Nottingham 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. Tr ...
track and stadium on the outskirts of
Nottingham
Nottingham ( , locally ) is a city and unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east of Sheffield and north-east of Birmingham. Nottingham has links to the legend of Robi ...
, England.
Races at the course are held on Monday, Friday and Saturday evenings as well as an additional matinée meeting every Tuesday.
The circumference of the track is .
Competitions
The stadium holds several competitions annually:
*The
Select Stakes, (500 metres), invitation event
*The
Puppy Classic – August, (500 metres), puppy event
*The
Produce Stakes
The British Breeders Stakes formerly known as Produce Stakes is a greyhound racing competition held annually at Nottingham Greyhound Stadium. It was originally known as the British Breeders Forum Produce Stakes.
It was inaugurated in 1982 at Harr ...
– October, (500 metres), British-bred event
*The
Eclipse
An eclipse is an astronomical event that occurs when an astronomical object or spacecraft is temporarily obscured, by passing into the shadow of another body or by having another body pass between it and the viewer. This alignment of three c ...
– November, (500 metres)
*The
National Sprint – December, {(305 metres)
*The
Guineas (500 metres) (former event)
Origins and opening
In 1970 the
White City Stadium
White City Stadium was a stadium located in White City, London, England. Built for the 1908 Summer Olympics, it hosted the finish of the first modern marathon and other sports like swimming, speedway, boxing, show jumping, athletics, stock ca ...
in Nottingham closed down leaving the city without greyhound racing. However members of the Severn and Trent greyhound clubs had maintained a presence in the council's thoughts and several years later plans for a new track within the
Nottingham Racecourse
Nottingham Racecourse is a thoroughbred horse racing venue located in Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England. It is situated at Colwick Park, close to the River Trent and about 3 km east of the city centre.
Characteristics
There are actuall ...
site began to surface. The site of the racecourse was west of the village of
Colwick and the racecourse had been open since 1892.
On 24 January 1980 the Colwick Park greyhound track opened, it was situated on the north side of the racecourse where a car parking area had stood and previous to that it had been an old bed of the River Trent. The circumference of the track was 442 metres and was described as a very good galloping track with long straights and the sand used was Worksop Grey. The Managing Director Jon Carter announced that there were over 2,000 attending the first meeting which consisted of eight races, six over 500m and two over 295m. The first winner was a greyhound called Tartan Al trained by W Horton who won in 32.98sec at odds of 7–1.
History
20th Century
An initial investment of £250,000 included the Panorama Room with a state of the art restaurant and totalisator. The first Racing Manager was Jim Woods, the Director of Racing was Terry Meynell and the first trainers were Bill Horton, Christine Lawlor, A Coppin, T Smith and one Charlie Lister. Another trainer that appeared on opening night was Geoff DeMulder and he joined the track in 1984. Racing took place on Monday, Thursday and Saturday evenings and the nature of the large track soon attracted some of the sports best greyhounds including
Scurlogue Champ who broke the track record in October 1985 and then
Ballyregan Bob
Ballyregan Bob (12 May 1983 to 3 April 1994) was a racing greyhound who, along with Mick the Miller and Scurlogue Champ, is one of the most revered racing hounds in British greyhound racing.
Ballyregan Bob was a brindle dog and was whelped i ...
who won two races at Nottingham that formed part of his world record breaking run during November 1985 & April 1986 with the first run creating a new track record.
It was also in 1986 that
Coventry
Coventry ( or ) is a city in the 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 city status until the Middle Ages. The city is governed b ...
closed resulting in the
Eclipse
An eclipse is an astronomical event that occurs when an astronomical object or spacecraft is temporarily obscured, by passing into the shadow of another body or by having another body pass between it and the viewer. This alignment of three c ...
competition finding a new home at Nottingham. In April 1989 the 'Outside Sumner' hare was replaced by the 'Bramich' and race distances were re-measured as 310, 500, 700 & 747m.
In 1988 Terry Corden took control of Nottingham from Wiseville Ltd, Corden had recently sold
Derby Greyhound Stadium
Derby Greyhound Stadium or Derby Stadium was a greyhound racing venue in Derby, England.
Origins
A full century before turning into a greyhound stadium the site was used as the county gaol and called the Vernon Street Prison. It was a six-acre ...
and had been successful during the property boom. Racing Manager Jim Woods left to join
Monmore Green Stadium
Monmore Green Stadium is a greyhound racing and speedway stadium located in Wolverhampton. The stadium has private suites, a restaurant and a number of bars. The venue is owned and operated by the Ladbrokes Coral group.
Speedway
Motorcycle s ...
and was replaced by Mick Smith before Peter Robinson took over. One of the first tasks of the new owners was to invest in new facilities and in 1989 the track underwent a considerable upgrade.
A new competition introduced to the track in 1990 was the
National Sprint, the important race had struggled to find a home since the closure of
Harringay Stadium
Harringay Stadium was a major greyhound racing and motorcycle speedway venue in Harringay, north London. It was built and opened in 1927 and closed in 1987.
Construction
Harringay Stadium was the third greyhound racing stadium to open in Br ...
and would be held towards the end of the year and was known as the Peter Derrick Christmas Cracker for a few years. Trainer Dawn Wheatley trained Ayr Flyer, who finished runner-up in the
1994 English Greyhound Derby.
Wembley
Wembley () is a large suburbIn British English, "suburb" often refers to the secondary urban centres of a city. Wembley is not a suburb in the American sense, i.e. a single-family residential area outside of the city itself. in north-west Londo ...
closed to greyhound racing in 1996 and Nottingham was awarded the prestigious
Select Stakes as a consequence in 1997. Trainer
Charlie Lister
Charles 'Charlie' Richard Lister OBE (born 1940) is a former English greyhound trainer. He is a four times winner of the Greyhound Trainer of the Year and is regarded as one of the leading trainers of all time. He also holds the record for English ...
won the
1997 English Greyhound Derby and
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 Gr ...
with
Some Picture.
It was voted 'Central Region Racecourse of the Year' by the British Greyhound Racing Board for 1998–1999.
21st Century
The track was voted 'Central Region Racecourse of the Year' by the British Greyhound Racing Board for a second time in 2001–2002.
[ A new kennel range costing £250,000 was introduced in 2003. Stadium owner Terry Corden brought his daughter Rachel and son Nathan into the business and they are now both heavily involved in the running of the track. Another event (the ]Produce Stakes
The British Breeders Stakes formerly known as Produce Stakes is a greyhound racing competition held annually at Nottingham Greyhound Stadium. It was originally known as the British Breeders Forum Produce Stakes.
It was inaugurated in 1982 at Harr ...
taken from 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 ...
) came to the track in 2009.
In 2018 the stadium signed a deal with Arena Racing Company
Arena Racing Company, also called ARC Racing and Leisure Group is a UK private company, created in 2012 by the merger of Arena Leisure and Northern Racing.
It owns and operates 16 racecourses in Great Britain, accounting for 39% of British rac ...
(ARC) to race every Monday and Friday evening and a matinée meeting every Tuesday. During 2019 the track was chosen as the new venue for the sport's most famous event, the English Greyhound Derby which switched from Towcester.
In 2020 the stadium was sold by Nottingham Greyhound Stadium Ltd to ARC. The Director of Nottingham Greyhound Stadium Rachel Corden was retained by ARC and appointed ARC Greyhound Operations Director. In 2021 the Derby returned to Towcester following two years at Nottingham.
Track records
Current
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!width=50, Time
!width=200, Date
!width=250, Notes
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, 255 , , Skate On , , 14.84 , , 18 August 2014, ,
, -align=center
, 305 , , Target Harris[ , , 28.07, , 15 July 2014, ,
, -align=center
, 500 , , Skywalker Logan , , 29.05, , 25 May 2019, , Derby first round
, -align=center
, 680 , , Fabulous Shanty][, , 41.06, , 4 March 2013, ,
, -align=center
, 730 , , Romantic Rambo][ , , 44.11, , 15 July 2014, ,
, -align=center
, 905 , , Festival Time , , 56.46 , , 18 November 2014 , ,
, -align=center
, 925 , , Fearsome Liberty][ , , 57.86, , 18 November 2013, ,
, -align=center
, 500 H , , El Tenor][ , , 30.71, , 21 June 1999, ,
]
Former
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!width=200, Greyhound
!width=50, Time
!width=250, Date
!width=250, Notes
, -align=center
, 255 , , Mother Shauna , , 14.88 , , 9 June 2014, ,
, -align=center
, 295, , Tims Crow , , 17.45 , , 24 November 2003 , ,
, -align=center
, 295 , , Laser Beam , , 17.43, , 26 August 2005, ,
, -align=center
, 300, , Nervous Paddy , , 17.81 , , 24 December 2001, ,
, -align=center
, 300 , , Hawk I Hunt , , 17.68, , 2 June 2003, ,
, -align=center
, 305, , Laser Beam , , 17.77 , , 14 November 2005, ,
, -align=center
, 305, , Carrib Prince , , 17.73 , , 12 December 2005, , National Sprint heats
, -align=center
, 305, , Ningbo Jack , , 17.73 , , 12 December 2005, , National Sprint heats
, -align=center
, 305, , Ballydaniel Bozz , , 17.73 , , 9 January 2006, ,
, -align=center
, 305, , Ballydaniel Bozz , , 17.57 , , 20 February 2006, ,
, -align=center
, 305, , Ningbo Jack , , 17.55 , , 29 May 2006, ,
, -align=center
, 305, , Against the Lead , , 17.55 , , 18 July 2006, ,
, -align=center
, 305, , Against the Lead , , 17.51 , , 21 August 2006, ,
, -align=center
, 305, , Rotar Wing , , 17.47 , , 13 December 2010, , National Sprint semi-final
, -align=center
, 305, , Jumeirah Dubai , , 17.45 , , 3 December 2012, ,
, -align=center
, 310, , Yellow Jersey , , 18.58 , , 1989, ,
, -align=center
, 310, , Cocktail Darkie , , 18.18 , , 4 September 1989, ,
, -align=center
, 312, , Fagans Friend , , 18.41 , , 24 January 1987, ,
, -align=center
, , 460, , Myth Maker , , 28.01 , , 20 August 1990, ,
, -align=center
, 460, , Carmels Prince , , 27.75 , , 1 October 1990, ,
, -align=center
, 460, , Stop To Conquer , , 27.75 , , 20 June 1991, ,
, -align=center
, 460, , Almost New , , 27.66 , , 31 October 1992, ,
, -align=center
, 480, , Tullerboy Lass , , 28.83 , , 12 June 2001, ,
, -align=center
, 480, , Larkhill Lo , , 28.82 , , 26 November 2002, ,
, -align=center
, 480, , Baliff Spring , , 28.71 , , 27 July 2004, ,
, -align=center
, 480, , Pennys Shakira , , 28.60 , , 23 July 2007, ,
, -align=center
, 480, , Lively Arthur , , 28.59 , , 21 August 2007, ,
, -align=center
, 480, , Farloe Reason , , 28.39 , , 21 December 2007, ,
, -align=center
, 480, , Bit View Micko , , 28.32 , , 22 October 2012, ,
, -align=center
, 480, , Diesel Blue , , 28.31 , , 21 January 2013, ,
, -align=center
, 480, , Bower Stone , , 28.25 , , 30 July 2013, ,
, -align=center
, 485, , Sun Ging , , 29.50 , , 26 December 1986, ,
, -align=center
, 485, , Fearless Ace , , 29.26 , , 1987, ,
, -align=center
, 500, , Holyhill Way , , 30.35 , , 10 March 1987, ,
, -align=center
, 500, , Drumgoon Swallow , , 30.53 , , 1989, ,
, -align=center
, 500, , Fires of War , , 30.00 , , 30 July 1990, ,
, -align=center
, 500, , World Wind , , 29.98 , , 29 October 1990, ,
, -align=center
, 500, , Westmead Merlin , , 29.65 , , 17 October 1994, ,
, -align=center
, 500, , Droopys Rhys , , 29.77 , , 23 April 2001, ,
, -align=center
, 500, , Top Savings , , 29.67 , , 30 August 2001, ,
, -align=center
, 500, , Top Savings , , 29.43 , , 14 April 2003, ,
, -align=center
, 500, , Droopys Shearer , , 29.34 , , 4 August 2003 , ,
, -align=center
, 500, , Fear Me, , 29.45 , , 14 November 2005, , Eclipse heats
, -align=center
, 500, , Shelbourne Rene , , 29.28 , , 18 September 2006, ,
, -align=center
, 500, , Ballymac Eske , , 29.28 , , 22 October 2012 , ,
, -align=center
, 500, , Ballymac Eske , , 29.21 , , 29 October 2012, ,
, -align=center
, 500 , , Sawpit Sensation Ballyregan Bob
Ballyregan Bob (12 May 1983 to 3 April 1994) was a racing greyhound who, along with Mick the Miller and Scurlogue Champ, is one of the most revered racing hounds in British greyhound racing.
Ballyregan Bob was a brindle dog and was whelped i ...
, , 41.87 , , 9 November 1985, , Part of the 32 world record
, -align=center
, 680, , Wailea Flash , , 41.67 , , 1987, ,
, -align=center
, 680, , Wentworth Which , , 41.36, , 9 July 2007, ,
, -align=center
, 680, , Aero Rebel , , 41.26 , , 19 November 2012, ,
, -align=center
, 700, , Hot News , , 44.24 , , 1989, ,
, -align=center
, 700, , Doves Delight , , 43.50 , , 18 September 1989, ,
, -align=center
, 700, , Mobile Magic , , 43.06 , , 28 January 1993, ,
, -align=center
, 700, , Lavally Pete , , 43.43 , , 29 April 1999, ,
, -align=center
, 700, , Sexy Delight , , 42.73 , , 11 September 2000, ,
, -align=center
, 700, , Top Plan , , 42.66 , , 9 June 2003, ,
, -align=center
, 700, , Tinrah Lad , , 42.87 , , 11 April 2005 , ,
, -align=center
, 722, , Farloe Bonus , , 42.89 , , 24 May 1999, ,
, -align=center
, 722, , El Poker , , 45.38 , , 28 August 2000, ,
, -align=center
, 722, , Farloe Bonus , , 43.70 , , 27 November 2000, ,
, -align=center
, 730, , Droopys Kenny , , 45.36 , , 4 November 2005, ,
, -align=center
, 730, , Gunner Black , , 45.00 , , 9 January 2006, ,
, -align=center
, 730, , Fabulous Sophie , , 44.99 , , 30 January 2006, ,
, -align=center
, 730, , Blonde Pearl , , 44.19 , , 20 February 2006, ,
, -align=center
, 747, , Manx Marajax , , 47.03, , 1989, ,
, -align=center
, 747, , Road Princess , , 46.87 , , 27 August 1990, ,
, -align=center
, 747, , Penny I Am , , 46.50 , , 16 September 1991, ,
, -align=center
, 747, , Miss Piggy , , 46.12 , , 26 September 1994, ,
, -align=center
, 754, , Scurlogue Champ , , 47.30 , , 17 October 1985, ,
, -align=center
, 754, , Change Guard , , 47.02 , , 1987, ,
, -align=center
, 885, , Ericas Equity , , 56.32 , , 19 January 2004, ,
, -align=center
, 885, , Lisnakill Cathal , , 55.68 , , 27 July 2004, ,
, -align=center
, 900, , Easy Field , , 57.76 , , 27 August 1990, ,
, -align=center
, 900, , Clonbrin Basket , , 57.52 , , 11 July 1991, ,
, -align=center
, 900, , Clonbrin Basket , , 56.91 , , 8 August 1991, ,
, -align=center
, 900, , Red Arrow Lady , , 56.76 , , 24 October 1991, ,
, -align=center
, 902, , Let Us Know , , 57.25 , , 11 March 2002, ,
, -align=center
, 905, , Ziggy Girl , , 57.56 , , 12 January 2004, ,
, -align=center
, 905, , Flying Winner , , 56.99 , , 20 November 2008, ,
, -align=center
, 905, , Art Banksy , , 56.90 , , 15 July 2014, ,
, -align=center
, 905 , , Mays Petal , , 56.58 , , 28 October 2014, ,
, -align=center
, 925, , Seathwaite Robby , , 58.13 , , 20 November 2006 , ,
, -align=center
, 927, , Limekiln Pearl , , 59.60 , , 25 August 1987 , ,
, -align=center
, 937, , Deenside Fire , , 59.74 , , 30 August 1993 , ,
, -align=center
, 485 H, , Distant Echo , , 30.15 , , 24 August 1987, ,
, -align=center
, 500 H, , Speedy Tiger , , 30.99 , , 17 October 1985, ,
References
External links
*
{{English greyhound tracks
Greyhound racing venues in the United Kingdom
Sports venues in Nottingham
1980 establishments in England
Sports venues completed in 1980