Mark Andrew Wallis (born 1964) is an English

greyhound trainer A greyhound trainer is a person who trains greyhounds for racing. This involves exercising, feeding, and grooming them in addition to keeping the greyhound in race condition to enable the greyhound to race to the best of its ability. History Befo ...

. He is a record 13 times UK champion

Greyhound Trainer of the Year The Greyhound Trainer of the Year or Champion Trainer is an award for the leading greyhound trainer in the United Kingdom. It was inaugurated in 1961 and was originally elected by a press panel but is now awarded to the trainer who achieves the ...

Profile

In 1990, Wallis joined leading trainer

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at the Imperial Kennels (Linda would later become his mother-in-law). The kennel gained significant success during the following 15 years. In 2005 he became a trainer in his own right taking over the Imperial Kennels from Linda Jones.

Patrick Janssens Patrick Janssens (born 19 September 1956) is a Belgian former politician. He was a member of the SP.a and the former mayor of the port city Antwerp. Career Janssens studied "Political and Social Sciences" and "Applied Economic Sciences" (b ...

was a kennelhand for Wallis from 2005-2014. Wallis secured the trainers title in his first year of training and won his first major competition (the

Grand National The Grand National is a National Hunt horse race held annually at Aintree Racecourse in Liverpool, England. First run in 1839, it is a handicap st ...

). The kennel continued to gain success and won numerous events culminating in the

2009 English Greyhound Derby The 2009 Blue Square Greyhound Derby took place during May with the final being held on 30 May 2009 at Wimbledon Stadium. The winner Kinda Ready received £100,000. Final result At Wimbledon (over 480 metres): Distances Neck, 3, 1½, 1¾ ...

crown. A second Derby triumph ensued when he won the

2012 English Greyhound Derby The 2012 William Hill Greyhound Derby took place during April and May with the final being held on 26 May 2012 at Wimbledon Stadium. Blonde Snapper trained by Mark Wallis won the final missing the trouble encountered by most of the field, he won ...

with Blonde Snapper. He currently runs out of

Henlow Stadium Henlow Stadium is a greyhound track located at Stondon, in the English county of Bedfordshire, slightly to the north of Hitchin. The stadium has a restaurant, a number of bars and a bistro. Racing takes place every Monday and Thursday morning, ...

which he joined in August 2018, from his

Lakenheath Lakenheath is a village and civil parish in the West Suffolk district of Suffolk in eastern England. It has a population of 4,691 according to the 2011 Census, and is situated close to the county boundaries of both Norfolk and Cambridgeshire, ...

Kennels. Previously he was attached to

Walthamstow Stadium Walthamstow Stadium was a greyhound racing track in the London Borough of Waltham Forest in east London.BBC News - Walthamstow race track to close' It was regarded as the leading greyhound racing stadium in Britain following the closure of Whit ...

until it closed and then

Harlow Stadium Harlow Stadium is a greyhound racing track located in Harlow, Essex, England. The stadium also has executive suites, a restaurant, a number of bars and conference and banqueting facilities. Racing takes place in the evening on Monday and Wedne ...

until July 2010 when he left for

Yarmouth Stadium Yarmouth Stadium is a greyhound racing track located at Caister-on-Sea in the Borough of Great Yarmouth and English county of Norfolk. It is licensed by the Greyhound Board of Great Britain. Greyhound Racing takes place every Monday, Wednesday ...

, in order for his greyhounds being schooled behind a Swaffham hare. He then joined

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 20 ...

when it opened in 2014 and stayed there until it closed during 2018. Major wins in

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

included the TV Trophy,

Regency A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...

, Champion Stakes and Kent St Leger and the following year in

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

he won the

Cesarewitch The Cesarewitch Handicap is a flat handicap horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Newmarket over a distance of 2 miles and 2 furlongs (3,621 metres ...

(held for the first time in eight years). By the end of 2020 his eight year reign as trainer of the year came to an end at the hands of his former pupil Patrick Janssens. However during the year he still secured the prestigious Cesarewitch and a second successive TV Trophy, both won by Aayamza Royale. Aayamza Royale (a black bitch) was then voted the 2020 Greyhound of the Year. In January 2021, he won the

Essex Vase The Essex Vase is a greyhound racing competition held annually at Romford Greyhound Stadium. It was inaugurated in 1939 and ran until 1949. It was decided to bring the race back in 1959. The 2017 version of the event was delayed and held in March ...

for a record fifth time and in May, Aayamza Royal became the fourth greyhound to win the TV Trophy twice, setting a record of fours wins for Wallis in the process. Wallis duly secured a 12th and 13th Greyhound Trainer of the Year title at the end of 2021 & 2022 respectively.

Awards

He has won the

a record 13 times (2005, 2008, 2009, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022) and the Trainers Championship four times in 2006, 2010, 2018 and 2022.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wallis, Mark 1964 births Living people British greyhound racing trainers