1980 The industry’s most crooked track, Southend, are ordered, by the NGRC, to hold a stewards enquiry into a graded race at the track. The Albert Skelton trained Ted Rich, last in his previous two races, found 39 spots on his best ever time and was backed from 7-1 to 5-2.
2002 Harry Williams refuses to take Pond Imogen to Belle Vue when she is the only one – and least fancied of his three entries to be accepted for the Gorton Cup.
1974 With the Government imposing power restrictions, Northern Irish track Derry are finding afternoon racing unsustainable and warn they may have to close.
1933 Racing papers were besieged with calls from White City punters arguing over results from the previous evening. The eight race card included two dead heats, one race won by a head and three by a neck – including one with a dead heat for second place.
2011 Following criticism in the press from Charlie Lister over the £100 winner’s prize money for Derby trialstakes, the track ups the money by £50. The first set of five trialstakes are duly staged on April 30, and Charlie wins them all.
1947 The Irish Coursing Club have taken possession of their newly built headquarters in Davis Road, Clonmel.
1976 March 16 Springbok winner Stuart Captain is invited on to Thames Television’s Today show along with his trainer John Coleman after he took a terrible fall and somersault in the Skol Invitation Hurdles at Harringay a couple of weeks before when even money favourite. So many viewers phoned in to express concern for his welfare, that to reassure them Michael Whale presented Stuart Captain on screen to show he was on the mend and would soon be back to racing.
1934 Tommy Johnston, who recently joined West Ham from Edinburgh, is to take over breeding and resting kennels at Giddea Park. One of the first arrivals will be the winner of the second Greyhound Derby, Boher Ash.
2015 Belle Vue trainer Andy Heyes, whose big race wins include the Laurels and TV Trophy, decides to leave the greyhound industry due to its financial state.
1958 Locally trained Christopher Hemley (six years and nine months old) wins the £75 to winner Sixth Veterans Championship at Wimbledon. The oldest in the field at seven years and one month old, Kensington Partridge, finishes fifth. The winner had recently been entered in a sales trial, but when the bidding only reached £30, trainer Sidney Orton persuaded his owner to withdraw the dog.
1981 A permit trainer has his license suspended for three months and an owner is fined £50 after four of their greyhounds being exercised without muzzles, attacked and killed a puppy.
2012 Former Hall Green trainer John Pearce dies following a battle with cancer.
1975 March 24. At last they meet! Two of the best greyhounds to race at Wembley in recent years. Mr D G Allen’s Glin Bridge (Spectre-Shore Susie) against Mr C Scotland’s Westpark Mustard (Newdown Heather-April Merry) (who at the time held the world record of 20 wins in a row). They line up for the 8th Stadium Bookmakers Stakes worth £60 & trophy to the winner, over the St Leger course of 655 metres. Glin Bridge is made 13-8 second favourite behind Westpark Mustard 4-7 who led until impeded at the 5th bend. Here Glin Bridge who was also impeded took the lead and ran out an easy winner by five lengths in 40.68.
1960 Mundesley farmer Charlie Payne is reflecting on his British bred open race star Crazy Paving who has already won over £3,000 in prize money (equivalent of £83,000 today). “He is a 100 per cent trier – a perfect gentleman – has never wanted, nor had a kill.”
1950 The is an outburst of trouble at Wandsworth when the hare came off the carriage without the steward’s, or the dogs apparently noticing. It was three minutes after the cleanly run race, with most punters having thrown away losing tickets, that the stewards signalled the red light for ‘no race’.
1984 Around 70 greyhound supporters failed to sway the votes of Birmingham councillors who voted 8-7 in favour of approving a plan to demolish Perry Barr Stadium and build a £10m shopping centre. It is the latest closure by owners Ladbrokes who sold off Willenhall and Leeds for development. Their other two tracks, Gosforth and Brough Park are leased out.
1996 Roger Cearns is appointed as the general manager at Hackney.
1963 Private trainer Ernie Gaskin is giving up his private trainer’s licence after Horney Council object to his kennels. His open racers go on sale at Aldridges. American Rose makes top lot at 400gns with Will He Come the next biggest price at 225gns.
1947 Tote ticket forgery is proving a problem at many tracks. At one stadium, a punter was so concerned that his high dividend ticket might be considered a forgery that instead of handing it over at the tote window, he asked that he might present it to a supervisor. The stadium employee duly examined the ticket meticulously and decided that it was indeed genuine. It was only after the customer had left the stadium with over £200 (worth around £7,800 at today’s values) that it was discovered that the ticket was for the wrong result
2004 Popular vet Des Fegan decides to continue his career at The Meadows track in Melbourne.
1994 Mental notes were taken when Natalie Savva sent out a 17 month old pup to win the second race of his life, a Hackney 484m open in 29.31. He name, Westmead Merlin.
1963 The Portsmouth stewards panic when a mystery illness strikes the kennel of local trainer George Curtis. In addition to calling in the police and having all the dogs dope tested, they shuffle the runners in the forthcoming racecards.
1947 Currently winning races at Portsmouth, Tortington Mrs Boo who tips the scales at just 41 pounds – 18.6kg.
2010 Former Harlow racing manager and ex-Harringay trainer Stan Gudgin dies following a short illness aged 78.
1950 There was a sensational start to the British Breeders Produce Stakes at Catford when unraced Swizzling Simbo improved almost 29 lengths on his qualifying trials. Trained privately by Jack Pinborough, the 16 month old fawn was backed from 10-1 to 7-4. An NGRC inquiry fines the trainer £30. Simbo went on to start favourite for the final but broke a toe and finished second.
1987 Racing manager are keen to beef up controls on greyhound sales as confirmed in their annual conference. The RMs want to see all sales promoters licenced and additional regulations on greyhound agents. They also recommend the introduction of random sampling and compulsory booster inoculations in cases where there are doubts about authenticity of existing paperwork. They are told that the NGRC have refused to raise the threshold of fines at local inquiries to £500 as previously requested. The Club have agreed to double the current tariff from £100 to £200. There will be on-going discussions on whether to include the last three lines of Irish form on the racecards for new imports of whether the lines should show, the best three lines of form. Other decisions: Yarmouth are to be allowed to carry out an experiment in letting trainers bring their own bedding for racing kennels. The new type of plastic coated racing muzzles are given the thumbs-down (because of possible difficulties interpreting photo finishes!). There should be a general easing out of consolation finals – excluding classics – and where they are held, the winner’s prize should be no higher than the ‘also’ ran money in the main event. A new registration fee is to be introduced for syndicated greyhounds (maximum 10 owners) of £100.
1992 Newry trainer Brendan Matthews beats the Irish Coursing Club in a court battle over the result of the 1990 Irish Cup. Matthews trained runner-up Needham Bar though the winner Flashing Crystal failed a dope test with traces of amphetamine and niketamide. At the initial inquiry, Flashing Crystal was disqualified and fined £1,000. That was overruled by the executive committee who ordered Crystal to be reinstated with a fine of £4,000. The judge found with Matthews who had seen three of his dogs beaten by Crystal during the competition. He ordered the ICC to pay Matthews the full £8,000 prize money and the record books be altered to show Flashing Crystal as disqualified. The news is a double blow for the ICC who have a similar case to answer in the case of 1991 Coursing Derby winner Silent Swank.
2002 GTA chairman John Haynes is chuffed with the new specially commissioned Trainers Championship for which Brian Clemenson is favourite. “It’s a beauty, a really whopper” says Haynes, “if Brian wins it, I reckon he might even be able to climb into it.”
