1946 The Irish Coursing Club is currently reviewing applications to open 15 new greyhound tracks. The ICC continued to be the regulatory body for greyhound tracks in Southern Ireland until the setting up of Bord ns gCon in 1958.
1957 Wimbledon bookies are not too fussed by the pronunciation of Cnoicatobair, which translates from the Gaelic to ‘well on the hill”. Instead Plough Lane regulars are treated to ‘6-4 Knock it abaht’
1937 Wembley are to spend £25,000 building a new restaurant behind the royal box.
1953 A GRA marketing plan to have a dog running in the name of ‘a toff’ backfires when she wins a race by 15 lengths at Harringay and the stewards call an enquiry. The Marquis of Blandford contacts GRA when it is suggested in the press that a gambling coup might have taken place. He tells GRA officials that not only did he not back Proud Lily, he wasn’t even aware that he owned her.
1946 Charles Chandler is delighted with the first 525 yard trial of his recent irish purchase Brilliant Paddy. The unraced son of Castledown Lad clocked 28.96 for the 525 yards with Derby winner Mondays News recording 28.99 at the same session. The Stow promoter’s purchase set him back £2,000 just under £68,000 at current values. Meanwhile another expensive purchase Bigaroon (£1,700) is still to win a race and was recently beaten in 29.90.
1951 Cregglow Prince wins the Welsh Harp Cup in a new track record at Hendon and the Mylett Plate at Park Royal as he completes four wins in eight days.
1996 A row between East Anglian neighbours sees Swaffham’s Tom Smith threaten to send the track’s six slowest dogs to Mildenhall for the Supertrack first round tie. The two tracks have fallen out after counter allegations of enticement of each other’s stock car crowds.
1957 Hall Green owner Mrs Sarah Heath and her husband are to end their association with the track and pursue their interest in coursing. Mrs Heath is the daughter of Prime Minister Harold Mamillan.
1966 Brighton racing manager Peter Shotton grades a handicap open race. The event is to allow all six member of the same litter to run against each other with the breeder paying the prize money.
1967 Launched just a year ago, the popular Twin Jackpot Pool at Shelbourne Park, (punters are asked to select the winners of the third and fourth races, then pick the winners of the sixth and seventh races) has seen its carry over pool swelled to £5,067. Sixty three shrewd investors all received a dividend of £70 7s. 6d.
1958 Knock Hill Chieftain (Galtee Cleo-Coolkill Mistress), one of the unluckiest dogs of his era is retired to stud after a series of injury setbacks. Lesley McNair’s brindle was rated as one of Ireland’s top pups but toe injuries kept him out of both the Derby and Laurels. He raced at White City on 12 occasions, winning eight, and beat Pigalle Wonder in a two-dog match over 550 yards.
1980 Hefty lady Pulse Rate wins the £1,100 TR Motors Stake at Harolds Cross while weighing in at 67 pounds – at least four pounds heavier than two of the males in the same race.
1957 With a ban on advertising, NGRC stewards ban the use of the name Omo when connections first attempt to register the Irish bred dog. However the registration department are happy to register the dog under his new name, O.M.O.
1978 First General is sold for 1,200gns at Shelbourne Sales. He goes on to reach the English Derby Final, finish runner-up in the Select Stakes and break track records at Coventry and Oxford.
1959 A severe dry spell has decimated the graded strength at Catford by two thirds. Faced with only 61 available dogs, racing manager Bob Hammond is staging five-runner fields. Meanwhile Walthamamstow introduce a new watering system by attaching fitments to the standards holding the track lighting.
2011 Taranis Rex (Droopys Vieri-Blackstone Kate), impressive winner of the Gymcrack, has his eleventh and final race in supporting race to the Grand National Final. He is exactly two years old. Nick Colton’s black and white suffers a calf injury from which he never recovers.
1957 Prior to their evening meeting, Catford are staging the North v South Alsatian obedience championships. The meeting will also feature a series of hurdle races for various breeds including poodles.
1963 All is not well at Clapton. Trainer John Bassett resigns days before an NGRC inquiry for time finding in which the local stewards had asked for Bassett to be reprimanded. Within days Phil Rees also hands in his resignation at the London circuit.
1957 The abolition of entertainment tax is expected to lead to a sharp increase in prize money. Until now, promoters have been limited to spending £20,400 per year in prize money (£16,000 for graded races, £4,400 for opens)
1976 Bord na gCon are to experiment with dope testing for the first time. Samples from a small number of races will be sent for analysis to laboratories at Trinity College Dublin.
1972 August 19 The Midland Flat Championship at Hall Green over 500 yards, with a first prize of £1,000 plus Challenge Trophy to be held for one year, sees a titanic battle between R White’s Shortcake f w b (The Grand Silver-She Is Landing, Sep’69) and Miss L Phillips’s Fiery Copper (f d The Grand Silver-Kate The Copper, Aug’70). The pair are near inseparable in the betting, evens Shortcake and 5-4 Fiery Copper. The race is a head-to-head all the way with Shortcake just getting up by half a length in 27.50.
Trainer Dave Geggus with brilliant sisters Short Cake (left) and Puff Pastry. Short Cake had won the ‘71 Oaks and finished runner-up in the Pall Mall before joining Sid Ryall for her later successes. Puff Pasty won the Inaugural Stakes and Spring Cup for Ryall.
