1990 Sam The Man becomes the first English bred puppy to win the Waterloo Cup in 27 years after taking the decider from another English runner Rossa Rock. Trained by Audrey Hall, Sam (Fearless Action-Parkers Morning) was bred by Rosemary Gaynor.
1985 When racing manager Gary Woodward is headhunted by Coventry, Norton Canes promoter Stephen Rea decides to take the grader’s job.
2012 London mayor Boris Johnson refuses to rule out an L&Q plan to turn Walthamstow Stadium into housing. He states: “I am acutely aware of the feelings of those who want to see it (the track) back to its best, but I however duty-bound to consider the scheme on all its merits.”
1994 Catford trainer Alf Ellis is beaten up and robbed as he visits his kennel at 5.45am. He loses two teeth and sustains a broken rib in the assault.
2002 It is an eventful Golden Jacket. Trainer John McGee is suspended between semis and final and his runner Grayslands Gift joins Yvonne Harrington. Odds-on favourite McCarthys Duke is beaten and will be subsequently disqualified for fighting. The final is won by Sundar Storm but will subsequently have the race taken off her for a positive drugs test. Trainer Kim Marlow will eventually lose her contract at Romford after her third positive inquiry.
1998 Just over a month after finishing second in the Sporting Life Juvenile, the Sunderland Puppy Derby winner Nicki Chambers’ exciting pup Knockeevan Dan dies from an unexplained illness.
1967 One of the greatest sales bargains of all time goes under the hammer when Shady Parachute is sold for 300 guineas at Shelbourne Sale. She goes on to reach two English Derby finals and land the 1968 English Oaks.2012 Express Trend is installed as 7-2 ante post favourite for the Ladbrokes Golden Jacket. In fact, the first six over the line in the decider are Blue Bee (12-1), Blackrose Monach (40-1), Farley Zach (6-1), Lottes Girl (10-1), Wise Signal (12-1) and Springwood Bob (40-1).
1950 Roving Minstrel becomes only the second dog in the history of the Waterloo Cup to win the stake having been runner-up previously. The first was Rotten Row in 1937.
1966 GRA issue a muzzling order to all owners walking their dogs at the company’s Northaw kennel complex. The move follows a recent fight where one White City dog was killed.
2013 After initially dismissing claims of a fraudulent race at Dundalk two years earlier, the Irish Greyhound Board accept the findings of a report, produced by former NGRC chief Frank Melville, into the alleged use of a ‘ringer’. The case concerned a 13 length win by a greyhound racing as Mays Hurryonboy. “The new investigation revealed discrepancies in the markings of the greyhound in question as recorded by the photo finish and those recorded in the official identity card. Furthermore, among other things, it revealed how the Race Management System (its central database used by tracks) was manipulated to undermine industry regulations.”
1966 GRA extend their portfolio to 12 tracks with the purchase of the Clapton Stadium group (for £1,125,000) which includes Reading and a large shareholding in West Ham. The company now also own two sizeable training establishments with Northaw (150 acres) and Claverhambury (170 acres).
1949 Wembley grader Jimmies Nickel, trained by Leslie Reynolds, reaches the last four of the Waterloo Cup. However, following a three day delay to stage the semis and final, due to frost, the winner and runner-up are coursing dogs, Life Line and Roving Minstrel, both trained by Lewis Reynolds.
1961 Jim Meritt, the head cellar man at Wembley Stadium, is invited by the management to bring along his family for an evening of wining and dining in the restaurant. Meritt admits to being excited by the prospect having never seen an entire race from start to finish in his 33 years at the track.
1994 Milton Keynes owners Reg Young states that he has four potential buyers including the track’s best known owner, Bob Morton.
2012 Trainer Mark Wallis is the first visitor on RPGTV’s new set which includes a slot for guest appearances. Wallis is the 11-8fav to finish the year as top trainer. A good bet as it transpires.
1998 Hove announce plans to introduce a new distance of 475 metres.
1965 The ICC issue a statement saying there “may” be drugs testing at the forthcoming National Coursing meeting at Clonmel. Northern Irish entry Mourne Monarch (20s ante post) beats Frances Chandler’s Central Fund in the Derby final with Lord Rank’s The Limit way too good for Oddish in the Oaks decider.
1949 North Carolina is to have a second track following on from the success of Morhead City. With Colorado having recently become the eighth state to allow greyhound racing, there are currently 22 tracks in operation, less than a third of the number racing in Britain.
1994 Brough Park grader Boiled Eggs is back from 7-2 to 4-6f and wins an A2 race in 29.47. Kennelmate Daisy Secret finds time to win a handicap race, but the track management are fined £850 for failing to show the Irish form on the racecard of the two debutants. Yarmouth are fined £300 for a similar offence.
2002 8-1 ante post favourite Murtys Gang was declared the Irish Coursing Derby when his litter brother Cillowen Harbour was withdrawn from the decider.
1966 Gateshead, which operates on the site of the town’s football club, closes down. The move had been anticipated following the recent purchase of the parent company by the Totalisator Group which owns Brough Park. Also in the North East, South Shields, recently expelled by the NGRC for a series of failing, including poor equipment, goes into liquidation. On a brighter note, the new owners of Stockton-on-Tees announce that their new £12,000 purchase will continue to trade.
1998 The Sporting Life’s Irish correspondent Gavin McGrath (John Martin) suggests “greyhound racing followers will be outraged” following the announcement that part of Shelbourne Park’s nine acre site will be sold off for appartments. Some of the cash will be used to finance the recently announced Curraheen Park project in Cork.
1947 Romford runners Lotties Princess and Pennine Princess become the first greyhounds to void a race under the NGRC’s revised ‘first past the post’ rule (45a) – introduced the previous month. Neither bitch left the traps during the race.
