Monmore Green Stadium is 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 ...

and

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 ...

stadium located in

Wolverhampton Wolverhampton () is a city, metropolitan borough and administrative centre in the West Midlands, England. The population size has increased by 5.7%, from around 249,500 in 2011 to 263,700 in 2021. People from the city are called "Wulfrunian ...

. The stadium has private suites, a restaurant and a number of bars. The venue is owned and operated by the

Ladbrokes Coral 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, UK and International. UK operations are c ...

group.

Speedway

Motorcycle speedway Motorcycle speedway, usually referred to simply as speedway, is a motorcycle sport involving four and sometimes up to six riders competing over four anti-clockwise laps of an oval circuit. The motorcycles are specialist machines that use only ...

is raced there on Monday nights with the

Wolverhampton Wolves Wolverhampton Wolves are a British speedway team based in Wolverhampton, England. They are sponsored by Parry's International Travel, and signed a deal with owner Dave Parry (previous speedway rider for the Wolverhampton Wolves) for the 20 ...

competing in the top division of the sport, the Elite League where the team is captained by

Speedway Grand Prix Speedway Grand Prix are a series of stand-alone motorcycle speedway events over the course of a season used to determine the Speedway World Champion. The series started in 1995 replacing the previous format of a single event final. The first win ...

rider, Sweden's Fredrik Lindgren. Other riders who have ridden for the Wolves over the years include Britain's twice Speedway World Champion

Tai Woffinden Tai Woffinden (born 10 August 1990) is a British motorcycle speedway, speedway rider. He is a three-time Speedway World Championship, World Champion (2013 Speedway Grand Prix, 2013, 2015 Speedway Grand Prix, 2015 and 2018 Speedway Grand Prix, 2 ...

, multiple World Champions Ole Olsen and Hans Nielsen from Denmark, 1993 World Champion

Sam Ermolenko Guy Allen 'Sudden Sam' Ermolenko (born November 23, 1960 Maywood, California) is a former speedway rider. In 1993 he won the Speedway World Championship in Pocking, Germany.Bamford, R. & Shailes, G. (2002). ''A History of the World Speedway ...

of the United States and assorted others including England's

Andy Grahame Andrew George Grahame (born 10 September 1957 in Birmingham, England) is a former motorcycle speedway rider. Career Grahame began his British leagues career when he joined his older brother Alan Grahame at Birmingham Brummies for the 1976 Brit ...

, Australians

Jim Airey James Sydney Airey (born 19 August 1941 in Earlwood, New South Wales) is a former Australian international motorcycle speedway rider who rode in the 1971 World Final in Göteborg, Sweden and was a member of the Great Britain team that won t ...

and

Mark Fiora Mark Fiora (born 16 May 1962 in Mount Barker, South Australia) is a retired Australian international Motorcycle speedway rider. He is a four time South Australian Champion, and winner of the Australian Best Pairs championship in 1988 with Cr ...

and America's 1982 World Pairs Champions

Dennis Sigalos Arthur Dennis Sigalos (born August 16, 1959) is an American former professional motorcycle speedway, speedway rider. Career Born in Garden Grove, California, Sigalos was a rising star in speedway racing during the late 1970s. Sigalos served no ...

and Bobby Schwartz. On some alternate Monday nights, National League team

Cradley Heathens Cradley Heathens was a motorcycle speedway team from Dudley, England. The team was founded in 1947 and competed at the top level of British speedway until its closure in 1995. It was revived as Dudley Heathens in 2010, competing in the National L ...

also race at Monmore Green (Affectionately nicknamed Monmore Wood in tribute to

Dudley Wood Dudley Wood (born 9 July 1946) is a British former racing driver. Wood began his professional career in the World Championship for Drivers and Makes in 1981 and finished 13th in points. He then drove in the World Sportscar Championship from 198 ...

). The speedway track at Monmore Green is long and the current 4 lap track record is held by Australian

Darcy Ward Darcy Stephen Ward (born 4 May 1992 in Nanango, Queensland) is an Australian former motorcycle speedway rider who won the 2009, 2010 and 2011 Australian Under-21 Championships as well as the 2009 and 2010 World Under-21 Championships. His ca ...

with a time of 53.45 set on 10 August 2015.

Greyhound racing

Matinée races take place on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Fridays with evening race meetings on Thursday and Saturday nights. The track hosts several major races including the Ladbrokes Gold Cup, Ladbrokes Puppy Derby, Ladbrokes Festival 630's, Ladbrokes Summer Cup and from 2015 the prestigious puppy competition the

Trafalgar Cup The Trafalgar Cup is a greyhound competition held at Monmore Green Stadium for puppies under the age of two. It is the oldest puppy competition in the racing calendar. It was contested at Wembley Stadium from 1929 until 1998, but when the Wembley ...

. The track features prominently in the song "Monmore, Hare's Running" on the 1997 album '' Voyage to the Bottom of the Road'' by the band

Half Man Half Biscuit Half Man Half Biscuit are an English rock band, formed in 1984 in Birkenhead, Merseyside. Known for their satirical, sardonic, and sometimes surreal songs, the band comprises lead singer and guitarist Nigel Blackwell, bassist and singer Neil Cr ...

History

20th Century

Monmore opened in 1928 south-east of Wolverhampton and south of the Sutherland Road between the Great Western Railway line and East Park (a large sculptured park and gardens). The official opening night was Wednesday 11 January 1928 organised by a company called the Midland Greyhound Racing Association. A 10,000 strong crowd witnessed the seven races including two hurdle events and the first greyhound to win a race was Arrow Tranby winning one of the 500 yards races in a time of 32.08 secs at odds of 6-1 when winning the Shirley Stakes. In 1935 the large resident Monmore kennels were split into two sections and also served

Willenhall Greyhound Stadium Willenhall Greyhound Stadium was a greyhound racing stadium and formerly a football ground known as Spring Bank Stadium situated in Willenhall, West Midlands, England. Origins The area of Spring Bank in the West Midlands town of Willenhall ...

. Unlike many tracks Monmore remained open during the majority of the

war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

and introduced the Midland Puppy Championship in 1943, which would become the Midland Puppy Derby and then the Ladbrokes Puppy Derby (not to be confused with the more prestigious Puppy Derby held at

Wimbledon Stadium Wimbledon Stadium, also known as Wimbledon Greyhound Stadium, was a greyhound racing track located in Wimbledon in southwest London, England. It also hosted stock car and other small circuit motor racing events, and until 2005 hosted motorc ...

). The company ran a policy of having joint Racing Managers covering both Monmore and Willenhall. In the fifties Peter Cartwright left his position as Racing Manager to join 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 ...

and was replaced by Bob Harwood. Further competitions were introduced at the track that included the Midland St Leger, Midland Classic Potential, Pride of the Midlands and Staffordshire Knot. In 1963 a devastating fire swept through the main grandstand resulting in the closure of the track for a considerable period whilst repairs were made. The annual Midland Puppy Championship had to be switched to Willenhall. The fire instigated a major change with the grandstand undergoing significant investment in the mid-sixties to include an ultra-modern glass fronted restaurant with tiered viewing and waitress service. It brought the facilities up to date and attracted outside interest from the Totalisators and Greyhound Holdings (TGH). In 1970 TGH purchased Willenhall and Monmore from the Midland Greyhound Racing Co Ltd to add to the existing tracks of Crayford & Bexleyheath,

Gosforth Gosforth is a suburb of the city and metropolitan borough of Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It constituted a separate Urban district (Great Britain and Ireland), urban district from 1895 until 1974 before officially merging with the city of New ...

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...

and Brough Park that they already owned. Four years later in 1974

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, UK and International. UK operations are c ...

bought out TGH and added another racetrack

Perry Barr Perry Barr is a suburban area in north Birmingham, England. It is also the name of a council constituency, managed by its own district committee. Birmingham Perry Barr is also a parliamentary constituency; its Member of Parliament is Khalid Ma ...

. Arthur Aldridge became Racing Director for Ladbrokes and following the 1981 decimation of horse racing fixtures due to bad weather the track held BAGS (Bookmakers’ Afternoon Greyhound Service) fixtures for the first time. The tracks resident kennels were demolished in the late eighties making way for the contract trainer system and Jim Woods arrived from

Nottingham Greyhound Stadium Nottingham Greyhound Stadium is a greyhound racing track and stadium on the outskirts of Nottingham, England. Races at the course are held on Monday, Friday and Saturday evenings as well as an additional matinée meeting every Tuesday. The ci ...

to take over as Racing Manager with Bob Harwood General Manager. The stadium hosted the

Golden Jacket The Golden Jacket is a greyhound racing competition held at Crayford Stadium. It was inaugurated in 1975 at Harringay Stadium but following the closure of the track switched to Hall Green Stadium and then Monmore Green Stadium before finding a h ...

classic race in 1986 before it moved to

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 ...

and a pre-war event the Midland Gold Cup returned in 1994. The stadium underwent changes in 1996 including a change of hare system from a Sumner to a Swaffham.

21st Century

2011 was a very successful year for the track when they won the BAGS National Track Championship and trainer Chris Allsopp became champion trainer. In 2013 Jim Woods retired after a 31-year career handing the reigns to Tony Williamson. The prestigious

competition was held for the first time in 2015. In 2018 the stadium signed a deal with SIS to race every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday afternoon and every Thursday and Saturday evening. Leading trainer Kevin Hutton joined the track in August 2018.

Major competitions

Ladbrokes Gold Cup

Ladbrokes Puppy Derby The Monmore Puppy Derby also known as the Premier Greyhound Racing Puppy Derby for sponsorship purposes, is a greyhound competition held at Monmore Green Stadium. It was inaugurated in 1943 and was has also been known as the Midland Puppy Champio ...

Ladbrokes Gold Cup Festival 630
Ladbrokes Spring Festival 630
Ladbrokes Summer Stayers Classic

Track records

Current

, , 12.45, , 8 May 2014, , , -align=center , 264 , , Jetharts Here, , 14.95, , 8 September 2007, , , -align=center , 416 , , Southfield Jock, , 24.01, , 4 December 2015, , , -align=center , 480 , , Ballymac Eske, , 27.48, , 28 June 2012, , , -align=center , 630 , , Iceman Brutus , , 37.07, , 20 August 2007, , Ladbrokes Gold Cup heats , -align=center , 684 , , Centour Corker, , 40.60, , 29 May 2003, , Ladbrokes Summer Stayers Classic Final , -align=center , 835 , , Slick Strauss, , 51.00, , 17 August 2017, , , -align=center , 900 , , Aayamza Royale, , 55.00, , 22 May 2021, , TV Trophy final , -align=center , 480 hurdles , , Brave Ruler , , 28.88 , , 26 July 1999, ,

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References

External links

Official site
{{English greyhound tracks Greyhound racing venues in the United Kingdom Speedway venues in England Sport in Wolverhampton Sports venues in the West Midlands (county)