1946 June pup Shadowlands Delight becomes the youngest ever winner of the Trafalgar Cup. Breeder Ivy Regan, from Crawley, tells the press she was convinced he was the star of the litter when still young enough to feed off the dam. “On one occasion when he was growled at by (dam) Shadowlands Sirius for rough treatment when trying to feed, he left the kennel and on the way out turned and growled at the matron.”
1953 McAlinden Gold Cup winner Rose Of Meath is sold to Arsenal and Scottish international Alec Forbes. She is to join Tom Reilly at Walthamstow.
1997 Sheffield are the Supertrack Champions after beating hosts Walthamstow and Mildenhall in the three-leg final. The Yorkshire circuit were beaten by 10 points on the night but still had an overall advantage of seven points. The winners are quoted as 14-1 chances to hold onto their title in 1998.
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 However he receives a grueller in the second round and is withdrawn by the judge when late to slips for the third round.
1950 Private trainer Paddy McEvoy is warned by the stewards following the improvement between trial form and the recent open race win by Rapid Choice. The dog had trialled in 30.35 for the 525 yards, had returned at 4-1, and had won in 29.69.
1997 Ladbrokes are accused of double standards by the Sporting Life after suspending Monmore trainer Derek Edwards after one of his runners returns a positive same. However, they continued to allowed George Lang to race at sister track Crayford, despite one of his runners testing positive for Nandrolone.
1979 Bristol Rovers FC are seeking an injunction against their landlords Bristol Stadium Ltd following a dispute over a lease. The football club, whose lease only has one year remaining, claim the dog tracks owners are looking to hike the lease from £8,000 per year to close to £70,000 PA. Interestingly, two of the biggest shareholders in the football club are Ian Stevens and his father Con – the former Director of Racing at Wimbledon.
1993 Belle Vue won the first National Intertrack competition in over 20 years when beating Reading in the final.
1966 Ernie Gaskin’s Come On Dolores is entered in two super marathons just three days apart. After winning a White City 1,025 yard event by four and three quarter lengths, she completes the double over 1,030 yards at Romford with nine lengths to spare.
1976 Wimbledon are planning to introduce occasional graded sprints over the 252 metre trip.
2000 Ravage Again, the former champion sprinter who famously ran-up a series of 29 consecutive open race wins dies at Willie Frew’s kennel aged 13. The brindle had returned to Scotland after proving a disappointment at stud in Ireland.
1950 Leading Wimbledon owner Mrs H Sanderson lost a diamond clip during a race meeting and assumed it gone for good. Seven years later she was informed by police that it was in the care of a London jeweller. She identified the clip from a tray of assorted clips and it was returned to her. It transpired that the clip had been found by a punter who had assumed it was paste, and seven years on had decided to pawn it for £5. Its real value was £750 (around £26,800 in current terms).
1977 Trainers Terry Duggan and Ted Griffin complain to the NGRC after three dogs trained between them are withdrawn from opens at Walthamstow. The trio failed chromatography test but were then cleared when the samples were analysed at Glasgow University. Both trainers claim to have suffered abuse from punters after the initial fails were reported but no announcements were made to clear their names.
1981 Bord na gCon’s annual report for 1980 is published. It shows that 4,082 greyhounds were exported to Britain at an average cost of £179 each (index linked to £775). Next closest was the USA with 141 greyhounds (£346/£1,500). The Board report expressed concern over the reduction in betting turnover (in real terms). It suggested that the reason for the decline was low quality racing and made two proposals: a) a stiffening up on grading times and b) more events for better class greyhounds. Attendances were down to 958,072.
1975 Wimbledon stage a rare match race between the country’s top two pups Knockrour Bank and the locally trained Freddie F. Each side put up £250 with the local layers contributing the same. The £750 (equiv to £7,875 today) eventually goes to the John Coleman trained Knockrour Bank who gets home by a length and a quarter in 27.80 for the 500 yards.
1946 Leading owner Mrs R H Dent is to leave greyhound racing after growing disenchanted with prize money levels. The owner of former English Derby winner Wattle Bark, also owned Irish Derby winner Steve and leading stars Shannon Shore, Jubilee Time and Tonycus. “When they do win a graded race” said Mrs Dent, “what chance have they of picking up a prize of much more than £10” (£435 index linked).
1950 Dublin’s High Court finds in favour of plaintiff Denis McArdle who had sued to publisher of the Irish Coursing and Racing Calendar Tom Morris and Shelbourne steward for slander. They claimed that McArdle’s dog Lawless Flower, later sold to England, had been disqualified for fighting at Shelbourne Park. The judge orders costs of £Ir780.
