1971 A ground breaking month for racecourse promoters as the Betting Gaming & Lotteries Amendment Act comes into force. From now on, tracks are free to race throughout the year excluding Christmas Day, Good Friday, and all Sundays. Until now, race dates were determined by local authorities. Furthermore, all tracks under the same licensing authority had to race on identical nights. However – despite the furore, most tracks do not alter their fixtures. Walthamstow’s Charles Chandler jnr states that the track will continue to race twice a week and adds: “We will hold an additional meeting on Bank Holliday Monday, but we have no plans for the rest of the year and will wait and see how things develop.”
1960 Southern Sporting Promotions Ltd, owners of the greyhound track at Southamptton, announce that they will install greyhound racing at the Poole Pirates stadium further along the south coast. The initiative is the brainchild of Southampton boss and former Hampshire spinner Charlie Knott. He states that £80,000 has already been spent on a new grandstand, kennels and outside Sumner hare.
1936 The greyhound transport vans, usually used from taking the dogs from Burhill Kennels to Wimbledon Stadium are handed over to the ‘Lest We Forget’ charity who used them to take wheelchair bound veterans from the Great War for their annual trip to the seaside.
1951 The NGRC announce that they will allow six runners in hurdle races during a six month trial period before determining whether to change their rules. Until 1935, all jump races were for four runners. But with the re-opening of totalisators, they briefly experimented with six runner fields before rejecting the idea and setting the limit at five.
1970 At 325 guineas Crefogue Flash (Newdown Heather-Duffry Flash, Jan 69) is this third highest priced dog sold at Shelbourne sales. Before the year is out, the black youngster has won the Wimbledon, Midland and Manchester Puppy Derbys.
1948 The press are glowing in their tributes to Derby winner Priceless Border who is retired at the peak of his powers; his last race being the English Derby Final. He had won his last eleven consecutives races and set national records for 525 yards (28.64) and 500 yards (27.60). Earlier in the year he had won the May Stakes at Stamford Bridge, the Wood Lane at White City and the Silver Salver at Southend where he broke the track record in all three appearances.
1960 The great Mile Bush Pride is retired to stud and is registered as a company, Mile Bush Pride Ltd. The stud fee, which involves the purchase of shares in the dog and includes kennelling of the potential broods and transport amounts to £86. During his career, Pride reached three English Derby finals, winning one. He also won the 1959 Cesarewitch breaking the West Ham 600 yard record and twice won the Select Stakes.
1956 July 10 and 14 H Seymour’s Quick Surprise makes the long trip from Portsmouth to Glasgow worthwhile when he takes heat and final of the Scottish Derby at Carntyne. The evens favourite trained by Jimmy Mullins wins the 525 yard final in 29.44.
2015 Towcester are experiencing a significant rise in injuries caused by excessive drainage and environment. The track are pumping 30-40,000 gallons onto the site per day. Vet Richard Payne from Nottingham University blames the ‘microclimate’ of the site. Jeff Sealey is to be employed as an advisor.
1928 July 7 Swansea hold their first meeting racing under NGRC rules and about 5,000 people turn out to witness the new sport in glorious weather. Among those present include Major Tottie, stipendiary steward of the racing club, and the judge was Sir Arthur Whitten-Browne. The seven race card went off well and the first race over 525 yards, The Glais Opening Plate, went to Mr O’Brien’s Paddy Baun. The 3-1 third favourite, trained by T Dalton, who had another 3 winners during the evening.
1951 Haverland Blackamore was driving the staff at Boundary Park to distraction. He chewed threw the door of his kennel and was found poking his head through the hole and peering down the corridor. The wooden panel was replaced on five separate occasion by the increasingly irritated maintenance staff. Then one bright spark tried an experiment. Instead of taking the dog to and from the paddocks on a lead, why not whistle him to and from his kennel as his breeder used to do during his rearing? Apparently content that he had made his point, Blackamore never touched the timber again.
1972 The owner of Coolbawn Prince was distraught when his dog was fought by a subsequently disqualified dog in his 525 yard sales trial at Limerick. Faced with a slow time on his card, the dog was then given a sprint trial at the end of the session. He clocked 17.00 and duly made the day’s top lot of 350gns (approx £6,140 at current rates)
2001 Labour peer Lord David Lipsey launches an attack on greyhound racing during a Lord debate on greyhound welfare. He recalled an open racer that he had once owned – Park Laddie – had broken a hock and he admitted to his shame that he had never known what happened to the dog. Lipsey reckoned that there were 6,500 greyhounds unaccounted for each year after racing. He said: “Most greyhound owners and trainers are caring people, and would not want their dogs to suffer such a fate. A minority are not.” Lipsey reckoned greyhound racing considered itself ‘a law unto itself’. The future BGRB chairman described the organisation as “an unaccountable self regarding oligarchy”
1946 July at Harold Park, Sydney, they are racing ten greyhounds per race, over a 500 yard course around two bends, and the racing jackets are coloured as follows: Trap 1 red, 2 black and white checks, 3 white, 4 green, 5 yellow, 6 brown, 7 black, 8 pink, 9 white with red spots, 10 red, white and blue. To make it harder, they draw for trap positions before racing!
2001 Popular Midlands trainer Pat Ryan dies following a long illness.
1999 GRA announce that all future supporting opens on a SKY card will be worth £500 to the winner (£1,047 at today’s rates).
1984 Top open race star Creamery Cross is in second place approaching the third bend in the heats of the Scurry Gold Cup when he inexplicably turns around and heads in the opposite direction.
2011 Deerfield Sings sets a new Tralee 525 track record of 28.11 in the fifth race of his career.
1960 Wembley racing manager Captain R H Joliffe (graders weren’t born with Christian names prior to 1980) decides to experiment with new races distances of 520 yards and 600 yards. He believes that starting races closer to a bend will reduce baulking. The plan is eventually dropped.
2011 Stipendiary steward Duncan Gibson is unveiled as the GBGB’s new manager of welfare and integrity services replacing Peter Laurie.
1937 Brave Don is believed to be the first greyhound sent over to Britain from Ireland by air. According to White City trainer L Reynolds, “the dog did not show the slightest concern during the flight from Dublin to Croydon.” He adds: “In the past the long tedious journey by boat and train often puts the dogs right back in their training and necessitated several weeks rest before they could be prepared for racing in England. When brought over by air, it is almost possible, but for registration formalities and the necessary trials, to run the dogs on the same day.”
1972 65 greyhounds bought by agents on behalf of Bord na gCon die on a Spanish runway on their way to Seville. The plane had stopped in Bilbao for re-fuelling when the incident occurred. A further 13 greyhounds survived but were in a poor condition.
2010 Champion trainer Mark Wallis leaves Harlow to run graded dogs at Yarmouth. He cites the move as being for the sake of recently schooled pups who will be introduced to racing on the Swaffham, rather than the Bramich hare.
1952 Crayford bookie Ike Morris showed his sporting side when a newly wed groom asked for a fiver on 20-1 chance Droum Event. Morris promptly have him odd of 200-1 (£1,000-£5). Sadly, there was no early wedding present, the dog finished last.
2001 Leading owner David ‘Reactabond’ Miles announces that he has purchased Knockeevan Kennels at Ballyclerihan near Clonmel. He already owns Paul Young’s range in Essex.
1993 With only eight weeks prior to the event, Hall Green offer to stage the Breeders Produce Stakes after it is scrapped by Wembley – due to a Madonna concert.
1993 Canterbury introduce an automatic seven day ban for any trainers whose greyhounds improves by more than 50 spots. Within days, they lose the services of Tim Cronshaw and Barry McIntosh.
1946 Walthamstow Stadium buy the top lot at Limerick Sales, Carass Hilll, for 1,000gns (that’s roughly £54K at today’s rates).
2000 A syndicate from the Harlow racing office have five numbers on the National Lottery. They need ‘no. 34’ for a £8m rollover jackpot. The big machine spills out ‘no. 35’. Promoter Toni Nicholls concedes the meeting would have been cancelled had fate been just a little kinder.
1984 July 19 Yankee Express sets Scurry history when winning his third final in 27.03 for Slough’s 442 metres. His previous wins were in 26.94 and 27.19.
1972 July 8 At Cardiff Arms Park, the Welsh Derby Final sees Patricias Hope (3-1) renew rivalry with Super Rory the beaten 4-9f from the English Derby Final. Again Super Rory is made favourite (7-4f), but again he is beaten by the fast starting Patricias Hope who clocks 29.75 for the 525 yards. Rory finishes last.
1972 July 29 At Shawfield in the Scottish Derby Final, once again Super Rory is made favourite((4-6) in front of Patricias Hope (9-2) and again he is beaten (3rd). So Patricias Hope goes down in history along with Trevs Perfection 1947 and Mile Bush Pride 1959 for winning the English, Welsh and Scottish Derbys in the same year.
– John O’Connor with Patricia’s Hope
