1928 Saturday May 19 Wimbledon opens for racing. The new stadium was rescued by builder W J Cearns, when an original consortium ran out of money. The Band of the Welsh Guards performed at the opening ceremony. The first race, over 440 yards was won by Ballindura, trained by Harry Leader, one of six local trainers, though Biss and Appleton run a joint kennel. The trainer’s list also includes P McEllstrum (note the spelling). It was a seven race card, the third and last races being four-runner hurdle events, the fourth was a 650 yard race with £60 (roughly £2,800 at current rates) plus a cup for the winner. The fifth race was a £50-per-side match over between locally trained Brisbane and White City’s Toftwood Millsack. There was also a 550 yard race. The racing manager is American Otto R Wohlauf who actually arrived at the track to install the hare rail. He eventually returned to the USA and ran kennels for another 30 years. Back in 1926, he had bought for $300 and exported a British bred dog called Strophanthus Indian, which he renamed Damon Runyon. The dog was hugely successful in the USA setting an American record for 400 yards and winning an estimated £3,500 in prize money.
1928 We have previously mentioned the opening night at Wimbledon, but here is the story of ‘the failed opening.’ The original opening ceremony was planned for the Wednesday evening. A newspaper report stated: “The most elaborate preparations had been made for the track’s christening. On the Monday before the planned opening, newspapermen were entertained to lunch by the directors and afterwards afterwards watched actress Tallulah Bankhead, then at the height of her West End fame, break a bottle of champagne over the hare and christen it “Gracie”. Meanwhile, there remained much clearing up to be done before the track could be opened. The turnstiles had to be erected, tractors, tools and other builders’ equipment removed. The special shift of workers had been organised for the Tuesday night to do these chores, but throughout the afternoon torrential rain fell. It kept on falling throughout the night, and although the workmen carried on, their efforts were badly impeded. By Wednesday morning they were still hard at it, though the downpour had made a bog of the track and the ground outside. Finally, heavy rain began again and a hastily convened directors meeting. it was decided that the opening would have to be put back until the following Saturday. But how to let the anticipated crowd of 40,000 Londoners know at this late hour? The stadium’s press representative Fred Stowe answered that problem. Commandeering all available telephones, he and his assistants contacted the evening newspapers and press agencies, and also had all advertisement copy changed. Thousands of handbills were printed for distribution at railway stations, bus and tram stops. This prompt piece of organisation saved enthusiasts from a wasted journey and the work went ahead for Saturday’s opening. This was a grand affair with the band of the Welsh Guards parading the track with Gracie the hare leading them at a sedate 3mph.”
1937 June 23 Mrs J F Cearns’s recent Irish purchase Ballyhennessy Sandhills (White Sandhills-Soraca Deas) has his first trlal at Wimbledon. Not yet acclimatised, he clocks a good time of 28.17 for the 500 yards.
1947 After being defrauded each Saturday by around £1,000 (index linked to roughly £33,000) by forged tote tickets Wimbledon introduce new, specially perforated tickets, that are specific to each race.
1949 The Two-Year-Old Produce Stakes gets underway at Wimbledon. Total value of the 36 runner event is £2,224 (that’s roughly £63,000 at today’s values). The winner collected £990 (£28,300).
1950 Wimbledon introduce a breakthrough in photo finish technology. Until now, the print merely showed the position of the dogs crossing the winning line. The new system, which goes virtually unchanged for the next 50 years, also shows times along the bottom of the print to coincide with the time that each dog has recorded as he crosses the winning line. In a separate development, GRA’s Francis Gentle tells the Royal Commission on Gaming that it costs £2,000 per year to operate a photo finish system (index linked to roughly £60,000).
1951 15 Irish trained greyhounds contest the 17th Two Year Old Produce Stakes at Wimbledon. The only Irish dog to win the £1,000 to winner event was Newtown Defender in 1945.
1952 Wimbledon announce their plan to be the first London track to adopt rule 45a, the ‘first past the post’ rule for betting purposes.
1953 Wimbledon grader Beckhampton Crack is causing the stewards and vet serious headaches. After being checked sound by the vet at kennelling, Crack came out of the racing kennels prior to his race holding his leg in the air and had to be withdrawn. So far – he has pulled the stunt on three separate occasions.
1958 The first Greyhound Television Trophy Final sees an amazing upset when Derby favourite Pigalle Wonder is beaten at 1-4f over the 500 yard course at Wimbledon. The Wembley trained runner Town Prince went to traps at a 20-1 outsider with the newspaper pundits suggesting the Wimbledon Produce Stakes winner would have been better suited to the 440 yard Gold Collar which was being staged at the same time. Drawn six, the dog given to owner Norman Dupont (Brighton’s director of racing) by his breeder led from trap to line and just held off the strong finish of Sheffield’s Dancing Sheik (8-1) by short head in 28.14. The winner’s prize was £1,000. Beaten favourite Pigalle Wonder reappeared at Wembley a week later and set a new 525 yard track record when clocking 28.78. He was returned at 1-20f.
1958 One of the sport’s most successful owners, Mrs J F Cearns dies following a brief illness. The widow of Wimbledon founder W J Cearns owned a string of classic winners including the dog rated by many as good as Mick The Miller, Ballynennon Moon. The grandmother of current Sittingbourne promoter Roger Cearns, was particularly lucky in the Laurels which she won on four occasions.
1958 Wimbledon trainer Paddy Fortune is killed after his car hits a pillar on Hammersmith Bridge. The Cork born trainer had won every classic including the Derby (Highland Rum-1939). He was primarily remembered though for a series of brilliant bitches that he trained, primarily Lizette (who won over £3,000 in prize money and one of his three English Oaks titles) and Sheevaun.
1959 Wimbledon are delighted with a new type of racing jacket made from nylon. They stay cleaner and do not become as sodden as the traditional woollen type.
1960 Concerned over integrity, the daily racing paper the Greyhound Express introduce a policy of putting quotation marks around the word ‘gold’ when promoting the Gold Cup at Wimbledon. They explain: “Wartime regulations prohibited the presentation of gold trophies. The regulations have long been relaxed but nowadays, a gold cup would cost something in the region of £300, so the trophy to be presented tomorrow will be made of silver.”
1962 Wimbledon announce that before they will accept greyhounds from other stadia for graded racing, they must be accompanied by a ‘certificate of genuiness’
1964 Three nights after landing the £1,000 Gold Collar final by a short head at 33-1, Mighty Wind runs in a graded hurdle event at Wimbledon and is well beaten into third place.
1964 Wimbledon are now publishing attendance figures after every meeting. The crowd are averaging between 5,000-6,000 per meeting.
1965 Wimbledon announce the appointment of its first female trainer, the former children’s nurse from Limerick, Nora Gleeson.
1987 Wimbledon trainer Nora Gleeson retires after 21 years at Wimbledon. Her success included wins in the Laurels (Super Fame). Grand National (Grange Santa) and Pall Mall (Poor Linda). She also trained the Derby runner-up Sunbow.
1965 A Wimbledon punter couldn’t decide what to back in the second leg of a forecast double pool. As he stood in front of the tote window dithering, the tote clerk and supervisor urgently pressed him to make a decision. The last dog went into the trap. He finally went for ‘4-3’ as the automatic cut-off shut down the power to the window. The result came in ‘4-3’ and he missed the jackpot pay-out of £683 (around £10,900 at today’s value). What’s more, because he didn’t place the bet, he wasn’t entitled to the consolation dividend of £16 13s.
1965 Nine months after the NGRC authorised an experiment of allowing all racing managers to select trap positions for graded racing, almost all the London tracks are expected to reject the idea and will continue with trap draws. The exception is Wimbledon where racing manager Con Stevens believes the change can “significantly improve” graded racing.
1965 The beginning of a three generation era at Wimbledon as newly arrived Phil Rees has his first graded runner. Hurdler Kilcrone Darkie wins by five and a half lengths at 4-1. His second runner Fiery Abbey (7-4f) wins by six lengths. Thankfully – his third runner, the 100-8 shot Wattlehurst Punch finishes second!
1967 In his Brighton newsletter, Racing Manager Peter Shotton suggests going allowances are of limited use. He argues that the air temperature and humidity have a greater effect on going than the condition of the track. He is currently experimenting with readings to determine whether the additional information might be incorporated. It is not a new idea. For many years Wimbledon boss Con Stevens insisted on temperature readings on the track.
1968 A totalisator cashier on his way to service a tote booth was attacked and robbed of £650 at Wimbledon Stadium.
1968 Wimbledon go the whole way for their round of the industry beauty pageant Miss Greyhound Racing. The contestants are introduced to the crowd over the tannoy as they are driven around the Plough Lane speedway track in convertibles. The final is held at the Dorchester Hotel, and is introduced by TV host Simon Dee. The 12 finalists range from tote and bar staff, to stadium workers and five kennelmaids. The winner of the £100 first prize is Oxford parader Glenis Parratt.
1969 At four years and four months old, former St Leger winner Forward King wins the £75 Veterans Stayers Championship at Wimbledon. Ted Brennan’s dog, who has been running off scratch over 550 yards at home track Sheffield, starts at 1-2f and wins the 700 yard event by nearly four lengths.
1969 Newspapers are reporting the possible development of Wimbledon Stadium which will become a shopping centre.
1974 Wimbledon become the latest track to increase the minimum win bet on the tote to 20 pence. The forecast remains at 10p.
1975 New Irish arrival Flip Your Top (Own Pride-Whittle Off) breaks two of the country’s most prized track records in his first two races in Britain. On his debut he set a new Brighton 500 metre best of 29.26. Next time out he clocked a record for Wimbledon’s 460 metres of 27.55. Following the race, owner trainer Bob Young confesses that he had previously backed the pup at 200-1 to win the forthcoming English Derby.
1975 Wide seed Pineapple Grand is forced to run from trap one in the Laurels Final at Wimbledon. The Cearns owned track refuse to seed runners in graded or open races but it didn’t stop Frank Baldwin’s fawn getting home by half a length from Flip Your Top in front of a crowd of 5,887 paying customers.
1978 Trainer Bertie Gaynor pulls off a memorable double when his littermates Jet Control and Night Fall (Toms Pal-Morning Rose) finish first and second in the Laurels Final at Wimbledon.
1980 Eric Pateman, the former head lad to John Coleman, has joined the Wimbledon training strength. His head lad will be former Wimbledon legend Phil Rees.
1983 Two of London’s most senior trainers retire within 48 hours of each other. Wimbledon’s Paddy McEvoy (3 English Derbys, two Laurels, two Scurrys) is to return to Ireland. His range will be taken over by Mary Harding. Across in West London, Randy Singleton (Camira Flash) also hangs up his leads.
1984 Owner Liz Body has her NGRC disqualification rescinded after the stewards accepted her apology. The row erupted following a disputed photo finish decision at Wimbledon the previous year.
1985 Top lot at the Wimbledon sales Mollifren Rule is disqualified for fighting two weeks later. Owner Colin Packham gets his 4,000 guineas refunded.
1986 Bookmaker Tony Morris has three 12-1 ante post joint favourites for the English Derby, Fearless Action, Fearless Champ and Murlens Slippy. The latter is one of eight Irish entries among the 163 for Wimbledon’s second Derby – seven more than its first.
1987 Owner Bob Morton was at Wimbledon to see his Flashy Sir contest the Derby consolation which was declared void. He headed off to Hove, watched another of his runners, Westmead Move, destroy the field in the Brighton Belle Final before dashing back to Wimbledon – where Flashy Sir was beaten in the re-run.
1991 Wimbledon stewards refuse to allow trainer Barry Silkman to parade his Derby runner while wearing jeans and a T-shirt. Various contributions were hastily made – including a pair of trousers! – before Silkman took to the track and duly led off a 5-1 winner.
1992 Lisnkill Wish (7-4) beats Grand National winner Kildare Slippy (1-2f) in a hurdle match race at Wimbledon. The Philip Res trained black got home by a lengths and three quarters in 28.04 for the 460mH course – half a length outside the track record. The winner is given a 250-1 quote for the English Derby.
1993 Wimbledon hold a stewards inquiry into a winner of a Derby heat. Senior racing manager Bob Rowe is unhappy at the performance of Ger McKenna’s Moral Right who won his heat in 28.95, six days after clocking 29.76 in a trial. Local layer Tony Morris laid the dog to lose £7,600 at 5-2 and 9-4 but still won £3,300 on the race. The winner was returned at 11-4. The following night Fraser Black’s Resilient Rebel finds 58 spots on trial form after being backed from 5-1 to 5-4f.
1996 Wimbledon trainer Dave Kinchett (57) takes early retirement. Formerly at Hull, Shawfield and White City, and a past chairman of the GTA, his best greyhounds included Torbal Black, Main Avenue, Softly, Main Avenue and St. Leger winner Cute Caddie
1996 The Sporting Life Juvenile jinx strikes again when recent winner Droopys Aldo breaks a hock at Wimbledon when trialling for the Derby. Three days later Scottish Derby winner Burnpark Lord suffers a similar fate.
1996 Wimbledon bookie Tony Morris reveals he laid a bet of £500,000 to £500 about Crayford runner Tully Allen for the Derby. She was withdrawn lame after the first round.
1996 TV Trophy runner-up Martinstown Gem is disqualified for fighting in a graded race at Wimbledon.
1999 Wimbledon racing manager Simon Harris broadcasts a message asking for the person who has mislaid a pair of false teeth to come to the racing office to collect them.
1999 Following complaints from trainers, Wimbledon replaces its green lure with a black and brown version.
1999 Wimbledon announce the lowest number of Derby entries since the runner restriction was scrapped – 152. That total includes 11 Irish runners headed by 4-1 ante post favourite Chart King. Another Irish entry, Race One is forced by the NGRC to change name to Race First – to avoid confusion.
2000 Police investigate a sexual assault on a woman in the toilets at Wimbledon stadium
2002 Wimbledon general manager Mike Raper comes under fire from trainers and the Greyhound Writers Association when he cancels the Derby Lunch. “It has had its day” said Raper who was forced into a re-think a year later.
2003 Wimbledon alter their race distances following major re-shaping of the first bend. It is now 412m from the previous, 408m. The 680m trip will become 688 and the marathon goes from 868m to 872 metres. The 460 and 480 metre distances will remain unchanged due to the relocation of the starting traps. The track also concede that some of the original distances were already fractionally inaccurate following the re-calculation from yards to metres in 1971.
2006 Former White City and Wimbledon racing manager Bob Rowe is unable to attend the Plough Lane track for the last dozen heats of the Derby first round. It is the first time that Rowe – temporarily in charge of the Belle Vue racing office – has missed a heat of the event since 1974.
2007 The greyhound world is stunned when Wimbledon trainer Ray Peacock is killed in a car accident aged 52.
2007 Wimbledon racing manager Derek Hope announces that he will leave his post following the Derby final to take up a position as an odds compiler/trader with William Hill
2009 Keith Hallinan is unveiled as Wimbledon’s new GM. The former Sittingbourne boss takes over from the semi-retired Stan Wolfe.
2010 Wimbledon stage the earliest ever Derby Final on May 29. It is early due to the forthcoming World Cup. It is also the first Derby Final restricted by ticket admission with a limit of 3,000.
2010 Trainer Dolores Ruth gives a 19 month old pup his first ever official trial. He clocks 28.71 for Wimbledon’s 480 metres and is introduced as a 66-1 chance for the 2011 English Derby. His name is Razldazl Jayfkay.
2012 Tony Taylor is the latest handler to leave Wimbledon. Four months after Nora McEllistrim departed for Hove, Taylor is to join Sittingbourne.
2012 NOI reveal plans for a Galliard Homes backed scheme for Wimbledon – minus greyhound track. It is for 798 appartments.
