Newbridge Greyhound 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 ...

track located northwest of Newbridge,

County Kildare County Kildare ( ga, Contae Chill Dara) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It is named after the town of Kildare. Kildare County Council is the local authority for the county, ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. Racing takes place every Friday evening and the facilities include the grandstand Masters Restaurant and Barkers Bar which offers ample seating. Race distances are 325, 525, 550, 575 and 750 yards and the feature competitions are the Unraced Bitch Stake, the Juvenile Derby and the Newbridge Oaks.

History

Following the closure of the old Newbridge greyhound track around

St Conleth's Park St Conleth's Park ( ga, Páirc Naoimh Conlaith) is a GAA stadium in Newbridge, County Kildare, Ireland. It is the county ground of Kildare's Gaelic football and hurling teams. It also served as the town's greyhound racing track from 1948 until ...

in 1968 the operation was relocated to a more rural location north of the town near the Rickardstown/Cornelscourt area. It was still, however, within easy reach of the town and racing would originally take place every Monday and Friday. The new circuit was constructed in 1972, and the management brought the long-running

Cox Cup The Cox Cup was a greyhound racing competition held annually at Newbridge Greyhound Stadium Newbridge Greyhound Stadium is a greyhound racing track located northwest of Newbridge, County Kildare, Ireland. Racing takes place every Friday ev ...

with them. Named after the stadium landlords the Cox family (PJ Cox and sons Dermot and David). The new circuit tended to be a fast track with a large circumference of 520 yards. The new facilities included a glass-enclosed bar which allowed patrons to view not only the racing but the kennels and weighing room as well. During 1978 further changes were made with a facelift for the main stand; this was the same year that long-standing racing manager Denis Brennan gave up the racing manager's seat that was then taken by Christy Connolly. The

allowed the Newbridge public to view some of the sport's fastest greyhounds, including Ardfert Mick, who broke the track record during the 1991 event. Despite the track facing financial problems at various times, there were more track improvements in 2002, which provided a welcome rejuvenation. On 26 March 2011 the Cox family and the Newbridge Greyhound Racing Company called it a day and decided to close following a downturn in the economic climate. The management stated there has been a reduction in attendances, sponsorship and secondary business activity. The Cox Cup was held from 1964 to 2018. Following a five-month closure it re-opened in August 2011 under the Morgan & Franklin Consortium headed by Managing Director David Morgan who provided renewed investment. Morgan had worked at a senior level with

Irish Greyhound Board Greyhound Racing Ireland ( ga, Rásaíocht Con Éireann, formerly ga, Bord na gCon) is an Irish semi-state body charged with regulating and promoting Greyhound racing in Ireland. The organisation has been active in developing the sport in Irela ...

(IGB) in the past and was also the stadium director for Semple Stadium. The consortium included Peter Franklin, former head of marketing of the IGB and was called Morwell Racing Ltd. However, problems persisted at the track and in March 2013 Morwell Racing Ltd ceased racing. Welcome news arrived shortly afterwards in 2013 when the IGB stepped in, this time led by the IGB's Philip Peake, and took control of the venue. The track recommenced racing once again on Friday and Saturday nights. Following the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

the track was forced into temporary closure but re-opened later, although racing is currently held on Friday evenings only.

Former Competitions

Track records

Current Former

References

{{coord missing, County Kildare Greyhound racing venues in the Republic of Ireland Sport in County Kildare Sports venues in County Kildare