Reading Stadium also known as Smallmead Stadium was an English

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 in Bennet Road,

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...

in the county of

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Berk ...

. It is not to be confused with

Reading Stadium Reading Stadium also known as Smallmead Stadium was an English greyhound racing and speedway stadium in Bennet Road, Reading in the county of Berkshire. It is not to be confused with Reading Stadium on the Oxford Road that closed in 1974 an ...

on the Oxford Road that closed in 1974 and was located further to the north of Reading.

Origins

In 1974 the

on the Oxford Road, north-west of the town was closed by the

Greyhound Racing Association The Greyhound Racing Association was a UK-based private company founded in 1925 and existed until 2019. It was involved in the management of sports venues, notably greyhound racing stadia. The GRA was responsible for introducing Greyhound racing ...

but the town of Reading soon had a replacement stadium when a company called Allied Presentations opened a new track accessed from the Bennet Road much further to the south of the town. The stadium was constructed on disused sludge beds and south of Island Road and north of Smallmead Road. The stadium build was assisted by owner trainer Bill Dore who sat on the board of directors with Reg Fearman, F Higley and Len Silver. Martin Haigh would be Racing Manager.

Speedway

Greyhound racing

Greyhound track at Reading Stadium Smallmead c

Opening

The first greyhound meeting was held on 10 June 1975. The first race was won by Mr T Coleman's Journeywork over 433 metres in a time of 27.84 secs. The circuit was all sand surface with an 'Outside Sumner' hare system. The circumference was 385 metres with usual race distances consisting of 275, 465 and 660 metres.

1980s

The stadium introduced a significant competition called the Berkshire Cup and also resurrected the

Hunt Cup The Hunt Cup is a greyhound racing competition held at Oxford Stadium in England. History The race had its inaugural running during 1931 and was held at Reading Stadium (Oxford Road) over 400 yards, initially advertised as a major sprint even ...

. and attracted a good class of trainer including Terry Dartnall and Jerry Fisher, the latter 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) ...

title with Jos Gamble in 1983. Fisher also trained Game Ball who he bought with owner Brian Smith for the sum of £8,000 at the end of 1982. Game Ball was put with Sean Bourke for the

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 ...

and nearly fulfilled his promise being a losing favourite in the 1983 final. game Ball also won the

Pall Mall Stakes The Pall Mall Stakes was a prestigious greyhound racing competition held at Oxford Stadium until it closed in 2012. It was run at Harringay Stadium from 1935 until 1987, before moving to Oxford Stadium in 1988. The race never received the stat ...

before becoming a prominent sire. Daleys Gold won the 1985

Scurry Gold Cup The Scurry Gold Cup is an original classic greyhound competition currently run at Perry Barr Stadium. It was run at Clapton Stadium from 1928 until its closure in 1973. The event moved to Slough Stadium in 1974 which consequently closed in 198 ...

before Mollifrend Lucky trained by Colin Packham won the 1986 Scurry and

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in 1986. Martyn Dore (the son of Director and General Manager Bill Dore) was Racing Manager by 1988 as the track became renowned for having a strong class of runner.

1990s

In 1990 the Maldwyn Thomas trained greyhounds with the prefix ‘Trans’ began to win trophies and 1992 proved to be a very successful year starting with the announcement that a competition called the

Reading Masters The Reading Masters was a greyhound competition held at Reading Stadium. The race was held from 1992 until 2007 and the prize money was second only to the English Greyhound Derby The English Greyhound Derby is the most prestigious race on th ...

would take place. The race offered substantial prize money with only the English Derby and

Scottish Derby The Scottish Derby was a Group 2 flat horse race in Great Britain open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It was run at Ayr over a distance of 1 mile and 2 furlongs (2,012 metres), and it was scheduled to take place each year in July. ...

able to top the £15,000 winner's prize. Poor Brian won the Oxfordshire Stakes for Ron Jeffrey (a former trainer at the old Reading track) and Bob Gilling's Skelligs Smurf became Oaks champion with Bixby (Bill Black) becoming the Puppy Derby winner. Champion trainer John 'Ginger' McGee joined the training ranks in 1993 and won the

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 ...

twice as a Reading trainer in 1993 and 1994. The Keith Howard 'Hedsor' prefix was next to provide the track with more success

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 W ...

greyhound Palace Issue claimed a third consecutive Hunt Cup in 2001. In 1998 John McGee returned for a second spell at the track and Paul Young also arrived as a trainer.

2002-2008

The track underwent a major change in 2002 when the BS Group/Gaming International bought the venue from Allied Presentations. Terry Dartnall returned to the track as a trainer once again and won two Select Stakes with Cleenas Lady before retiring and handing the licence to son Matt who then won the

Juvenile Juvenile may refer to: *Juvenile status, or minor (law), prior to adulthood *Juvenile (organism) *Juvenile (rapper) (born 1975), American rapper * ''Juvenile'' (2000 film), Japanese film * ''Juvenile'' (2017 film) *Juvenile (greyhounds), a greyho ...

in 2008 with Ballymac Under.

Closure

In 2008 the local council refused to extend the tracks lease citing redevelopment plans. The plans for the company to build a new modern stadium came to nothing with the final meeting being held on 22 October 2008 and the stadium was demolished.

Competitions

Reading Masters

Hunt Cup

Track records

At closing

The track records at the time of closing were -

References

{{English greyhound tracks Defunct greyhound racing venues in the United Kingdom

Greyhound The English Greyhound, or simply the Greyhound, is a breed of dog, a sighthound which has been bred for coursing, greyhound racing and hunting. Since the rise in large-scale adoption of retired racing Greyhounds, the breed has seen a resurge ...

Defunct sports venues in Berkshire Defunct speedway venues in England 1975 establishments in England 2008 disestablishments in England Sports venues completed in 1975 Sports venues demolished in 2008 Demolished sports venues in the United Kingdom