comparatively small village, it is only 10 miles from Northampton and 12 miles from Milton Keynes with as many Premier Inns as you could wave a debit card at. 

Sittingbourne and Brighton might have hotels too, but they aren’t exactly ‘geographically central’. 

I suggest that this shouldn’t be about the ‘once a year’ customer anyway. It should be about the dogs and the truest test of a champion greyhound. 

To date there have been five venues deemed worthy of staging an English Derby.  

Harringay only hosted once, during wartime, and even the East Londoners would place Green Lanes behind Wood Lane as both a venue and a racing circuit. 

In so many ways, White City, close to London’s West End, was the ideal venue (for a booming sport!). It had everything from a great road and rail network to the facilities to entertain 80,000 people, from terraces to the famous American Bar and restaurant. 

Putting aside the fact that as a facility it would now be unserviceable, the racing circuit was not without its issues. 

Everyone remembers the famous ‘stripey’ grass circuit of the summer. But that was relaid at great cost for Derby.  

In the winter, it froze.  

In the summer, it baked hard and the injury stats went through the roof, particularly broken and knocked up toes. 

For at least eight months of the year, it was muddy with going varying by up to half a second between railers and wides. And that was on just 16 or 24 races per week. 

But that wasn’t the worst of it. As a grass track, it had zero degrees on camber and in-race trouble was far worse than on a banked circuit. 

Basically, a dog getting a 40 mph bump had very little chance of recovering his balance on a surface flatter than the M25. 

In short – no modern management would accept the maintenance costs of running, of running or attempting to operate a grass tracks. 

Furthermore, I doubt that a track like White City would be allowed to race on welfare grounds. 

When Wimbledon inherited the Derby, there were complaints that ‘it is a Laurels track for 460 metre dogs, not a proper venue for Derby dogs over 500 metres’. 

There was no room to move the traps back 40 metres, so as a compromise, a second winning line was created 20 metres past the first for a 480 metre Derby. 

When Pagan Swallow, a locally trained runner with 660 metre winning form, won the first Derby at Plough Lane, the critics blasted the place. 

But then when the following year’s final included outstanding middle distance star like Tico and Fearless Action, the moanometre went down half a notch. 

But there was still plenty of first bend trouble, a situation not rectified for several more years. However, it was eventually overcome by moving the inside rail outwards by around eight feet. 

Although the circuit length barely changed, the reduced first bend bumping and the second winning line saw the complexion of the Derby change. 

Even though White City’s Derby trip was 20 metres further, it was difficult for a strong finisher to overtake around the flat third and fourth bends. The field had barely straightened up on the home straight before they were over the winning line. 

Lead into the third bend at White City and you were virtually home, as best proven by beefed up sprinters like Mutts Silver and I’m Slippy.  

At Plough Lane, come off the last bend without the requisite stamina for the long run-in and you would get hauled in. 

Westmead Hawk made his reputation on it. 

Unfortunately, GRA’s failure to maintain its stadia over decades, meant that the main grandstand was eventually condemned for being full of asbestos. 

The racing circuit was reversed (ironically to the original pre-war set-up) but the Derby circuit never felt quite the same again. 

Nottingham only staged two Derbys and it too had its own identity as a Derby venue though it is a very short sample on which to make too many observations. 

For a start, the 2020 Derby was staged in October, due to Covid, and thus had to deal with tougher weather. As a result, the going allowances fluctuated between +30 and -120 for some of the meetings. 

We were back to 500 metres and inevitably, fortune favoured the early paced runners. Both the ’19 and ’20 finals were won by early paced leaders in Priceless Blake and Deerjet Sydney.  

But that is the story or dog racing, even at Wimbledon. ‘The Hawk’ was the exception, not the rule. 

But Nottingham still produced its share of strong running finalists.  

The ’19 final was high in quality and included strong finishers like Ballymac Tas, only beaten half a length, and Skywalker Logan, one place behind her. 

The ’20 final saw the strong finishing Ballydoyle Valour fail by just three quarters of a length to catch the Buckley front runner. 

Over all, Nottingham made a pretty good fist of it. 

Which leads us to Towcester. The original Towcester, which staged the 2017 and 2018 Derbys, was built for eight dog racing and the track was 20 metres wide. 

It was nevertheless a decent circuit, albeit some felt it was ‘all bends’ with minimal straights. 

The bigger issue was going. Wide open to the elements, it was always going to be a tougher circuit to maintain consistency than its urban equivalents. 

In the winter, it regularly froze (and will presumably always be an ongoing battle). But in the summer, it dried out too quickly. On a breezy warm summer’s evening they couldn’t pour the water on fast enough. 

In addition, the drainage system was inadequate. The gauge of the pipes was too narrow and then they were eventually removed, on the track’s re-opening, every inch of drainage pipe was blocked solid with sand. 

Kevin Boothby extended the straights and brought in the hare rail. It made the hare driver’s job simpler and resulted in less trouble. 

In addition, Towcester became one of the most consistent circuits in the industry. For the first year of the Boothby reign, 2021, one meeting had +20 going, and one had some +10. 

All 62 races in this year’s event were calculated at either ‘N’ or ‘+10’ 

So how does Towcester compare with Ireland’s Derby venue, Shelbourne Park? 

The Dublin venue shared the Derby with Harolds Cross until 1967, bar the occasional running at Cork or Limerick and had been its home ever since. 

The switch from 525 yards to 550 yards took place in 1986 as Bord na gCon attempted to woo the American market, for whom the distance was at the lower end of their wish list. 

All of which was quite ironic given the penultimate 525 final had been won by Dipmac, an early paced son of American import, Sand Man. 

As to whether the extra 25 yards has fundamentally altered the Irish Derby or Irish breeding, is a more complex issue. 

Breeding has moved on thanks, in the first instance, to progress in the transportation and storage of semen, but also due to the investment of stud keepers, led by Michael Dunne. 

But it has been the Australian bloodlines that have moved the dial the most, not the Americans.  

Dunne imports included Frightful Flash, sire of the only English/Irish Derby winner, Toms The Best, Top Honcho (He Said So) and Thorgil Tex (Judicial Pride). 

The only Aussie sire of three Irish Derby winners, Brett Lee, is interesting because his trio were all front runners: Tyrur McGuigan, Laughil Blake and Razldazl Billy and would have been just as capable of winning a ‘525’ Derby. 

In fact, there would be a good argument to suggest that eight of the last ten Irish Derby winners: The Other Kobe, Born Warrior, Susie Sapphire, Newinn Taylor, Ballyanne Sim, Good News, Rural Hawaii and Laughil Blake would also have won a ‘525’ Derby.  

Only Lenson Bocko and Ballymac Matt made the most of the last 25 yards. 

The ‘Boothby’ Towcester sample is very much smaller – just four finals, but three of the four winners: Romeo Magico, Thorn Falcon and De Lahdedah came off the pace to win their finals, generally taking up the running up the backstraight. Only Gaytime Nemo led from trap to line. 

The Shelbourne circuit with its tighter bends and longer straights provides an advantage to hounds blessed with early pace.  

But to succeed at Towcester, they have to be as strong, as they are fast. Early pace is not a necessity, but class is. 

The ultimate?  

Being a champion at both. 

Towcester

Shelbourne Park

Personally, I think the current Towcester circuit is the most suitable track on which to run the English Derby. Any thoughts of moving it, simply for a ‘one night’ crowd, would be a disgrace.

But then – again just a personal view – I think it is the best circuit on either side of the Irish Sea. Discuss!

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A reminder to UK and Irish readers to support the GRI initiative of reducing the tote deductions at Shelbourne Park to 12.5% for the next three Saturdays.

I have regularly written about the need to make greyhound betting more efficient and thereby encourage growth.

If you can’t make it to Shelbourne Park, there is always the Barking Buzz option though be aware that registration can take several days.

“Editors Chair is an opinion article written by Floyd Amphlett who has been with the Greyhound Star since 1987. Floyd has experienced all of the major developments in greyhound racing for the past 40 years and maintains an enthusiastic interest in the progress and future development of the industry.”