2000 Westhoughton is put on the market for £100,000 by owner Arthur Brightcliffe.
1947 Wandsworth announce the launch of a new race, The Olympic.
1972 Leading Pride, who will go on to win the Key and TV Trophy, is sold at Hackney Sales for 320 guineas.
1992 The RGT national organiser issues an appeal for funds. He reports that the Trust has “almost 80” greyhounds being paid for in kennels. The previous year the RGT homed 597 greyhounds at a cost of roughly £50,000.
1983 Two of the NGRC’s best known stipendiary stewards retire simultaneously, they are Major Bobby Spiller and Ken Guy.
1993 Mildenhall were fined £3,000 and promoter/racing manager Denis Diffley was warned off following a string of irregularities in form at the track. BOLA had previously advised members not to pay out on bets involving a meeting on March 20 where bets were placed on a string of unnamed favourites.
1947 Greyhound Owner highlights an unpalatable trade in foster mothers. Following the huge demand in pups, unscrupulous owners are mating their, often moderate, bitches every season and leasing them out to breeders of top class broods to assist in the rearing of big litters. There is no comment passed on what happens to the foster dam’s potential litter and many of the bitches are being sent vast distances on railway journeys.
1965 Monalee King, sold for £2,000 between the semis and final of the Wexford Leger duly lands the £350 decider for new owner Terry Rogers. The son of Odd Venture and Sheila At Last had set a new Enniscorthy 550 clock of 30.60 earlier in the event.
1951 Ballylanigan Tanist failed by three quarters of a length to complete the English, Welsh and Scottish Derby treble achieved only once previously by British bred Trevs Perfection. Ironically, it was a British bred dog Rushton Smutty who held off Ballylanigcan in both heats and final at Carntyne.
1937 Greyhound Express report that “constructional work on the extensions to Wimbledon’s club is going ahead at a great pace and before long, Charles Ferrari, the club secretary, will be able to uncloak one of the finest and most up-to-date clubs in the greyhound world.”
2010 The GBGB announce that they are shifting drug sampling from HFL to LGC Ltd with an annual cost saving of around £150,000.
1973 Sporting Life tipster Reg Potter is at the centre of a debate in all the sport’s newspapers as he calls for the end of seeding in open races. He appears particularly irritated that wide seed Patricia’s Hope has won consecutive Derbys. Among those who go to print to challenge his views are trainer Pat Mullins and Brighton racing manager Peter Shotton. Potter eventually gets his way, for one year only, a decade later.
1960 Bord na gCon decide to add £725 to the Irish Derby prize money fund which will see the winner’s prize double to £1,000. The aim is to attract English runners, though most big kennels opt to run in the English Laurels, held at the same time and also worth £1,000 to the winner.
1986 July 17 The Cesarewitch over 600 yards at Navan goes to Co Meath trainer Francie Murray with Cradley Special (bd d Ders Available-Going Going, Sep’84) sweeps in front at the third bend, going on to win by four lengths in 33.12.
1947 Eastville (Bristol) have altered conditions for an event they introduced a year earlier. The Western Two Year Old Stakes, will include the word ‘Produce’ in its title. As its names implies, the new event will be restricted to pups entered at various stages of their lives and entries are restricted to litters born in specific counties in the West Country and Wales. From the 105 litters originally entered, 23 greyhounds go to traps for the first round. The winner and breeder will collect two trophies and a cash total of £850 (index linked to £42,300).
1952 Press report: Gloucester witnessed the jump to end all jumps in the consolation final of the Grand National of the West. Spanish Rosetree led to the last hurdle and fell on landing. The distance from the last hurdle to the winning line was approximately 61 fee. Spanish Rosetree jumped 46 feet and when falling slid the last 15 feet to cross the line in a winning time of 29.62, faster than the winner of the final proper. The photo finish showed Spanish Rosetree sliding over the line three and a half lengths clear of Woodlands Prefect.
1979 Local trainer Peter Payne wins the Essex Vase with Black Haven, a son of two of the kennel’s former open race stars Blackwater Champ and Ahaveen Hunter.
2015 Yarmouth are caught out when 680 Group-On customers descend on the last Saturday of the month. The track had printed 1,450 racecards but sold out. Promoter Simon Franklin said: “I am not complaining but it’s a bit ‘all of nothing’. We had all the tote machines operating and there were still queues, and the trainers were moaning about the queues in the snack bars and in the bars. While it is nice to get new people into the stadium to experience greyhound racing, the last thing that so many say is ‘had a great night, let us know when you have another Group-On deal.”
1959 Glittering Look, the former Welsh Derby winner who went on to become a leading sire dies at Jack Mullan’s stud range in Newry aged 13.
1966 Tally Ho Sally, winner of the Coursing Oaks and sister of Newdown Heather, sets a new 575 yard track record at Thurles.
1944 During the war classic events were suspended and at Wimbledon the Holiday Cup replaced the Laurels which was run over the same distance of 500 yards and with a winner’s prize of £125 and trophy. The final on July 22 drew a good line-up including last year’s winner, Wireless Delight, who started favourite to complete a double after a fine heat win. But most punters saw the improving Jubilee Time – who started second favourite at 9/4 following 6 wins in a row – as the better bet. Mr R H Dent’s brindle dog by Fine Jubilee-Winning Time, Mar’41, did not let his owner or supporters down by taking the lead at the first bend and easily winning by three lengths in 28.46.
2004 Hazel Bentall takes the place of John Crittall as the NGRC’s veterinary steward.
1995 The National Canine Defence League estimate that abandoned greyhounds cost the organisation between half and three quarters of a millions pounds in 1994. Spokeswoman Julie Felthouse revealed that it cost £3,637,000 to run the organisation’s 15 shelters in 1994. Although they do not apportion costs to individual breeds, the League claim that greyhounds are the most common breed that they see. Ms Felthouse said: “At any one time we have around 2,000 dogs in our rescue centres. At present we have 250 greyhounds though the number is normally a lot higher. In February it was 400 and I can remember occasions when it has passed 450.”
2014 Following six positive tests, the Irish Coursing Club dish out heavy fines to go along with disqualifications of the recent Irish Coursing Derby winner Kyle Calvin and Champion Stakes winner Corriga Rebel.
1972 July 17th Wembley’s Select Stakes final has pulled together six dogs that all performed well in last month’s English and Welsh Derbies. In trap 1, Scintilla’s Gem, in trap 2 Ballylander, who finished 4th and 2nd respectively in the English Derby final. In trap 3 Deneholme Chief, an English Derby quarter finalist. In trap 4, Proud Life, sixth in the Derby final. In trap 5, Westmead County, 3rd in the Derby consolation final. In trap 6, Micks Pride, who finished 3rd in the English and 4th in the Welsh final. Mr N Savva’s privately trained Westmead County 9/4 (Carry On Oregon-Cricket Dance, Jan’70) takes the £350 plus trophy in 29.23.
1992 Former Wisbech promoter Eric Vine and trainer Beryl Smith are both warned off by the NGRC following “inoculation irregularities”. Trainer Bill Bookle loses his licence after forging a signature on a registration form.
1983 Brough Park erase their list of track record holders having introduced sand. The most famous clock to go is the 500 metre best held by Long Spell of 30.04.
1946 One of Britain’s best known racing journalists, Mr D H Watson-Wood, otherwise known as ‘King Cob’ in The Sporting Life, dies following a serious illness.
1993 Star editor Floyd Amphlett announces the name of the Australian dog that he has been negotiating to buy in recent weeks. His name is Frightful Flash.
1957 12 dogs engaged at Wimbledon on Tuesday night are due to run again just 24 hours later. They include Hilalai Rigale who contests an A2 and is beaten at 6-1. He returns the following night to win an A1 at 100-7. Lottbridge Supreme is beaten in an S5 on the Tuesday and wins an A6 (7-1) on the Wednesday. Bigger still was Linton Beach, beaten in a C2 at 6-1, he returns 24 hours later to win the same grade at 20-1. Just Marina does even better winning the same grades at 9-2 (29.00) and then again at 6-1 (28.87).
1986 Vet James Allcock, speaking about retired greyhound on the Channel four programme Pets In Particular, states : Greyhounds should be given a good clean death in their kennel when they have done good service. That is what I would do.”
1979 Irish star Killaclug Jet completes a stringent race programme when contesting eight races in a fortnight. He won six and set new 550 yard track records at Youghal and Tralee
2003 Following a two year battle with illness, Peterborough announce the death of their popular promoter, Rex Perkins.
2003 Former champion trainer and breeder Joe Cobbold dies aged 76.
