Portsmouth Greyhound Track (Copnor) also known as the Wessex 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. Tr ...

and

motorcycle speedway Motorcycle speedway, usually referred to simply as speedway, is a motorcycle sport involving four and sometimes up to six riders competing over four anti-clockwise laps of an oval circuit. The motorcycles are specialist machines that use only ...

track in

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most d ...

Origins

The city of Portsmouth first experienced greyhound racing at a track known as Copnor. This is a little misleading because the actual site was on Langstone Road between the Walsall and Tamworth Roads which is considerably south of Copnor.

Opening

The first meeting was held on Saturday 30 June 1928 and was held under

National Greyhound Racing Club The National Greyhound Racing Club was an organisation that governed Greyhound racing in the United Kingdom. History The National Greyhound Racing Club (NGRC) was formed in 1928 and this body would be responsible for regulation, licensing and the ...

rules based on the fact that the results appeared in the NGRC calendar. The NGRC were vehemently opposed to independent racing and continued to be so more most of its existence. The Portsmouth Greyhound Racecourse Company initially opened the track but 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 ...

(GRA) clearly had an interest in the track as they did with many others because they presented the GRA cup to a

Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...

greyhound called Bloxham, the winner of the hurdles match race on opening night. The trophy on behalf of the GRA was presented by Mrs Dixon the wife of the well-known GRA company director Major Dixon. The six five-dog races that supported the hurdle match went the way of the orange jacket of trap five and the first ever winner was Biddy Blue in 33.67 secs at odds of 4-6f.

History

The Portsmouth Greyhound Racecourse Company were responsible for bringing the racing to the public that night despite the financial backing of the GRA. It was common for the GRA to have financial shares in new ventures to ensure their domination of the sport. The track used a 'Trackless' hare which left the paying public in awe and required an explanation of its workings. The hare attached to a green cord was pulled around the track by a hand powered windlass through specially made clip pulleys. It was claimed to have been invented by Captain Nixon.

Speedway

For speedway, the venue was known as the Wessex Stadium, Copnor Gardens. It hosted racing on an open licence from 1929 to 1930. The site suffered from waterlogging problems.

Closure

The racing although a success only lasted two years and the track closed on 29 November 1930, changing to football and playing fields. It is probable that it closed due to competition; a bigger track at Target Road in

Tipner Tipner is a residential district of Portsmouth, located on the north western corner of Portsea Island in southern England. It includes a housing estate, built during the 1930s, that used to function as married quarters for the Royal Navy, a ya ...

opened. The site of the Copnor track today is known as Tamworth Park.

References

{{Motorcycle speedway tracks Defunct greyhound racing venues in the United Kingdom Defunct sports venues in Hampshire Sport in Portsmouth