Anthony Charles Meek (born 1961), in

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...

, is a former 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 is twice

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 ...

winning trainer.

Profile

Meek learnt the trade working for the legendary

Geoff De Mulder Geoffrey De Mulder (1930 – 11 December 2009) was an English greyhound trainer. He was a two times champion trainer of Great Britain and was regarded as the leading trainer during the 1970s and 1980s. Early life He was born in Yorkshire and ...

before moving to Ireland to work with Paddy Keane. He then established his own kennel during the early 1980s, after being granted a professional trainer's licence. The kennels were based in

English Bicknor English Bicknor is a village and civil parish in the Forest of Dean district of west Gloucestershire, England. The 2011 Census recorded the population as 408. The village is near the county boundary with Herefordshire, opposite which is the vi ...

and attracted some of the sport's leading owners. The first significant achievement was making the

Grand Prix Grand Prix ( , meaning ''Grand Prize''; plural Grands Prix), is a name sometimes used for competitions or sport events, alluding to the winner receiving a prize, trophy or honour Grand Prix or grand prix may refer to: Arts and entertainment ...

final with Keem Rocket in 1984. Gino represented Meek in the 1987 Irish Greyhound Derby final before the white and brindle joined John McGee. He moved his attachment from

Swindon Stadium Swindon Stadium, also known as the Abbey Stadium, is a Greyhound Board of Great Britain regulated greyhound racing track and former speedway track in Blunsdon, Swindon, England. Greyhound racing currently takes place every Monday, Wednesday, F ...

Oxford Stadium Oxford Stadium is a greyhound racing and speedway venue in Oxford, located in Sandy Lane, Cowley. Races were historically held every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday evening with afternoon BAGS (Bookmakers Afternoon Greyhound Service) racing on ...

in 1988, which catapulted the kennels to major success. In 1990 he trained Fires of War, who reached the

1990 English Greyhound Derby Year 199 ( CXCIX) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was sometimes known as year 952 '' Ab urbe condita''. The denomination 199 for this year has been used since the ...

final. The following year Coalbrook Suzie reached the final of the Oaks and Grand Prix before Deanpark Atom 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 ...

in 1992. He also recorded two Puppy Derby successes with Murlens Support and Lughill Slippy. The greatest achievements came in 1993 and 1994; first with Ringa Hustle, a black dog with seeding issues but who proved imperious when winning the 1993 English Greyhound Derby, a final in which he was also represented by Lassa Java, who would go on to win the 1994 Pall Mall. The second achievement in 1994 arrived after Meek switched from Oxford to

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 ...

and crowd favourite Moral Standards completed an unbeaten run through the 1994 English Greyhound Derby. He became only the second trainer to defend a Derby title after

Leslie Reynolds Leslie Reynolds (1906–1961) was a leading English greyhound trainer. He was a five times winner of the English Greyhound Derby which constituted a record until beaten by Charlie Lister in 2011. Early life Reynolds was born during 1906 in Oare, ...

. Tony continued to train and after spells at Monmore and

Coventry Coventry ( or ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its ...

retired and handed the kennels over to his partner Jayne. He also acted as the Chairman of the Greyhound Trainers Association.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Meek, Tony 1961 births Living people British greyhound racing trainers