Milton Keynes Greyhound Stadium was 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 stadium, in

Milton Keynes Milton Keynes ( ) is a city and the largest settlement in Buckinghamshire, England, about north-west of London. At the 2021 Census, the population of its urban area was over . The River Great Ouse forms its northern boundary; a tributary ...

located on the Groveway in Ashland.

Origins & opening

The stadium opened as an independent track on 25 July 1963 and was called the Groveway Greyhound Stadium. The name Groveway came from the Grove Way road that passed the stadium on the north side joining the small town of Bletchley with the village of Simpson. The track had been built four years before the birth of a large new town called Milton Keynes (named after one of the 15 villages) in a planned 34 square mile area. Milton Keynes proceeded to grow at speed eventually becoming the size of city.

History

Racing took place on Tuesday at 8pm and Saturday at 7.30pm and the circumference was 410 yards with an 'Inside Sumner' hare. Facilities included licensed bars, a refreshment bar and a children's playground. The promoter and Racing Manager Robert Beckett organised annual events called the Groveway Autumn Cup, Groveway Derby and Bletchley Trophy. trial day was a Sunday and six bookmakers were in attendance and race distances were 305, 440, 460, 525, 745, 900 & 965 yards. In 1972 the National Greyhound Racing Club and National Greyhound Racing Society amalgamated to form one controlling body called the National Greyhound Racing Club Ltd. Groveway Stadium joined the NGRC banner and the NGRC also relaxed the rule that previously did not allow any NGRC owner or trainer to attend an independent track. In the early seventies housing estates called Bean Hill and Netherfield were built to the north of the track and the Mount Farm Industrial Estate was constructed to the south. Reg Young the former breeder and owner of

1970 English Greyhound Derby The 1970 Greyhound Derby took place during June with the final being held on 27 June 1970 at White City Stadium. The winner was John Silver and the winning owner received £9,861. John Silver was owned, bred and reared by Reg Young, who later w ...

champion John Silver joined the track as a trainer. The track also changed its name to Bletchley with the 1972 Bletchley Derby now an official race in terms of being affiliated to the NGRC. In 1974 Stage Box won the BBC Television Trophy for Natalie Savva and one year later Gwen Lynds won the Greyhound Derby with Tartan Khan, the same year that Reg Young's Silver Sceptre won the Cesarewitch. In 1980 the A5 road was built nearby and Robert Beckett retired. The track reverted to independent status for a short spell but trainer Reg Young stepped in to become the new promoter with the track rejoining the NGRC under the permit scheme. The stadium was now known as Milton Keynes instead of Bletchley and Robert Beckett's son David took over the Racing Manager's position. Natalie Savva's Special Account won the

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 ...

and trainers Theo Mentzis, Jack Coker, Peggy Cope, Ron Bicknell, Angela McClurg, Mel Bass and Derek Law all secured major open race success for Milton Keynes in the following years. Reg Young retired in 1987 but returned as General Manager in the early nineties followed by Dan McCormick before the track was sold by Milton Keynes Stadium Ltd to the BS Group who also owned the Eastville track in Bristol. David Beckett died in 1996 and Eastville closed but Toms The Best won the 1998

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 ...

. In 1999 the BS Group bought the

Milton Keynes Bowl The National Bowl (originally the Milton Keynes Bowl) is an entertainment venue located in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. The site was a former clay pit (for brick-making), filled in and raised to form an amphitheatre using sub-soil ex ...

and Pachinko as the company went into the gaming business. The company then purchased Reading Stadium from Allied Presentations in 2002 and Bill Johnson became Racing Manager with Sue Conway as GM in 1998. In 2004 the BS Group were renamed to Gaming International and received criticism for the failure to re-open Bristol.

Closure

Plans to rebuild Milton Keynes Stadium at the Elfield Park site near the Milton Keynes Bowl were unveiled in 1998 and early 2005 The plans failed to materialise and the Greyhound Stadium closed down on Boxing Day 2005, it became derelict and then suffered major fire which resulted in the demolition of the site before a housing estate replaced it in 2014. The position of the stadium would have been underneath the current road called Wetheringsett in Ashland.

Speedway

Competitions

Milton Keynes Derby

Track records

References

{{Motorcycle speedway tracks Defunct greyhound racing venues in the United Kingdom Defunct sports venues in Buckinghamshire Sport in Milton Keynes Defunct speedway venues in England