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Abbey Greyhound Stadium
Swindon Stadium, also known as the Abbey Stadium, is a Greyhound Board of Great Britain regulated greyhound racing track and former speedway track in Blunsdon, Swindon, England. Greyhound racing currently takes place every Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday as part of the ARC fixture schedule. Speedway The stadium was home to the Swindon Robins, who competed in the SGB Premiership until 2021. The speedway track has a circumference of 315 metres. Opening The stadium opened to the public on 23 July 1949 when it hosted the Swindon Robins speedway team; greyhound racing followed three years later on 1 November 1952. Swindon had two earlier short-lived greyhound track venues, in the village of Wroughton and near the town centre in Edinburgh Street, but both had disappeared by the mid-thirties. The stadium occupied a rural setting south of Lady Lane and was named after the Blunsdon Abbey estate in Blunsdon St Andrew, a Victorian estate which had seen its main house destro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Blunsdon
Blunsdon is a civil parish in the Borough of Swindon, in Wiltshire, England, about north of the centre of Swindon, with the A419 forming its southern boundary. Its main settlement is the village of Broad Blunsdon, with Lower Blunsdon nearby; the hamlet of Broadbush is now contiguous with Broad Blunsdon. Blunsdon is the eastern half of the former Blunsdon St Andrew civil parish. In April 2017, that parish was divided and the western half became a new St Andrews parish. History Blunsdon dates from Roman times: it was discovered that a Roman travellers’ resting place existed on the site of the present-day Cold Harbour public house. The main A419 road follow the course of a Roman road known as Ermin Street that linked the historic Roman towns of Gloucester (Glevum) and Silchester (Calleva Atrebatum), via Cirencester (Corinium). The Domesday Book of 1086 recorded three estates at ''Bluntesdone'', with altogether ten households. Widhill Widhill, land lying north of Blunsdon St ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Towcester Greyhound Stadium
Towcester Greyhound Stadium is a greyhound racing track located within Towcester Racecourse at Towcester in Northamptonshire, England. It has been the home of the English Greyhound Derby since 2021, having previously hosted the event from 2017 to 2018. Opening Towcester opened on 6 December 2014 becoming the first track in Britain to open since the 1995 openings of Harlow and Sittingbourne. The idea of a track inside the horse racing course was created by Lord Hesketh the racecourse owner and Chief Executive Kevin Ackerman. Former Walthamstow Racing Manager Chris Page, Deputy Racing Manager Andy Lisemore and Steve Cale were recruited to run the operation. Construction At a cost of £1.5 million the 420 metres circumference circuit was created by laying down 60,000 tonnes of soil so that the greyhound racing surface met the horse racing home straight at a level setting, resulting in a six-metre rise. The bends are very wide which assists the occasional eight dog race. The kenn ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hackney Wick Stadium
Hackney Wick Stadium was a greyhound racing and speedway stadium located at Waterden Road in the London Borough of Hackney. Origins The site chosen for the stadium was on land known as Hackney Marshes west of the River Lea and on the west side of the Waterden Road. The stadium was constructed from September 1931 until 1932 and cost £70,000 to build and after completion £18,000 in wages had been paid to the builders. Opening Hackney opened On Friday 8 April 1932 under the affiliation of the British Greyhound Tracks Control Society (BGTCS) the rival to the larger National Greyhound Racing Club. Thirteen thousand people attended the first night and witnessed Marjorie Graves, MP for South Hackney officially open the track. The capacity of the track was put between 30,000 and 50,000 and a totalisator had been installed for the first night. A greyhound called Bullseye became the first ever winner at the track. Although the meeting was advertised as the first official meeting ther ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John McGee (greyhound Trainer)
John F 'Ginger' McGee is an Irish born greyhound trainer. He is a seven times champion trainer of Great Britain and was regarded as the leading trainer during the early 1990s. Career McGee first came to national attention as head man to Fred Wiseman in 1987. He took over the Peaceful kennels in Ockendon Road, Upminster during 1988 and instantly gained success by winning the 1988 English Greyhound Derby with Hit the Lid in his maiden year. Gino reached the same final for McGee and Sard won the 1988 Gold Collar. The year ended with McGee claiming the Greyhound Trainer of the Year title. 1989 proved to be another notable year as McGee became Champion trainer for the second time and won the Trainers Championship. He joined Hackney from Canterbury in 1990 replacing Doreen Boyce and won a third consecutive Trainers title. A fourth trainers title in 1991, with 209 winners, represented a new record beating the three titles won by George Curtis and Phil Rees Sr. In 1992 he joined P ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1990 UK & Ireland Greyhound Racing Year
The 1990 UK & Ireland Greyhound Racing Year was the 64th year of greyhound racing in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Roll of honour Summary The greyhound betting levy bill was heard for a second time before parliament. The first had been read in 1989. Extracts from the reading were described by Alan Meale (MP for Mansfield) - "The purpose of the Bill is straightforward; it is to amend the Betting, Gaming and Lotteries Act 1963 to enable payment of a levy to the greyhound industry from moneys already deducted from punters for that purpose by the bookmakers in off-course betting establishments. There is a great need for this legislation. Greyhound racing is the second most supported spectator sport in Britain. As census figures show, more than 5 million people support the sport by going along to tracks every week. They attend 83 tracks, 48 of which are independent and 35 of which are registered with the National Greyhound Racing Club. The membership of that club and of the indep ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1978 UK & Ireland Greyhound Racing Year
The 1978 UK & Ireland Greyhound Racing Year was the 52nd year of greyhound racing in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Roll of honour Summary The National Greyhound Racing Club (NGRC) released the annual returns, with totalisator turnover up, at £71,504,284 and attendances down, recorded at 6,027,327 from 5688 meetings. Lacca Champion, a brindle dog trained by Pat Mullins was voted the Greyhound of the Year after winning the 1978 English Greyhound Derby. Paddy Keane became the first trainer to win both the English Greyhound Derby and Irish Greyhound Derby following the 1978 Irish Greyhound Derby win by Pampered Rover. Tracks Ramsgate owners Northern Sports bought Oxford in April, with the proviso from the council that the Stadium must be used as a recreational Stadium until 1983. The Managing Director David Hawkins changed the stadium name back to Oxford Stadium from Cowley Stadium; Bob Newson was appointed the General Manager and Jim Layton would soon arrive as Racing M ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Portsmouth Stadium
Portsmouth Greyhound Stadium was a greyhound racing stadium in Tipner north west of Portsmouth, England. Origins The stadium was constructed in 1930 east of Tipner Lane on the site of the Stamshaw Chemical Works. The stadium would be accessed from the new Target Road and effectively replaced the track at Portsmouth Greyhound Track (Copnor), which raced from 1928 to 1930. Opening The new, larger stadium was opened on 25 May 1931, with trainer Fred Tolfree claiming all the first four places in a five-dog opening race. The first winner was Tommy's Pup, the 2–1 favourite. Pre war history In 1932 the stadium was bought by Joe Childs, a famous jockey at the time because he was jockey to the King George V. Also included in the new management team were Jack Parker, captain of the Harringay speedway team, and Bradbury Pratt. In 1937 a 14-year-old boy called George Curtis secured a job with track trainer Bill Peters and one year later Hugo Spencer joined the track as a trainer. The m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1971 UK & Ireland Greyhound Racing Year
The 1971 UK & Ireland Greyhound Racing Year was the 45th year of greyhound racing in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Roll of honour Summary The annual National Greyhound Racing Club (NGRC) returns were released, with totalisator turnover at £56,188,971 and attendances recorded at 7,119,398 from 5808 meetings. Dolores Rocket was Greyhound of the Year after winning the English Greyhound Derby at White City and St Leger at Wembley. Her performances shone through during a difficult year that saw the closure of four tracks. The tracks were Kings Heath Stadium, which had only just recently been purchased by the Greyhound Racing Association (GRA) under their GRA Property Trust, Charlton Stadium (also GRA), the City Stadium, Norwich and Houghton Stadium in Durham. Tracks Hendon was the first track to declare decimal dividends and Milton Keynes (known as Bletchley or the Groveway) switched from independent status to full NGRC status. Competitions Following the closure of Charlto ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1970 UK & Ireland Greyhound Racing Year
The 1970 UK & Ireland Greyhound Racing Year was the 44th year of greyhound racing in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Roll of honour Summary Tote turnover deductions were changed, with tracks being allowed to charge anything up to 12.5% in deductions. The annual National Greyhound Racing Club returns were released, with totalisator turnover at £55,556,351 and attendances recorded at 7,365,653 from 5585 meetings. 1970 English Greyhound Derby finalist Moordyke Spot won the Oxfordshire Stakes, Playfield Cup, and ran undefeated through the Pall Mall Stakes, contributing to another winning streak of eight including the White City Championship. He was retired to stud in Galway at the end of the year and was named Greyhound of the Year. Tracks The Totalisator and Greyhound Holdings (T.G.H) were showing interest in buying stadia. They already held Crayford & Bexleyheath Stadium, Elland Road Greyhound Stadium, Brough Park and Gosforth Greyhound Stadium and then purchased the Midl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1969 UK & Ireland Greyhound Racing Year
The 1969 UK & Ireland Greyhound Racing Year was the 43rd year of greyhound racing in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Roll of honour Summary The Greyhound Racing Association (GRA) granted an option to Stock Conversion and Investment Ltd, for the purchase of greyhound racing's premier track White City Stadium for redevelopment. The official line was that a new modern White City stadium would be built in the remaining four acres from the existing 16 acres. However reporter Neil Martin stated "this move must spell death to all sport there in time – and in my opinion greyhound racing too". Fellow reporter John Bower had a different view, in that it would create a wonderful new stadium, a view seemingly given substance by the GRA, who announced that the architects plans were already drawn up. The GRA then announced that New Cross Stadium had been sold for development and it was closed in April. The GRA Property Trust was culling tracks at an alarming rate within the industry. They ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Birchfield Ladbroke Stadium
The Birchfield Ladbroke Stadium, also known as the old Perry Barr Greyhound Stadium was a former greyhound racing track in Birchfield in the north of Birmingham, England. It is not to be confused with the current Perry Barr Stadium on the other side of the Walsall Road and accessed from Aldridge Road. Origins The third greyhound track to open in Birmingham was Perry Barr in the Birchfield area of North Birmingham. Kings Heath Stadium and Hall Green Stadium had both opened in 1927 to large audiences and Perry Barr soon followed in the spring of 1928. The track was situated west of the Walsall Road on the opposite side of the road from the Alexander Sports Ground and accessed on Regina Drive. The River Tame ran below the stadium next to the railway tracks before being diverted in the 1990s. Opening The opening night was on 7 April 1928 and was promoted by the Birmingham Greyhound Club Limited. The stadium had been built to the cost of £70,000. Despite the fact that the spo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1968 UK & Ireland Greyhound Racing Year
The 1968 UK & Ireland Greyhound Racing Year was the 42nd year of greyhound racing in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Roll of honour Summary A greyhound called Yellow Printer arrived on the racing scene and was regarded as the fastest greyhound for many years. The fawn dog was voted Greyhound of the year and won the Irish Greyhound Derby, in addition to setting a new world record over 525 yards of 28.30 seconds at White City Greyhounds. Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh was presented with greyhound called Camira Flash, to become the sports most prominent greyhound owner. The fawn and white greyhound was given to him at a charity meeting at Harringay Stadium just over a month before the Derby started, with the condition that all prize money earned would go to the Duke Of Edinburgh Awards Scheme. The greyhound went on to win the 1968 English Greyhound Derby. Tracks The Greyhound Racing Association (GRA) closed the operation at Stamford Bridge on 1 August, which left a gap on t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
