1979 There is a lively debate in Parliament over the Royal Gambling Commission’s conclusion that greyhound racing was not entitled to a levy. Home Secretary Willie Whitelaw said “I note that the industry has suffered considerably from the introduction of off-course cash betting, but I regret to say that I agree with the Commission that a case for a levy is not made out. On the other hand, I also concur in the Royal Commission’s proposal for some modest increase in the permitted number of races per meeting and in the number of meetings allowed each year. I understand that these should help significantly the profits of the sport, but these improvements will also have to wait the opportunity for legislation.” Among the criticisms of the greyhound industry, Labour MP Bruce George stated: “In 1977 they set up a front organisation – The British Greyhound Racing Federation – to try to convince the Home Office and the Royal Commission that there was some form of democratic body to govern the sport. That body failed – rightly – to convince. It was left to collapse into liquidation and the true nature of the control of this sport by the track owners and bookies was revealed in its nakedness. I do not believe that there is an effective representative governing body in this sport and feel that the public interest is not properly looked after. I have suggested that there should be a publicly appointed authority to oversee this sport.” Within a week, Lord Newall introduces a private members bill to ask for greyhound meetings to be extended from eight to ten races.

2006  Former Greyhound Life editor Bob Betts steps down as chairman of the Greyhound Writers Association after 24 years in the unpaid post. He declines to accept a unanimous vote by his peers for the annual ‘Lifetime Achievement’ award. The hacks threaten to ‘null and void’ the award until he relents. He does.

1962 Within two years of the legalising of betting shops, the Home Office announce that there are 13,340 currently trading.

1958 Kilcaskin Kern, the 27 kilo dog who won both the Irish Leger and the Grand Prix is surprisingly disqualified for fighting at Harringay.

1970 November 3 The BBC have told the NGRC that due to outside broadcasting commitments, and re-planning of sports coverage, they have no plans to broadcast the Television Trophy next year. The event has been shown live since 1958. When asked the reason for the boycott a spokesman said: “The lighting is not good enough for colour television”.

1964 Amid bloodletting on the GRA, Brigadier Richard Critchley (executive director of racing) and Gerald Critchley (executive director of racing) both lose their executive powers. This follows the arrival on the board of 28 year old John Sutton who became the company’s biggest single shareholder when GRA acquired Sutton’s Catford Stadium earlier in the year. Sutton becomes deputy managing director to Laddie Lucas.

2018 Former champion trainer Chris Allsopp announces that he is giving up training. His Monmore contract will be taken over by Lee Field, who started out as an owner, before making the move from ‘owner trainer’, all the way through to professional trainer.

1983 November. The Burmah-Castrol Puppy Derby worth £6,000 to the winner at Harolds Cross goes to Airmount Grand (Daleys Gold-Airmount Jewel, Oct 86). Gerry Kiely, owner, trainer and breeder, sees his charge take the lead at the fourth bend and win the 525 yarder by two lengths in 29.26.

1957 Wimbledon racing manager Con Stevens tells the press of his discoveries when seeing greyhound action on holiday. Dismayed to learn that racing in Milan had been suspended, he visited two tracks in Barcelona “one of which is like an enclosed cockpit with a course of around 200 yards in circumference. The other is in the open with an enclosure along one side. At both tracks the runners race on sand. Welfare conditions for the greyhounds fall far short of British standards.” He also attended a little country track in The Hague.

1998 Paul Young and John McGee become the latest trainers attached to Reading.

1972 Forest Noble – who only got into the Pall Mall as a reserve – held off Ramdeen Stuart to win the £600 final by a neck in 28.85. The 16-1 chance is trained by Paddy McEvoy at Wimbledon. British bred Noble (Prince Of Roses-Forest Brown, Jul 70) is a litter brother to Crayford 500 yard record holder Fragrant Flyer.

2015 Greyhound racing is delighted by DEFRA’s review of the Welfare of Greyhound Regulations 2010. They conclude “‘We are not consulting on whether greyhound racing should be banned. The Government does not believe that the problems identified in the initial findings are insurmountable. The Government has no plans to ban greyhound racing. Neither has the government any plans to set up its own statutory regulatory body. Introducing a new body may well require primary legislation and certainly public funding. Due to the relatively small number of tracks and the steps that have already been, and are being, taken by the industry we do not believe that it would be proportionate to introduce a new statutory body and we are not consulting on that as an option in this consultation.’”

1991 David Mullins has his first runners as a professional trainer at Sunderland.

1987 GRA shareholders give the thumbs-up for a merger with Wembley. Wembley shareholder will own 51% of the new company. GRA was valued at £68.5m (£262m today). Despite the rising hopes of some greyhound fans, they confirm that the Derby will stay at Wimbledon and not be switched to the Empire Stadium.

1964 The Irish Coursing Club admit to a few teething problems, a year after introducing the earmarking of puppies. The biggest problem concerns individual pups being sold and moved prior to the whole litter being tattooed.

2000 Catford racing manager Jim Snowden joins the reporting team on the Racing Post. His position is taken by assistant Derek Hope. Meanwhile Crayford’s Paul Lawrence resigns from his role as Crayford racing manager “to pursue other business interests”. His position is taken by his assistant Harry Bull.

1946 At least six tracks are considering purchasing the recently invented new phenomenon, the photo finish for the 1947 racing season. However, many appear more interested in using the equipment to help identify which dog should be disqualified when fighting takes place on the winning line. The racing press believe that track officials side toward blaming the less famous runner. The problem recently came to a head when Ocean Dasher was disqualified for fighting – contrary to the opinions of hundreds of Catford racegoers – when the aggressor was actually the £2,000 purchase (roughly £113K at today’s rates) -Winsome Seal.

1984 Joe “Decoy” Cobbold announces he is to retire from greyhound racing. The Lakenheath based farmer puts 60 greyhounds for sale including pups, broods and racers. It is only three years since he was champion trainer, a year old campaign that cost him an estimated £10,000.

2018 Greyhound racing is banned in Florida, the US state with the most greyhound tracks, 13. Racing will cease by 2020.

1964 Hi Joe, the most talked about pup in training misses the final of the Manchester Puppy Cup, for which he would have started as an odds-on favourite. The car bringing Noreen Collin’s dog from the south of England broke down en route. The dog was switched to a taxi which broke down some 17 miles south of Manchester. The dog eventually reached Belle Vue shortly before racing but was then withdrawn by the local stewards as a late arrival.

1948 Kent owner trainer Fred Trevellion is  offering a £100 reward for the return of open racer Trevs Dell. Interestingly, the dog was taken from a kennel containing 25 other dogs, some of whom had far superior form. There burglar alarm had been put our of action and there was no sign of forced entry.

1991 Ante post favourite Dempseys Whisper is retired to stud after falling in the St Leger semi finals. During his career, the son of Whisper Wishes won the Gold Collar and the Grand Prix twice.

1962 Equitable Industrial of Scotland, pioneers of locating casinos at greyhound tracks, make a £500,000 bid for Northumbrian and Crayford Trust, which owns Crayford, Newcastle and Gateshead. The company already own the Liverpool tracks White City and Seaforth. Meanwhile the Crayford board announce that they have their own plans, to build a £250,000 ‘American style’ greyhound track, complete with casino, at Alexandra Palace.

1997 Independent Blackpool ceased trading on November 28. Owners Suzanne and Michael Boyle reached a six figure settlement with a company of Stockport based developers.

2002 The BGRB announce that a ‘minimum standards’ level for all racing kennels will be operating within six months. This follows the NGRC’s decision, less than a week earlier, that the Catford management had no case to answer following the death in track kennels, of heat exhaustion, by local grader Football Focus. However, the track were fined £500 for failing to endorse the identity book of a disqualified greyhound.

2005 Druids Aghadoe wins the Irish Grand National with litter brother Sizzlers Topman in fourth. The pair are litter brothers to Druids Mickey Jo (’05 Springbok), and Sizzlers Bossman (Midland Champion Hurdle).

1958 The newly formed Bord nag Con announce that from January 1, all track bookmakers will have to be licensed and a new betting tax of sixpence in the pound on all winning bets. They also plan to introduce totalisator facilities at Shelbourne Park, Harolds Cross, Limerick and Cork.

2016 GBGB have invited tracks to pitch for the opportunity to stage the English Derby following the closure of Wimbledon. Central Park, Sheffield and Towcester all express an interest.

1969 Walthamstow introduce decimalisation to their tote machines more than a year before it is adopted nationally. The two shilling unit will now become a ‘10p unit’.

1946 Track superstar Quare Times is made ante post favourite for coursing’s Tipperary Cup. However he receives a grueller in the second round and is withdrawn by the judge when late to slips for the third round. On the track, he held the 525 yard clock at nearby Clonmel track and would also be the first to break 29.00 for 525 yards at London White City.

1970 Around 110 people attended the second meeting of the Greyhound Council of Great Britain. Around 200 attended the first meeting. Paddy Sweeney is elected as president though trainers Paddy Milligan and Phil Rees decline positions on the committee.

2014 Mal Thomas, the trainer of two Waterloo Cup winners (Johns Mascot and Teds Move) and Regency winner Trans Domino, dies following a lengthy illness.

1964 David Parkes of London Stadiums Ltd announces that Wandsworth will close early in 1965. He has already applied for planning permission for the site. Director of racing Ken Guy hopes that the existing race strength will be given priority for new admissions to Park Royal.

1991 Central TV launch a new mini serious based on greyhound racing called Gone To The Dogs. It stars Harry Enfield, Jim Broadbent and a three legged greyhound called Jodie. In real life, she was originally named Jade Lady but was disqualified for fighting at Southend and lost her leg after breaking it chasing a rabbit.

2004 Roxholme Girl crosses the winning line ahead of Shelbourne Star for a bitches 1-2 in the £13,000 to winner William Hill St Leger.  Star was still technically the defending champion. Although she had failed a drugs test when leading home Bite The Bullet a year earlier, the stewards enquiry has still not been called.

Top Honcho

2007 Top Honcho, the most successful track sire seen in Britain or Ireland, dies at Michael Dunne’s kennel aged 14. Bought by Geoff Parnaby after breaking a hock in a trial for the Silver Chief Classic, the son of Head Honcho left quarantine in January 1998. The dog would have to overcome fertility problems, resulting in him eventually having a fertility rate of roughly double the average for a greyhound sire. He was also involved in a near fatal kennel fight with Thorgil Tex. But virtually as soon as his first pups hit the tracks, Honcho was an instant success. One of those very first litters would include Droopys Woods, Droopys Honcho, plus the dog who would prove to be him heir, and a champion sire in his own right – Droopys Vieri.

By the time he died, Top Honcho had finished leading Irish sire of a record six occasions, and eight successive title in Britain – no other dog had ever won more than three.

Honcho’s offspring included English (Droopys Scholes) and Irish (He Said So) Derby winners, plus the likes of Top Savings, Tyrur Ted, Micks Best Hero, Horseshoe Ping, Blue Majestic, Greenacre Lin, Loyal Honcho, Taltothehand, Big Freeze and Mineola Farloe to name but a dozen.

Following his death, stud keeper Michael Dunne told the Star: “He was a perfect dog in every way. He was not quite such a ‘soft dog’ as Frightful Flash but he had almost human qualities.

“He was incredibly loyal, more than any dog I’ve ever seen, and I’m sure that on the night that he died, he was waiting for me to be with him before he finally passed away.

“He never refused to cover a bitch, which is nearly impossible to imagine for a dog who was so busy.

“Though it was quite funny that he had short spells when he fancied some more than others.

“At one stage, he liked the fawns. At another stage he was keen on the older bitches, and the worst state they were in, the better.”

“How will I remember him? I remember Geoff telling me that when he took the dog off his original owner, the guy said: ‘Look after him. Top Honcho has been good to anybody that has ever come into contact with him.’

“How right he was. We had a guy in here only the other day who had used him at stud and he reckoned Top Honcho had put his kids through college. There are lots of similar stories. He changed many lives for the better.”