Around 2,000 people piled into Oxford on Friday night to see the re-birth of a much loved community asset.
The fact that the open races were devoid of stars, and that GBGB rules had prevented the staging of any graded races appeared to matter not one jot. This wasn’t about greyhound folk indulging in their form and sectional times. Their middle seeds and their going allowances.
The result sheet will show that new trainer Chris Hamblin won the first three races with Stefans Jet, Chelms Champ and Aero Lennie, a night the kennel will surely never forget. For me, the most striking aspect of the night was it took me back to my teenage years. When the local community came together for a night at the dogs. It was the locals who made the night.
Star Sports representative Kim Sanzone told a tale of being approached by a young girl working at the local hotel. She’d been tipped off that racing was returning that night.
Kin said: “She was so excited and had realised that it was about to open. She asked if I could get her tickets, her and her partner and family would all love to be there. They loved greyhound racing when it was there before.”
Brian King, an Oxford boy who went on to run Shelbourne Stud in Ireland but had returned home in retirement, has taken out a licence having never expected to train greyhounds again.
He said: “I never expected to see greyhound racing here again. I am just so excited. The locals always loved the dogs. Even when GRA tried to shut the place by putting all the prices up they still kept coming. This place will be a huge success.”
And to paraphrase a line from a Kevin Costner film:
“If you rebuild it, they will come”