Greyhound racing lost one of its great characters with the death of Terry Meynell aged 75 following an on-going battle with serious illness writes Floyd Amphlett.
The plain speaking Geordie spend most of his working life as a racing manager or operations manager spread between Sheffield, Nottingham, Newcastle and Sunderland, though he worked at at least five other tracks earlier in his career. His tenure at Sheffield ended in 1981 following a public battle with the local owners association. Terry, typically, left rather than backing down. (Sod ‘em!)
His vast experience and integrity returned to the North East where he shuttled between Sunderland and Brough Park (Newcastle). He retired in 2010, only to be brought back for another three years at the helm. He was then taken on as a consultant by William Hill’s Head of Stadia, Joe O’Donnell.
My dealings with him weren’t frequent though they were always entertaining. Terry was famously, loud, funny, and outspoken.
If he wasn’t impressed with something you had written, it was unlikely to be handled diplomatically. You would get an almighty bollocking, then he’d crack a joke, and buy you a pint. He was first and foremost a bloody good racing manager who had seen and done it and God help any trainer who tried to blag him.
His influence will continue to be felt throughout the industry:
Veteran trainer Harry Williams said: “Terry Meynell was an absolutely fantastic guy and is a huge loss to greyhound racing. He had a spell out of the game (as a publican) before I brought him back when we opened Sunderland. He was invaluable.
“As a person, Terry was a very tough man, but he could be could also be charming and great company. He was also an exceptional judge of a greyhound and a superb racing manager.
“I remember Dave Conway telling me, when he owned Nottingham, that every so often the bookies would come in moaning that they were doing their money and for the next couple of meetings, Dave would grade the cards so that every favourite was turned over. He was that good at his job.
“He was very hands-on, even when he was part-time after retirement and made a huge difference to racing in the North East. There are so many funny stories about Terry Meynell but I can’t think of one that you would be able to publish. I thoroughly enjoyed his company and will always remember Terry as a great greyhound man.”
Former Crayford and Walthamstow racing manager Tony Smith remembers Terry Meynall as being a consummate professional.
He said: “We were both working for Tote Holdings and I went to Brough Park as a relief from Leeds in 1974. Seeing Terry in action was like moving up a league. He had his own ideas about racing including a technique for calling out the race distances as well as the running order as the dogs crossed the winning line. It was tricky to learn but really helped focus your thoughts on each dog and I carried on doing it throughout my career. I even taught Chris Page the technique at Walthamstow.
“Terry was at Brough Park during its golden ara. With Norman Oliver training there they had the best dogs in Britain with Terry, Dan McCormick and Joe Trelease all involved as general managers or racing managers at one time or another.
“I remember Terry with great fondness. He was a tough man who stood no messing about from his trainers, but he was also incredibly kind. On my first day in Newcastle he took me home to meet his wife and made me feel very welcome.
“He loved a drink and a game of dominos. He was also the most immaculately dressed man you ever saw at a greyhound track. He would change his suit twice a day.
“I remember one night in the paddock at Gosforth he was arguing with one of the trainers, George Williams who was holding a dog and complaining about how Terry had graded it.
“George wouldn’t normally say boo to a goose but he stood there and was taking Terry to task. Terry was having none of it and they were going at it hammer and tongs. Then as I watched, the dog slowly lifted its leg and began to piss down Terry’s new suit. The look on his face! To make matters worse, the dog then won the race.
“I am terribly sad to hear of Terry’s death. I am proud to have known him.”
The last word should go to Joe O’Donnell, the head of William Hill Stadia, who has been particularly badly hit by Terry’s death.
Joe said: “I met Terry when I first started with the tracks twelve years ago. He was my mentor, I relied on him so much in the early days and he never put me wrong. He was also a very close friend. To be quite honest I am finding it very difficult to talk about it. He was so popular at Newcastle and Sunderland and everyone is in shock.
“Terry was an absolute old growler but underneath he had a heart of gold. It was only a short while ago that I argued with him about something and he shouted back ‘. . . and you still know eff-all about dog racing!’ It made me laugh.
“I will miss him.”
