A fantastic collection of memories of a much loved greyhound stadium – by Patick Kelly

The stadium was originally built on a site previously occupied by a market garden and the first meeting was staged on Saturday, June 2, 1928.
The Argus, the local newspaper, reported that the fixture attracted nearly 7,000 spectators and the events pointed to a highly successful future.
The greyhound to create history by winning the first-ever race at Hove was the Graham Hooper-owned Costs (7-4F), who scored by ten lengths from Kilquane Rover over 550 yards in 32.45sec.
In 1932 a totalisator was installed, although this method of betting was declared illegal seven months later and remained so until the Betting, Gaming and Lotteries Act reversed the decision in 1934.
Three years later, the government enforced a restriction whereby all greyhound stadia in the British Isles were restricted to 104 racedays per annum and this legislation restricted growth within the industry.
When the Second World War commenced in 1939, a ban was inflicted on floodlit racing and the severely disrupted programme was only able to take place in the afternoon.
The sport’s fortunes were again drastically hit in February, 1947, when a fuel crisis prompted that greyhound racing nationwide was suspended for five weeks.
In contrast to many NGRC stadia, Hove survived the threat of opening of betting shops in 1961, which effectively sparked wholesale track closures.

Gerard Keeley
Gerard Keeley, who joined Hove in 1937 and became Managing Director in 1964, was one of the most influential figures behind the development of the track and his efforts deserve a special niche in Hove Stadium’s colourful history.

One of the most respected trainers of all time: George Curtis, who received a special Lifetime Achievement award from the Greyhound Writers’ Association in 2003, joined Hove in April, 1967, and remained there until his retirement on January, 3, 1987. George was champion trainer three times and sent out 10 Classic winners from his Albourne base.
Glin Bridge (w bd d Spectre x Shore Sussie, Nov 72) burst onto the racing scene in January, 1975, and he eventually matured into the top stayer of his generation, winning 33 of his 49 starts and occupying second place on 10 occasions.
Glin Bridge was challenged by three of the best greyhounds in training around the country in match races – Dancing Dolores, Streaky Sheila and Sampson Flash – and won them all, two in track record time.
Locally bred, by Jane Hicks, Yankee Express (bd d Pecos Jerry x Kings Comet Oct 80), the fastest middle-distance performer of his era, achieved a feat of Red Rum proportions when wining three consecutive Scurry Gold Cup titles (1982-83-84) at Slough for owners Ray Barnard, Bert Cusack and Sid Stenning.
Few people would argue that wonder dog Ballyregan Bob helped put Brighton & Hove Stadium truly on the greyhound racing map. Owned by Cliff Kevern and trained here by the great George Curtis, he gained canine immortality when setting a new world record of 32 consecutive wins in the Racing Post World Challenge over 695 metres here on December 9, 1986.

Important landmarks

  • The Bookmakers’ Afternoon Greyhound Service (BAGS) was formed in 1967, but Hove was not introduced on to the betting shop roster until in 1982.
  • Hove has always been able to boast the finest canine talent and earned national acclaim when winning the old National Inter-Track Championship in 1969 & 1976.
  • More recently, they claimed successive Supertrack titles when defeating Romford (’95) and Bristol (’96) in epic showdowns at Wembley Stadium.
  • The conversion to metric from yards came into play at Hove’s New Year’s Day fixture in January, 1975, and the switch also coincided with Doreen Walsh, our longest-serving trainer, sending out her first runners here.
  • Coral Leisure Group purchased the stadium in the summer of 1976, and their policy of continued investment in the intervening years has given racegoers first-class facilities.
  • Meanwhile, the totalisator, the prime source of income for any greyhound track, received a massive shot-in-the-arm with the advent of a computerised version in 1978.
  • HRH Queen Elizabeth visited the track with Prince Philip on July 16, 1962 and, in fact, the Duke of Edinburgh owned a top-class stayer that was trained at Hove by the late Gordon Hodson in 1978-79. Playfield Royal ran a very worthwhile charity, namely the National Playing Fields Association.
  • Video race replays arrived in 1983 and, although some shrewd eagle-eyed punters will beg to differ, they brought a new dimension to the sport as more and more racegoers watched the racing in the bars instead of out on the terraces.
  • In 1985, Hove, in common with all tracks operating under NGRC rules, celebrated a new law that enabled them to stage as many meetings as they chose and 12-race cards became commonplace two years later.
  • The saddest part of the track’s history came in September 1991 when it became a one-sided stadium as the Orchard Road enclosure, often affectionately referred to as the “cheap side”, was shut down.
  • In January 1995, the government allowed greyhound racing to operate full betting facilities on Sundays and track promoters exploited a welcome change in archaic legislation.

The safest running circuit in the land
The actual configuration of the track (circumference 455 metres), is generally perceived as the safest of any within the NGRC portfolio and the surface was originally turf prior to sanded bends and eventually an all-sand strip.

Loyal patronage
The success of any NGRC track owes much to the loyal patronage of its owners and the likes of Derek Allen, Jimmy Jupp, Roy Pook, John Keehan, John Houlihan, Brian Reeves, Cliff Kevern, Bert Cusack, Dick Smith, Nigel Wood, Dennis and Janet Jordan, Brian Marchant, Tony Matthews, Roy Osborne, Alan Green, Vinnie Jones, Roy Felmingham and John Ward to name but a few have been instrumental in bringing the finest greyhounds in the country to Hove.

The most talented team of greyhounds in the country
Hove, thanks mainly to the exploits of Bonzo, Pass The Buck and Reddans Walk captured the final of the 1976 National Inter-Track Championship when defeating Shawfield over two legs – they had previously beaten Derby in a two legged-affair to take the title in 1969.
Hove won ‘Supertrack’ titles at Wembley in 1995 and 1996 when respectively beating Bristol and sister-track Romford on two unforgettable nights at Wembley Stadium.

Success for Hove has been constant through the decades
In 2002, Allen Gift, representing first-season handler Claude Gardiner and owned by Ian Brenchley, provided Hove with a first-ever success in the Greyhound Derby (480m) at Wimbledon when serving up a16-1 upset in the final of an incident-packed competition.
Fifteen years later, Seamus Cahill’s Astute Missile served up a 28-1 shock result when coming home three-quarters of a length ahead of Irish star Tyrur Shay in the final of the Greyhound Derby (500m) at Towcester.