Mildenhall Stadium is a
speedway
Speedway may refer to:
Racing Race tracks
*Edmonton International Speedway, also known as Speedway Park, a former motor raceway in Edmonton, Alberta
*Indianapolis Motor Speedway, a motor raceway in Speedway, Indiana
Types of races and race cours ...
,
stock car racing
Stock car racing is a form of automobile racing run on oval tracks and road courses measuring approximately . It originally used production-model cars, hence the name "stock car", but is now run using cars specifically built for racing. It ori ...
and
Greyhound Board of Great Britain
The Greyhound Board of Great Britain (GBGB) is the organisation that governs licensed greyhound racing in Great Britain. It does not govern independent tracks or Northern Irish tracks and therefore has no jurisdiction over them.
History
It was f ...
regulated
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 ...
venue located in
Mildenhall, Suffolk
Mildenhall is a market town and civil parish in Suffolk, England. The town is near the A11 and is located north-west of Ipswich, the county town.Ordnance Survey (2006). ''OS Explorer Map 226 - Ely & Newmarket''. . The large Royal Air Force stati ...
between Cambridge and Norwich. The stadium is known as Suffolk Downs when greyhound racing takes place.
The stadium has a Race View Restaurant and a fish and chip shop as well as the Fen Men bar licensed bar. There is a second licensed bar underneath the home straight grandstand. Speedway is held on Sundays (April to October).
Origins and opening
Mildenhall is in an area with strong
coursing
Coursing by humans is the pursuit of game or other animals by dogs—chiefly greyhounds and other sighthounds—catching their prey by speed, running by sight, but not by scent. Coursing was a common hunting technique, practised by the nobility, t ...
roots and in later decades greyhound racing became a popular sport too. The market town in
Suffolk
Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...
is surrounded by agricultural land with the only significant landmark near the town being
RAF Mildenhall
Royal Air Force Mildenhall or RAF Mildenhall is a Royal Air Force (RAF) station located near Mildenhall in Suffolk, England. Despite its status as a Royal Air Force station, it primarily supports United States Air Force (USAF) operations, and ...
, a
Royal Air Force station
The Royal Air Force (RAF) operates several stations throughout the United Kingdom and overseas. This includes front-line and training air bases, support, administrative and training stations with no flying activity, unmanned airfields used fo ...
that opened in 1934. It would take another 37 years before the area experienced speedway.
History
Speedway
![West row stadium](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/West_row_stadium.jpg)
In 1971 a speedway practice track was built on farmland owned by Terry Waters and two years later on the same farmland the track was moved to the south side of the junction where Hayland Drove meets Cooks Drove. The track was extremely primitive with a few sheds used as dressing rooms and straw bales made up the safety fence. In 1975 the
Mildenhall Fen Tigers
The Mildenhall Fen Tigers are a British speedway team, founded in 1975 and currently riding in the National Development League.
History
1971–1989
The original track was built in 1971 on farm land owned by Terry Waters, with chef Bernie Kla ...
were formed and they entered the National League.
Greyhound racing
![Greyhound racing at Mildenhall Stadium c](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/95/Greyhound_racing_at_Mildenhall_Stadium_c.1980.png)
In August 1990, Dick Partridge approached Terry Waters regarding a return for speedway and the introduction of greyhound racing. A lease was agreed and the greyhound track was constructed along with improvements in the facilities including new concrete terracing and track lights. The hare was an 'Outside Sumner' and the sand that made the surface was the King's Lynn silica sand. Seventy-four kennels were constructed with a paddock and weighing room added in an area of the old speedway pits. After securing a licence from the
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 ...
the first meeting took place on Saturday 21 September 1991. An eight race card started with a 375 metres event that was won by Coppacabana a 3-1 shot trained by Mills in a time of 24.61 secs.
The stadium suffered a two-month closure in the early part of 1992 before re-opening under new management headed by Denis Diffley. In 1995 Terry Waters took over from Dick Partridge who suffered financial difficulties.
One of the sports leading trainers
Linda Jones
Linda Jones (December 14, 1944 – March 14, 1972) was an American soul singer with a strong gospel-influenced style who had the 1967 top 10 R&B hit single, "Hypnotized".
Biography
Jones was born in Newark, New Jersey, United States. She starte ...
from nearby Lakenheath attended the track regularly whilst establishing the Imperial Kennels. Tuesday and Saturday night racing became regular nights with other race distances in addition to 375 being 550 & 700 metres.
Later the greyhound racing was then overseen by Richard Borthwick and Michael Glynn and new Racing Manager was Michael Hill. Mildenhall underwent changes again with distances being fine-tuned to 220, 375, 545, 700, 870 & 1025 metres on a circumference of 325m. Terry Waters took over as General Manager at the turn of the millennium and in 2008 Dave and Ron Coventry took over followed by Richard Borthwick.
Controversy and sale
In 2006, a couple bought a house close to Mildenhall Stadium where stock car racing and speedway have taken place since 1975, and began complaining about the noise. The couple took the stadium to court in 2014 and won resulting in the threat of closure for the stadium. In between the track experienced a temporary suspension following the exit of promoter Carl Harris. In 2016, the stadium was sold to Deane Wood of Spedeworth Motorsports.
Greyhound racing closure and return
Greyhound racing was held every Tuesday and Friday night (all year round) but on 15 January 2018 it was announced that the racing would cease. With the ongoing problems experienced by the track, the majority of its biggest trainers left for
Crayford Stadium
Crayford Stadium is a greyhound racing stadium located in the London Borough of Bexley in England. The stadium, which has featured races since 1986, has private suites, a restaurant and a number of bars.
An evening meeting takes place every Tu ...
,
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, ...
and
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 ...
, which resulted in racing only being held one night per week before the closure. In 2020, Kevin Boothby (the
Towcester
Towcester ( ) is an affluent market town in Northamptonshire, England. It currently lies in West Northamptonshire but was the former administrative headquarters of the South Northamptonshire district council.
Towcester is one of the oldest ...
promoter) announced the return of racing and renamed the stadium Suffolk Downs. The first trial session took place on 12 January 2022.
When racing returned the first meeting was held on 8 February 2022, with the primary race distance being 388 metres.
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Current track records
Former track records
References
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Stock car racing venues
Greyhound racing venues in the United Kingdom
Sports venues in Suffolk
Speedway venues in England
Mildenhall, Suffolk