REMEMBER WHEN

1992 Hugo Spencer celebrates 55 years as a Portsmouth trainer.

1971 GRA’s attempt to introduce eight dog racing at Belle Vue is failing badly. At one recent meeting the track’s tote retention on the ‘Double F’ pool was a mere £60.

1952 Burning Desert is currently one of the top dogs at Romford, much to the delight of his owner, the Spurs and England full back Alf Ramsey.

1967 Instead of paying out cash to winners of their quinella – a three-race dual forecast jackpot (potentially a 3,374-1 bet), White City will offer the first prize of a new car for a single ticket winner. If the prize is not claimed, the value of the roll-over will climb as will the value of the vehicle. Should it get that far, a lucky punter could drive away in a £7,000 Rolls Royce Phantom.

1948 Harvest King becomes one of the most expensive dogs sold to remain in Ireland when changing hands for £4,000 (roughly £126K at modern rates). The dog goes through to the Irish Derby final the following month but finishes last behind the English trained Western Post.

1991 Figures from the Greyhound Stud Book reveal they registered 112 litters in July.

1972 There was a point to prove for Nick Savva when the owners of Derby finalist Proud Life publically objected to the British bred Westmead County being nominated for the Select Stakes in preference to their own runner. As it transpired, Proud Life was invited to run as a reserve but did not take part as the Westmead hound beat Micks Pride in 29.23 for Wembley’s 525 yards. County moves up to no.4 in the prize money table behind Patricia’s Hope, Bally Lander and Deneholme Chief.

1967 Vet Paddy Sweeny pays 2,000 guineas (index lined to around £37,000) for the top lot at Thurles first sale when buying a dog called Onward. Sweeney would have hoped to have redeemed some of the cash in the Tipperary Cup Final, for which the dog was favourite, though he eventually finished down the field.

1992 Romford handler Gary Kelly has three time-finding inquiries within a week including one runner who improved 96 spots on his previous best form.

1946 A record bid at a greyhound sale is refused at Sheffield sales. Long Rally, who had set a new track Darnell (Sheffield) track record when running off scratch in the first race of his career, received a top bid of 2,100gns – equivalent to £78,000 at current values. However the dog’s owner withdrew him from sale when he failed to reach his 2,250gn reserve.

1972 A first homefinding scheme for retired greyhounds is launched by the Animal Welfare Trust. The NGRC make an ‘initial donation’ of £500 (equates to roughly £6,750).

2011 The Irish Derby quarter finals prove a bad night for Tyrur brothers McGuigan and Big Mike. Both are eliminated with McGuigan breaking two metatarsals and Big Mike spraining a hock. Owner P J Fahy announces the retirement of both dogs though Big Mike is back on the track within three months and wins a Shelbourne 525 race in 28.38 the fastest time of his career.

1971 Following an amendment in the rules of racing, wide runners can be seeded in open races.

1946 Hundreds of greyhounds due to be shipped from Ireland to Britain will finally make the journey following the settlement of the five-week old dockers striker at Hollyhead.

1967 Kings Heath introduce a new event – only open to 1966 whelps, the Eclipse Stakes. Despite the fact that the oldest runners are only 20 months old, the event is heavily oversubscribed.

1951 British bred Rushton Smutty produces arguably the performance of the year when breaking Hall Green’s 14 year old 500 yard track record. Mr and Mrs Johnson’s dog took 26 spots off the previous best when clocking 28.04.

1972 Yarmouth announce plans for the 26^th East Anglian Derby which will have a minimum of £500 added to entry fees. Local runners will be charged £15, others will pay £20. The trophy will be presented by England captain Bobby Moore.

1968 The decision of Charles Chandler to disconnect the press office phone-lines before 9pm results in several newspapers boycotting the track’s racecards and results.

1937 The Scottish Derby at Carntyne is run in rain, and the 1934/35 winner Olives Best takes part for the fourth time, but is eliminated in the heats.

1986 Autumn Magic (Tender Hothead-Long Bar), disappointing favourite for the Coursing Derby, returns to Northern Ireland to win the Irish National Sprint Final.

2006 Sittingbourne announce a deal with Betfair to stage 10 Sunday meetings to be screened live of Eurosport.

1952 Greyhound Formaking Gala easily beat two German Shepherds in a ‘scale jumping contest’ at the White City Dog Show. The greyhound scaled 8 feet six inches but could, according to connections, gone much higher.

1972 Hurdler Derry Palm, who had the misfortune to be racing at the same time as Sherry Prince, is retired. Despite regularly opposing the greatest jumper of all time, the Phil Rees trained dog won in excess of £5,000 (index linked to £56,000) and once won 26 opens in a single year.

2009 David McDonald is the new joint GM for Romford and Hove.

1980 Liverpool based Sumner engineering announce that their order book contains applications for hare systems from companies in Germany, France, Holland, Spain, Sweden and Swaziland.

1965 Following a huge gamble in a graded race at Brough Park – the 12 length winner was backed from 4-1 to 1-2f – the NGRC confirm that the other four runners tested positive for barbiturates.

1993 The BGRF increase their grant to prize money. It will total £353,000.

1968 GRA announce that they are to close the track kennels adjacent to West Ham and their Clapton range which is based at Claverhambury. Runners and trainers from both tracks will be transferred to the Hook Kennels at Northaw.

1951 Wimbledon become the first track to experiment with six runner hurdle races. Since 1934, everyone has raced with five.

2008 James Trott, a kennelhand with Wayne Wrighting is killed in a car accident on the A27.

1967 Despite his defeat in the Ulster St Leger final, Paddy Keane paid “a four figure” sum for Northern Ireland’s most exciting youngster Yellow Printer.

1984 GRA announce that they are seeking planning permission to put a shopping centre on part of the grounds at Wimbledon.

1972 Former Wembley open racer Catsrock Daisy breaks a toe in the final of the Irish Derby but hangs on by a neck to win for trainer Gay McKenna. Daisy is the fourth bitch to win Ireland’s premier classic.

2009 Trainer movement, Lawrence Tuffin joins Monmore to replace Barry Riddiford who is leaving the sport. New Nottingham arrivals are Jane Houfton and Paul Sallis.

1992 Farloe Melody became the first dog to land two Dundalk Internationals with a 29.36. His career earnings to a record £74,000.

1970 In an attempt to entice outside trainers, Hove boss Peter Shotton is offering travelling money equating to one shilling and six pence per mile per dog travelled – roughly £1.13p a mile in modern terms.

1933 There is an attempt to abolish the 40% tax charged on all Irish dogs being imported into Britain.

1965 The great Cranog Bet, now retired at three and a half years old, is offered for sale in an advert in the Greyhound Express. There is no price specified.

1946 Steve, disqualified in an open at Wembley and since returned to Ireland, is a 6-1 winner of the Irish Derby Final at Shelbourne Park. He is trained by greyhound agent Harry O’Neill. Favourite for the final had been Baytown Ivy, widely acknowledged as the best bitch in Ireland.

1988 August is always a good month for track records. They include Money Matters (Swindon 476m – 27.89 & Oxford 450m – 26.81), Farncombe Black (Walthamstow 235m – 14.16) and Olivers Wish (Hove 695m – 41.57).

1992 Romford call in specialists Instaprint after their chromatography equipment registers a series of false positives.