|
Easter Cup (greyhounds)
The Easter Cup is a greyhound racing competition held annually at Shelbourne Park in Dublin. It was inaugurated in 1928. The event was won by the great Spanish Battleship on twice in 1954 and 1955. In 2017 the event was postponed following protests by the DGOBA which resulted in a suspension of racing at Shelbourne Park for five months. The protest was over the February closure of Harold's Cross Stadium. The 2020 edition was behind closed doors because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Venues and distances *1928–2007 (Shelbourne Park 525y) *2008–present (Shelbourne Park 550y) *2017 (not held) Sponsors *2004–2007 (Donal Reilly) *2009–2009 (BCR Print Management) *2010–2013 (College Causeway/Killahan Phanter) *2014–2015 (Dandelion Bar & Nightclub) *2016–2021 (Ladbrokes Ladbrokes Coral is a British gambling company founded in 1886. Its product offering includes sports betting, online casino, online poker, and online bingo. The business is split into two divisions, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shelbourne Park
Shelbourne Park is a greyhound racing stadium in the south Dublin inner city suburb of Ringsend. Greyhound Racing Opening The plans to open a greyhound track in Dublin were drawn up by Paddy O’Donoghue, Jerry Collins, Patsy McAlinden and Jim Clarke. Shelbourne Park opened on 14 May 1927 hot on the heels of Celtic Park (Belfast). The stadium located in the docklands in Ringsend was Dublin's answer to the Belfast track and the pair became the two most greyhound prestigious tracks in Irish racing. When opening in 1927 the track employed four resident trainers in Mick Horan, Paddy Quigley, Billy Donoghue and Ben Scally. History One year later it was decided to introduce the Easter Cup which commemorated the 1916 Easter Monday Rising in Dublin. However, the race soon became known for its own fame rather than its naming origins. The first winner was a greyhound called Odd Blade and the brindle dog went on to successfully defend his title the following year. Famously Mick the Mill ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1938 UK & Ireland Greyhound Racing Year
The 1938 UK & Ireland Greyhound Racing Year was the 13th year of greyhound racing in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Roll of honour Summary 1938 in the United Kingdom was a place of tension due to the unrest in Europe and the ongoing negotiations between the Prime Minister, Neville Chamberlain and Germany. However the public continued to embrace greyhound racing which was an affordable national pastime. Attendances at the National Greyhound Racing Club (NGRC) licensed tracks topped 26 million with totalisator turnover recorded as £39,352,839. The track tote deduction was 6% and the government tote tax was an additional 6%. The leading greyhound company, the Greyhound Racing Association (GRA) significantly increased profits once again. The operating profit for 1938 was £278,000 (a substantial figure at the time) and attendances at GRA tracks increased rose to 4,408,412. The GRA also invested heavily into their breeding facility on the company owned Fan Court Farm, on the Longc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1951 UK & Ireland Greyhound Racing Year
The 1951 UK & Ireland Greyhound Racing Year was the 26th year of greyhound racing in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Roll of honour Summary The annual totalisator was £65,548,855, a fifth consecutive drop since 1946 but considerably more stable than the significant decreases experienced during 1950. Once again the blame was directed towards the government and their tax policies of 10% tote tax and an additional 45% entertainment tax. Two tracks closed claiming that they could not continue to trade under the current taxation. In January Tamworth Greyhound Stadium and in May White City Stadium (Newcastle), the latter closed after the Managing Director Mr Whatley reported unmanageable figures. The tote receipts were £75,000 of which £47,000 was taken out by taxation. Restrictions on gambling were very much still considered by the government to be in the interests of the general public. A record 140 entries were received at the initial stage of the 1951 English Greyhound Derby, B ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1950 UK & Ireland Greyhound Racing Year
The 1950 UK & Ireland Greyhound Racing Year was the 25th year of greyhound racing in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Roll of honour Summary The annual totalisator was £70,408,231, a fourth consecutive drop since 1946. Seventy-one of the tracks were affiliated to the National Greyhound Racing Club (NGRC) which accounted for £61,068,000 of the total. The drop at the 71 tracks constituted 18% and paid attendances were 21,549,000, a drop of 10%. The returns further increased the friction between the industry and the government, with the former blaming the tote tax cost of £9,182,000 in addition to normal income tax on other areas of the business. Ballymac Ball continued his exceptional form from 1949 by winning the English Greyhound Derby. Tracks The Boyne Valley Greyhound Stadium in Navan and Spennymoor Greyhound Stadium both open. Competitions The News of the World in association with the National Greyhound Racing Club announced plans to sponsor a national intertrack competit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1949 UK & Ireland Greyhound Racing Year
The 1949 UK & Ireland Greyhound Racing Year was the 24th year of greyhound racing in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Roll of honour Summary The annual totalisator turnover was a healthy £85,643,207, which although the fifth highest ever recorded was also the third consecutive drop since 1946. Another concern was the fact that there were 207 tracks operating which was 63 less than during 1934. The industry put the blame squarely on government legislation that continued to squeeze operating profits. The government however were under pressure from organisations such as the Committee of Churches and ordered a public session. They presented evidence to the Royal Commission of Betting Lotteries and Gaming attacking all forms of betting with greyhound racing being singled out in particular, with mention of all under 18s being banned from tracks and the deduction from the totalisator to be brought down from its current percentage with no gain for promoters through the operations of th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1948 UK & Ireland Greyhound Racing Year
The 1948 UK & Ireland Greyhound Racing Year was the 23rd year of greyhound racing in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Roll of honour Summary The annual totalisator turnover was £99,449,342, which although the fourth highest ever recorded was also the second consecutive drop since 1946. The minimum betting stake on the track totalisator was increased from two to four shillings but quickly changed back following a widespread slump. The government ban on mid-week racing continued. Western Post and Priceless Border claimed the big Derby races but Local Interprize was the star of the year, after he claimed four classic competitions. They were the Gold Collar, Scurry Gold Cup, Welsh Greyhound Derby and the Cesarewitch. Competitions A greyhound called Narrogar Ann from a litter of six, out of the bitch Winnie of Berrow (winner of the 1944 Eclipse) came to prominence when successful in the Western Two year Old Produce Stakes. Narrogar Ann trained by Joe Farrand at Oxford Stadium beat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1947 UK & Ireland Greyhound Racing Year
The 1947 UK & Ireland Greyhound Racing Year was the 22nd year of greyhound racing in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Roll of honour Summary Racing was seriously affected by the Winter of 1946–47 in the United Kingdom and the fuel crisis. Tracks were forced to close from 11 February and on 11 February Sir Guy Bower, a Department Secretary for the Government, had closed down all greyhound tracks to conserve fuel and when racing was allowed to return it was restricted to Saturdays. On 15 March the fuel ban was lifted after 29 days, but 160 meetings were lost in London alone. Despite the loss of nearly two months of racing the returns for the year were significant, the extraordinary year of 1946 would never be matched again but totalisator returns still reached £131,460,177. The government increased their tote tax deduction to 10%, earning over £13 million for the treasury, track deductions remained at 6%. The government was subject to criticism from the industry because of t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1946 UK & Ireland Greyhound Racing Year
The 1946 UK & Ireland Greyhound Racing Year was the 21st year of greyhound racing in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Roll of honour Summary The greyhound racing industry experienced an extraordinary year in 1946, with all previous records in terms of attendances and totalisator turnover being broken. The year would be the pinnacle in the history of the sport and would never be matched again. Attendances were estimated to be around 75 million based on an annual totalisator turnover of £196,431,430. The figure equates to £8 billion today (2018), using a historic inflation calculator, which indicates the significance of the industry at the time. Trading on greyhound racing shares at the stock exchange were centre stage business. The leading greyhound company, the Greyhound Racing Association (GRA) recorded record attendances and profits at all of their tracks. The largest tote turnover was at White City and reached £17,576,190. Competitions Mondays News won the 1946 English ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1945 UK & Ireland Greyhound Racing Year
The 1945 UK & Ireland Greyhound Racing Year was the 20th year of greyhound racing in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Roll of honour Summary The Second World War came to an end in Europe on 8 May, leaving time for the industry to complete a full racing schedule including a return of the 1945 English Greyhound Derby that was won by Ballyhennessy Seal. Attendances and totalisator turnover for NGRC tracks reached record highs, with over 50 million paying customers going through the turnstiles. It was also announced that the NGRC tracks had earned the government £120,000 for war charities during the duration. Annual totalisator turnover nearly doubled to 137,715,273 (a phenomenal sum in 1945). The leading greyhound company, the Greyhound Racing Association (GRA) recorded a record profit of £1,616,000 but £1,230,000 of that was allocated for the liability of excess profit tax and National Defence Contribution. The annual report indicated that greyhound racing had served servic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1944 UK & Ireland Greyhound Racing Year
The 1944 UK & Ireland Greyhound Racing Year was the 19th year of greyhound racing in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Roll of honour Summary The popularity of racing continued to grow with attendances and totalisator turnover both rising once again despite the wartime restrictions imposed in many other aspects of life. Attendances and annual totalisator turnover increased significantly once again. The totalisator turnover saw an increase in excess of 20% from the previous year when a figure of 74,845,814 was declared. The leading greyhound company, the Greyhound Racing Association (GRA) recorded a record profit of £578,000 but the GRA chairman and managing director Francis Gentle (son of William Gentle) announced that government restrictions on racing fixtures and excess profits taxation was affecting the business dividends. The taxation was the equivalent of £2,000 per day. The headlines created during the year revolved around the success of two greyhounds Ballynennan Moon ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1943 UK & Ireland Greyhound Racing Year
The 1943 UK & Ireland Greyhound Racing Year was the 18th year of greyhound racing in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Roll of honour Summary War time attendances remained strong but there were no known new tracks opened. The only major competitions to take place were again the Scottish Greyhound Derby and Irish Greyhound Derby. The phenomenon that was a continual growth of attendances and annual totalisator turnover was observed once again, attendances paid £60,382,219 in bets on the totalisator alone. An astonishing figure in 1943, especially taking into account the war. Ballynennan Moon Ballynennan Moon continued to be the outstanding performer of the year, he continued where he had left of in 1942 and raced in eighty consecutive weeks of racing. He won the Joe Harmon Memorial Stakes, the Charlton Spring Cup and the Metropolitan Cup. Competitions ''Bilting Hawk'' won the Scottish Derby and a new puppy called ''Ballyhennessy Seal'', whelped in April 1942, by Lone Seal out o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1942 UK & Ireland Greyhound Racing Year
The 1942 UK & Ireland Greyhound Racing Year was the 17th year of greyhound racing in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Summary The year continued to be dominated by the effect of World War II. The only major races that had not been suspended were the Irish Greyhound Derby and Scottish Greyhound Derby. Many race meetings held throughout the country helped with the war effort with money collections made frequently for various funds. The crowds remained healthy and the racing provided a welcome distraction from the war. The distraction was so significant that the annual totalisator turnover set another new record, reaching £49,989,183, government tax and track deduction remained at 6% each respectively. An example of the sports popularity was highlighted at the House of Commons when an issue was addressed. The issue concerned was when upwards of 500 personnel at an aircraft factory left without permission to attend an afternoon greyhound meeting. Ballynennan Moon Ballynennan Moon r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
