Norman Oliver (1927-2012), was 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 was 1973 UK Trainer of the Year. 1972 Ramdeen Stuart with trainer Norman Oliver

Profile

Oliver became involved in greyhound racing through his father Ted Oliver who was a bookmaker. Norman was attached to Brough Park in

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...

during the entire training career. Oliver's first success was winning the 1962

Midland Flat The Midland Flat was a major greyhound racing competition held at Hall Green Stadium. The race was inaugurated during the early 1930s and was seen as one of the principal events in the Midlands. Post War winners Discontinued Venues & Distance ...

Hall Green Stadium Hall Green Stadium was a greyhound racing stadium located in the Birmingham suburb of Hall Green, which existed from 1927 until 2017. The track itself was a 412-metre long oval track with a sand covered surface. The capacity of the stadium was b ...

, with Happy Sailor. The following year he won several events and reached a major final when he steered Super Car through to the 1963

Scottish Greyhound Derby The Scottish Greyhound Derby was an original classic greyhound competition held at Shawfield Stadium. Held at Carntyne Stadium from 1928 to 1968, after the closure of Carntyne the race appeared at Shawfield from 1970 until 1985. In 1988 the Gre ...

. In 1967 he won his first major event when Hi Ho Silver won the Scottish Derby. An

English Greyhound Derby The English Greyhound Derby is the most prestigious race on the British Greyhound racing in the United Kingdom, greyhound racing calendar, with a history stretching back to 1927. It was first held at White City Stadium, but moved to Wimbledon ...

finalist followed in

1968 The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – "Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. * Januar ...

when Shady Begonia reached the final. Shady Begonia also won the BBC Sportsview Television Trophy, the

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 ...

and reached 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) ...

final but it was Ramdeen Stuart that was his star greyhound. Ramdeen Stuart won five major events, including the

St Leger The St Leger Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Doncaster over a d ...

and

Gold Collar The Gold Collar is a greyhound racing competition held annually. It was inaugurated in 1933 at Catford Stadium. Following the closure of Catford in 2003 the competition switched to Belle Vue Stadium but only lasted until 2009 when it was discont ...

. He trained greyhounds for

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Terry McDermott Terence McDermott (born 8 December 1951) is an English former football midfielder who was a member of the Liverpool team of the 1970s and early 1980s, in which he won three European Cups and five First Division titles. He was capped 25 times ...

Jonjo O'Neill John Joseph "Jonjo" O'Neill (born 13 April 1952) is an Irish National Hunt racehorse trainer and former jockey. He is a native of Castletownroche, County Cork in Ireland. Based at the Jackdaws Castle training establishment in England. O'Neill ...

and

Tommy Stack Tommy Stack (born 15 November 1945 in Moyvane, County Kerry, Ireland) is a former National Hunt racing jockey and trainer. As a jockey, he is probably best known for piloting Red Rum to a third Grand National victory. Stack was National Hunt Champ ...

. He was voted 1973 UK Trainer of the Year. Oliver retired in 2010 and died in 2012 aged 84.

Personal life

He married Dora and had two children Beverly and Denise. He owned racehorses, trained by

Malcolm Jefferson Joseph Malcolm Jefferson (1 December 1946 – 2 February 2018) was a British horse trainer who specialized in training horses competing in National Hunt racing. Jefferson was born in Penrith and worked as travelling head lad to Gordon W. Richar ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Oliver, Norman 1927 births 2012 deaths British greyhound racing trainers