1998 Rapid Journey becomes the first Aussie racer to land four group one events. Having already won the Adelaide Cup, Perth Cup and Golden Easter Egg, the son of Amerigo Man took his career earnings to $338,000 when he grabbed the National Sprint Championship at Cannington.
2001 Droopys Vieri is retired to stud and immediately has a full booking. He leaves racing having won the Irish Puppy Derby, Try Again Alice Puppy Stakes, Summer Puppy Classic, Waterford Masters and Hull Derby. He also contested Irish and Scottish Derby Finals.
1946 Yardley Whistler is beaten on his English debut in the O A Critchley Memorial at White City. The Harolds Cross track record breaker, who was purchased for £3,500 by Mr D F Evans, (roughly £111,000 at today’s values), is beaten a head by Dante II with Quare Times a half length back in third.
1952 A Burgh valuation appeal hearing in Scotland sees four Glasgow companies ask for reductions in their rents due to decreased turnover. Glasgow Albion Racing Company Ltd, White City (Glasgow) Ltd, Shawfield Greyhound Racing Company Ltd and the Scottish Greyhound Racing Company Ltd ask to be re-valued, with White City asking for a figure of £233 from over £4,000. Most of the others are hoping to pay around half the previous figure. Graphs are presented to show that turnover rose to a peak in 1946 but was now back at 1941 levels. During the negotiations, the Shawfield management ask for their valuation to be re-calculated as only three sixteenths of the track is in Glasgow, the remainder is in Rutherglen.
1997 Owner Danny Dhamnia refuses a string of stud offers for his retiring open race team which includes Druids Elprado (Masters) Druids Elprado (Guinness 600) and Lacken Prince (Easter Cup). Instead he pays Waterford breeder Michael Brennan to keep the dogs as pets.
1993 BAGS chief executive Tom Kelly dispute the claim that his organisation had any influence over Oxford’s decision to ban Gary Wiltshire from running a book at the afternoon meetings.
2010 Kevin Wilde is unveiled as the new commercial director at Pelaw Grange.
2007 500 greyhounds and 2,000 spectators descend on Nottingham racecourse for the Great Greyhound Gathering. Unfortunately, crowds were noticeably down at the Breeders Festival which took place the following day.
1951 The recent decline in British breeding means only 15 runners go to traps for the first round of Wimbledon’s Produce Stakes. The first prize is £665 – index linked to roughly £21,700.
1970 Over 3000 spectators turned out at GRA’s Northaw Kennel for the Breeders Festival. Among the class winners were brood bitch Trojan Silver dam of recent English Derby winner John Silver, and youngsters Westmead Lisa and Westmead Flame.
1993 Canterbury trained Cheryl Miller is suspended by the track for 21 days, reduced to 14, after local grader Condor Arrow found 87 spots on his previous best time. Meanwhile Oxford’s Litzi Miller is to face the local stewards after Beyond Clogheen (7-2 down to 6-4) wins a graded race by 15 lengths and finds 71 spots.
1933 Bookmakers at Harringay and White City decide not to take strike action despite their irritation at the track management for introducing ‘human tote machines’ – employees wandering among the punters selling tote tickets
1951 White City are experimenting with six-runner hurdle races. If the switch from 5-dog racing goes well, the ’52 Grand National final will be for six runners.
1989 A change in rules will restrict owner trainers to a limit of 12 greyhounds – they have six months to amend their kennel strengths.
1970 Irish Leger winner Flaming King is due to be released from quarantine prior to taking up stud duties. The Pauline Wallis trained brindle had been shipped to the USA and won eight races in a row at Flagler. He also contested the Spanish Derby but was unable to take the bends and was eliminated.
1957 Pride of place on the supporting card to the Tipperary Cup won by Solar Prince is the previous year’s Coursing Derby winner Fourth Of July, making his track debut. He romps up in 30.40. Prince recorded 30.10.
1993 Trainer Russ Kinsey has a major row with the Belle Vue racing office after his well beaten Mossfield Scotty was marked “lost interest” when finishing last in the Cesarewitch first round heats. Following the race, the track vet reported that Scotty had finished with a broken hock.
1981 There are three major sprint finals in the space of a month. First up is the National Sprint at Harringay which is won by the Vicki Holloway trained 2-5f Ballybeg Sport (Minnesota Miller-Ballybeg Blonde, Aug 79) in a new 414m track record of 24.60. Eight nights later Dave Ingram-Seal’s southern raider Travara Rock (Tullig Doctor-Travara Jet, Apr 79) lands the Scottish National Sprint over 290m at Shawfield. Runner-up Skipping Scot (Liberty Lad-Lady Armada, May ’79) then heads to Rye House and lands the Sovereign Stakes for owner trainer Bryce Wilson.
1967 In a cost cutting measure, the Greyhound Stud Book decide to omit the names and addresses of registered owners and breeders. It is the first time that this information has not been included since 1885.
