Kings Heath Stadium was a
greyhound racing
Greyhound racing is an organized, competitive sport in which greyhounds are raced around a track. There are two forms of greyhound racing, track racing (normally around an oval track) and coursing; the latter is now banned in most countries. Tra ...
track in
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...
.
Origins and Opening
In 1927 the British Greyhound Sports Club (BGSC) acquired the lease of the newly constructed stadium on the south side of Taylor Road and which was accessed off the east side of Alcester Road South. The land on which the stadium was constructed was formerly known as the Horse Show Ground. The first race meeting was on 21 May 1927. The company also owned four other tracks in 1927,
Darnall Stadium in Sheffield,
Knowle Stadium
The Knowle Stadium was a greyhound racing and speedway venue in Bristol.
Origins
In March 1924 fifteen acres of land on Wells Road, in the Knowle area of Bristol was secured by Albert Ford, chairman of the Bristol Greyhound Club. A stadium ...
in
Bristol
Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...
,
Boulevard Stadium in
Hull and
St Annes
Lytham St Annes () is a seaside town in the Borough of Fylde in Lancashire, England. It is on the Fylde coast, directly south of Blackpool on the Ribble Estuary. The population at the 2011 census was 42,954. The town is almost contiguous with B ...
in
Blackpool
Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the North West England, northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the Borough of Blackpool, borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, betw ...
. The new facilities included a main grandstand with a capacity of 3,000 and a concrete slope in front of the grandstand that could accommodate a further 2,000 people. The stadium capacity was estimated to be around 20,000 and the new build was overseen by Mr J. P. Hughes of the BGSC.
History
![Kings Heath Greyhound Stadium c](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6f/Kings_Heath_Greyhound_Stadium_c.1960.png)
Towards the end of 1927 greyhound racing was successful and a new company called the Associated Greyhound Racecourses Limited was formed and they purchased eight tracks including the five BGSC tracks and the Kings Heath lease.
On 7 October 1935, an 18 year lease was acquired by Herbert Leo Craven (the Managing Director of the Long Eaton and Perry Barr stadiums at the time) and he introduced a major new event called the Lincoln. The first running of the Lincoln was won by Slightly Polly trained by Arthur Doc Callanan. In 1949 the freehold was finally bought outright by the Kings Heath Racecourse Ltd. The track was described as a fair sized course with fairly easy turns and a good length run in despite the circuit having a small 390 yard circumference. The main distances were 480 and 675 yards and greyhounds chased an ‘Outside Sumner’ hare. On the Alcester Road South entrance there was the main stand featuring the Silver Club and Best Ring Club with matching betting rings. On the opposite side of the course were two covered stands, to the west was the popular betting ring and to the east were the racing kennels, isolation kennels and home kennels that included a rest room and surgery. Rest kennels were located at
Cookhill
Cookhill is a village and civil parish in Worcestershire, England, on the county border near Alcester. It is close to a former Cistercian Priory of the same name.
History
In the Domesday Book; Cookhill is mentioned as being in the Hundred of As ...
in
Worcestershire
Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a county in the West Midlands of England. The area that is now Worcestershire was absorbed into the unified Kingdom of England in 927, at which time it was constituted as a county (see His ...
. Perspective owners had to pay kennel charges of one guinea per week and the greyhound would be accepted into the track kennels on the understanding that all greyhounds were subject to veterinary examination,
National Greyhound Racing Club The National Greyhound Racing Club was an organisation that governed Greyhound racing in the United Kingdom.
History
The National Greyhound Racing Club (NGRC) was formed in 1928 and this body would be responsible for regulation, licensing and the r ...
rules and company conditions.
The first track trained success came in 1948 when King Hero trained by P.E Frost won the Cambridgeshire at
West Ham Stadium
West Ham Stadium was a stadium that existed between 1928 and 1972 in Custom House, in East London (it was in the County Borough of West Ham, in the county of Essex, at the time of the stadium's construction). The stadium was built in 1928 on Pri ...
. Another race called the Midland Oaks was introduced and trainers included Jim Todd, Bill Bryant, Alf Gibbins, Len Bane and Mr Allen.
Following the 1964 closure of the
Lythalls Lane Stadium
Lythalls Lane Stadium was a greyhound racing and Motorcycle speedway stadium in Coventry.
It is sometimes referred to as Foleshill Stadium or Coventry Stadium but should not be confused with Brandon Stadium.
Origins
In 1928 the Coventry Gr ...
in
Coventry
Coventry ( or ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its ...
, a major race the prestigious
Eclipse Stakes
The Eclipse Stakes is a Group races, Group 1 Flat racing, flat Horse racing, horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Sandown P ...
was transferred to the track. Following the formation of the Bookmakers Afternoon Greyhound Service (BAGS) in 1967 the track was chosen as one of the first four tracks to host live betting shop race meetings along with
Oxford
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
,
Park Royal and
Stamford Bridge Stamford Bridge may refer to:
* Stamford Bridge, East Riding of Yorkshire, a village in England
** Battle of Stamford Bridge, 25 September 1066
* Stamford Bridge (bridge), a bridge in the village of Stamford Bridge
* Stamford Bridge (stadium), in L ...
.
Closure
In 1971 developers bought the stadium from the
Greyhound Racing Association
The Greyhound Racing Association was a UK-based private company founded in 1925 and existed until 2019. It was involved in the management of sports venues, notably greyhound racing stadia. The GRA was responsible for introducing Greyhound racing ...
who themselves had only purchased the stadium the previous year. The final race meeting was held on 31 March 1971. The last race is won by Zansy Token. The north part of the stadium is now Wynfield and Leander Gardens and the south part is where the Cocks Moors Woods golf course stands.
Competitions
The Lincoln
1936-1970 (480 yards), 1940-1951 (not held)
Track records
References
{{English greyhound tracks
Defunct greyhound racing venues in the United Kingdom
Defunct sports venues in the West Midlands (county)
Sport in Birmingham, West Midlands
Sports venues completed in 1927