Chit Chat
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05 Jan 13
21:09
Joined:
Date Joined:
09 May 12
WEST HAM
I lived within spitting distance of the main gates. A lovely big and wide grass track with wide sweeping sanded bends. It was so big that a race of 550 yards didn't complete a circuit.
Three times Grand National winner Sherrys Prince was undefeated there. It was the normal thing on Friday nights to have all you had in yout pockets for him to beat Adamstown Valley in a forecast. It generally paid the princely sum of roughly 3s/6d for a 2 shilling stake (17p for 10p) but it was as safe as the Bank Of England.
It had fairly large crowds given how hard it was to get to,
and away from.
Lou's roasted peanut stall outside, the bloke selling the Greyhound Express shouting
'Graaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrn'
in a high pitched scream.
A group of small time crooks running the three card trick on an old table in the corner of the car park.
I was there the night that Dolores Rocket was beaten in the Cesarewitch Final at 10/11. With the exception of a few who backed rags on the tote, you could have heard a pin drop as the first two dogs came home at 50s and 33s.
Happy days
It's a huge housing estate now.
All the roads are named after Speedway riders, and not a dog trainers name in sight.
Add your own memories.
Another track soon...
I lived within spitting distance of the main gates. A lovely big and wide grass track with wide sweeping sanded bends. It was so big that a race of 550 yards didn't complete a circuit.
Three times Grand National winner Sherrys Prince was undefeated there. It was the normal thing on Friday nights to have all you had in yout pockets for him to beat Adamstown Valley in a forecast. It generally paid the princely sum of roughly 3s/6d for a 2 shilling stake (17p for 10p) but it was as safe as the Bank Of England.
It had fairly large crowds given how hard it was to get to,
and away from.
Lou's roasted peanut stall outside, the bloke selling the Greyhound Express shouting
'Graaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrn'
in a high pitched scream.
A group of small time crooks running the three card trick on an old table in the corner of the car park.
I was there the night that Dolores Rocket was beaten in the Cesarewitch Final at 10/11. With the exception of a few who backed rags on the tote, you could have heard a pin drop as the first two dogs came home at 50s and 33s.
Happy days
It's a huge housing estate now.
All the roads are named after Speedway riders, and not a dog trainers name in sight.
Add your own memories.
Another track soon...
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as a youngish lad.
Walthamstow - parking in the car park or down one of the local side roads. rushing up to make the first and pushing through the turnstyles. going in the cheap end if we were skint. getting some food and a pint. running up to the bookie as the hare started. reading the form on the steps, shouting "goo on then" as they rushed past. Wembley - finding the little entrance and then walking up the stairs marvelling at the empty stadium grabbing some chips at the canteen sitting reading the form outside on a Wembley stadium pew in the freezing cold getting diddled on winning returns as they took a "cut" watching the 6 dog get mullered at the first bend from a birds eye view seeing people argue and fight |
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I used to go to almost a different track every night of the week, haringay, west ham, clapton, white city etc etc, but my favourite was hackney on a saturday morning. I even had a handicap rating, like the horses, for the dogs at hackney.
I remember going to west ham when it was snowing, squeeze firmly. I was lucky at that time as the boyfriend then was as dog mad as I was. Unfortunately when I left him no one shared my love of the dogs and I had to beg them to take me and they usually lost and blamed me  |
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Hackney always delivered decent sps- punters favourite 8 race card sat morn especially if annie in her hold ups
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not london but used to go Southend dogs and after the racing had finished and a few more beers we used to race each other round half the track to the car park then down to Westcliff casino
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HACKNEY (home of the winning favourites)
I was a regular here for years as well as West Ham, as it was only about 3 miles away. One of my funniest memories was being chucked out for taking bets on trial races in the bar. Another time I had won at West Ham on a Friday night, so on Saturday morning I put the trainers names on pieces of paper and folded them up. I said to my mate 'Pick one, and I'm following him through the card.' My luck was in that day, he picked out Josh Hedley, and he had 5 of the 8 winners on the card. My mate did the same with Lionel Maxen, and didn't get a draw. Another time me and my mates stayed up all Friday night playing cards, which wasn't unusual. By the morning I had won exactly £5-60p. We had a simple minded teenager in our shop named (Fat) Stan, who liked to 'hang with the hounds'. He was harmless, and we used to take him dog racing with us now and again. I wrote out a bet on a Ladbrokes slip, 'Traps x t.t.c. 112 x 5p reversed forecast doubles' but left the numbers off. I said to Stan 'Put 2 numbers in the gaps, don't tell me what they are, and don't lose the ticket, now go and put it on round Laddies.' He came back about half an hour later - mission accomplished. With one race to go I asked him what the numbers were. He said '2 and 3' and I thought one of my mates had told him to say it for a laugh, but they hadn't. He had actually picked 2 and 3, and it came in 5 times on an 8 race card. It came to over £300. I trusted Stan, and sent him to collect it. He came back with £60. I said 'What the fack's that Stan?' He said 'The manager said I got lucky and that's what it comes to.' I said 'Was that Paulie, the asian bloke or Dave, the relief manager?' Stan said 'I don't know Dave, but it was a white bloke' I said 'Go back round there and tell him whose bet it is, and wait for the rest of the money.' When he came back there was a note with the money. It said 'Sorry I settled it for 1p, not 5p' The lying coont Big gambles by the 'right faces' were always going on at Hackney. One such gambles was due to come unstuck when the dog that had been backed off the boards missed the break, and was well behind before they got anywhere near to the first turn. Out of the tunnel under the stand came a tall bloke in a raincoat, on a sunny day !! He produced a cat and threw it onto the track. Pandemonium ensued as the cat sh1t itself when it saw what was coming down the straight, and it took off over the hare rail, followed by at least by two dogs, and the race was declared void, as the heavy punters wished.One time we went mob-handed on the coach from Stratford, about 12 of us. After race 6, my mates youngest brother said he didn't feel well and was going home. After race 8 we got back on the coach and headed, as we normally did, to the City Tote shop in Stratford Broadway. After 2 to 3 hours in there we all headed home. The police had been to my mates brothers house. He hadn't gone home. He had collapsed in the end cubicle in the khazi at Hackney, and was found by the cleaners. And my mate, being the eldest brother, got the blame. Happy days More later... |
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I reckon in the 80's I was going to 200 meetings a year and plenty of horse racing meetings on top of that.
The perfect Saturday was Hackney in the morning, pub and watching the horses in the afternoon and then Catford (my second home) in the evening. I had dogs at Catford as did my Dad and plenty of our mates. Really of all the tracks it was the one that gave me the biggest buzz with Wimbledon, Hackney and Walthamstow in the mix for the places. I have seen pretty much all the greats over the last 30 years or so at one track or another. Basically I was going all over the place, Hove, Romford, Ramsgate, Crayford, Wembley (which was always an eerie experience, 300 people in that stadium). I was at the last night at Harringay when all the locals did a lap of honour and hardly missed a meeting at that den of thieves Henlow, where I also had dogs, for over a decade when I lived in Hertfordshire and Milton Keynes as well. I did see a final at White City, ironically enough it was my namessakes sire I'm Slippy that won that year. Have been all over Ireland as well, and even Wentworth Park in Sydney and Wonderland in Boston I've seen many Derby finals at Wimbledon, I'd choose Ballyreagen Bob as the best I've ever seen if pushed for a choice although Some Picture was the best Derby winner.I could go on forever about all the tracks but my heart was in Catford. |
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My home track was obviously West Ham, but when I paid a visit to a track for the first I always got lucky.
WIMBLEDON On our visit, being proper cockneys, we had no idea where anything was sarf of the river. We wanted Wimbledon dog track, so we obviously went to Wimbledon Underground Station, which was the wrong facking station!! We ended up walking to Plough Lane in the poxy rain. It was dog Derby final night and we missed the first 3 races. As usual (first visit) I got lucky, and won a nice few quid, as did my mates. Picture the scene: I queued in the rain for my cash from a bookie then went to a tote window as I had the forecast as well. I'm at a tote window UNDER the stand, it's the final of the most prestigious dog race on the calendar, and I'm waiting in a queue to draw my money, while STANDING in two inches of facking rainwater. That was my first and last visit to Wimbledon. And is that wasn't bad enough, some of my mates fancied a pint (I didn't drink) so we got into a local pub, public bar, and got involved in a game of darts with the home team, who were in for a practice session. We got mullered but we had a laugh. Unfortunately, tempus had well and truly fugited  and when we got to the underground station, the last train had gone and it was closed. We ended up getting taxis back to Trafalgar Square, as none of the drivers wanted to go to Canning Town, can't say I blamed them. Then we got a night bus from there to home, the conductor, who one of us knew, let us off the fare, and we sat on the lower deck chatting and smoking. Not exactly happy days, but still fun. |
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One of my memories of walthamstow was falling in love with a beautiful dog as he was parading. I always studied the form usually but could not resist backing him. He was a novice and when he came out of the traps he turned around and ran back to them
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WALTHAMSTOW
Quite a few funny tales here. One of the not so funny was that I was in attendance the night Scurlogue Champ got turned over. Back later, or Monday... off out all day tomorrow. Youngest grand-daughters first birthday  |
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I wondered when my old pal Slipp Blue would appear on here....no doubt you took the odd young lady home too slippy
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Was Ballyregan Bob the mutt that used to go home last to first in a heartbeat?
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always did tuesdays and thursdays at the Stow and Wembley was Monday Wednesday or Friday.
Me and my brother used to zoom round the north circular on my suzuki rg125 with my brother hanging off the back. Never went to Hackney, Crayford (saturday mornings in the bookies sufficed) or Catford and Wimbledon. Have been to Hove but West Ham, Haringay and White City were before my time. |
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Oxford dogs finished last week. I'll miss 9/4 each of five
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Howdi
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Remember 2008 went to the wolstenholme dogs or something somewhere in london, was only two quid each and we got a free one pound bet on the tote and chicken and chips. We sold the betting tickets to someone and just sat in the bar watching strictly come dancing and had a few pints. Didnt even watch the dogs, some people were well in to it which surprised me. I miss those days, dog racing was great fun back then.
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Howdi
05 Jan 13 22:56 Was Ballyregan Bob the mutt that used to go home last to first in a heartbeat? That was Scurlogue Champ, used to be tailed off in long distance races. If there was Betfair in running in those days, and people had never seen him run, you'd get 50s with no problem. Then, when all looked lost, he'd hit top gear and eat up the track.. KERCHING !!! |
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Howdi
here Scurlogue Champ - in trap 6 . http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9QUJND5CSY8 |
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Best thing I ever saw in a betting shop.
Old bloke did i tricast 1-2-6 (fav numbers every race) 33s,25, and 6s or such like - 3 favs took each other out at bend. He'd stood to win a very tidy some and cheered home - strung out like washing - job done, going mental at the screen. Hare stopped - void race. He asked to see the Betting Shop Manager and demanded payment as he said somebody knew his bet and had stopped the hare. Refused payment and wiped out everything on the counter with his walking stick - he was in his 80s then - 20 years ago. The whole fecking shop stopped and you could have heard a pin drop |
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cheers squueze
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never forget the books on the rails at Wembley shouting "another favourite" as loud as possible when the odds on shot went in.
What mugs they must have thought we were. |
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feck me 50s I think 1000 closer to the mark some beast that was he staying champion?
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Scurlogue Champ at Wimbledon 1986
You'd have got 1,000 in running, but he didn't what price he was . http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dz0Utl30A0U |
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was he one of the greats
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was he one of the greats
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which dog in Britain is regarded as the best ever ?
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I had a couple of dogs at Yarmouth a good few years back, twas a bloody long way to go in wintertime esp if the hound in question got beaten, i always reckoned that in Feburary, Caister on Sea should be twinned with Stalingrad because it was that fecking Cold...
Anyway i was with a small permit trainer and we used to get free trials from the Cobbolds track in return for repairs, this was more common than you'd expect, as a certain member of the family like to go out shooting with his shotgun after several units of alcohol was consumed, more than once the electronic hare was mistaken for the real thing. |
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The earliest bet I can ever recall having was a 10p reverse forecast 3 and 5 in a hurdle open race at Catford. I was 6 or 7 so that would make it 1973 I would say.
1st - Trap 5 - 12/1 2nd - Trap 3 - 33/1 Seriously, what chance did I have after that effort? |
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Friday 9th March 2001, me and 5 mates hired a stretch Limo to take us from North Essex to Sandown Park for a day at the races safe in the knowledge that the foot and mouth ban on horseracing didn't affect the city race courses. Unfortunately, due to the heavy rainfall we had been having Sandown was called off that morning due to waterlogging, so not to be dettered we orderd the Limo driver to take us to Walthamstow for the BAGS meeting.Things were going well, and we all clubbed together to put all our winnings (£400) on Trap 3 in the last race (1.37 pm). The dog was called AFGHANNY STAN, and it duly romped home at 9/4. Back in the Limo, we instructed the driver to take us for a slap up meal in Chelsea, then onto Wimbledon for the evening dogs. By the time we got to the 10.30, last race, we had pressed up the kitty to (after an expensive lunch)to about £1,500. Luckily for us, none of the Wimbledon Bookies would take a big bet, so we could only get a monkey on the second fav (split between 2 bookies). The 2 dogs immediatly flip flopped in the market, and the original Fav duly hacked up at a hugely inflated price. Never mind, we still had money left, so off to The Victoria Club for some Black Jack
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great hread
Someone help me with the best dog in Britain....was westmead hawk a CONTENDER |
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Wow,
Great thread already. I think from occasional previous threads I am about the same age as SlippyBlue. I say that because my memories are so similar, starting from when I was 12 and now I am 53. (I, too, recall being at Harringay on that last Friday night in 1987.) I have been horse racing and dog racing all around the world but nothing, NOTHING, has ever beaten Hackney Wick on a Tuesday afternoon followed by the Stow in the evening. Same thing Saturday apart from the Wick in the morning. I spent almost two years as a pro dog punter from mid 1993 to mid 1995 and although the heyday of the game was well gone even by then, I still miss those days with all my heart. The big bookies wanted to kill Hackney when it dawned on them that they didn't have to compete with knowledgable, clued up, form punters and could instead rely on tight tracks like Crayford to make their profits because the form at those type of tracks was nothing like as reliable. The death of Hackney was at the start of a thirten year period that saw horse racing ruined on track and ended with Walthamstow folding. With the Stow went the last part of what had been a massive part of my life and now I cringe when I see what dog and horse racing have become... But at least I have the memories of some wonderful times and some great characters that we will never see the likes of again.... |
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tHE kNIGHT sLIPPY IS ABOUT 45 HE WONT BE PLEASED WITH YOU SAYING HE'S IN HIS 50S
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The Knight ....in what way do u think horse racing has gone down hill>
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can anyone of you old doggie men give me any info on the southall dog track, vaguely remember my mate having a runner there in
what i recall was the mid to late 1970s...was it a licensed track..when did it open and close etc..many thanks..GLASGOW. |
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Best I've seen live Howdi, but never saw Bob or Champ live so can't compare.
Very pleasing thread |
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The only time i really had it off on the Greyhound derby was in 1988 when i had a tip for Gingers dog called "Hit The Lid" had 33-1 with Powers and 25-1 with Laddies as the contact was quite hot and i was having a right golden Spring and Summer.
Went to see it in the 1st round as i'd just retired a couple of my hounds and went to get some greyhound stuff from the shop there, duly won its heat and was still 14-1 up until the quarters when it again won and was 11-4 Jolly, was then beaten in the final and i remember Terry Norman telling me at Wembley that week it wouldnt beat the fav, couldnt get to the final because the then wife had a family do on and had to sit in suspense in front oof the teletext waiting for the damn result. Joy |
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GC
I've never been there, but I'd bet that somebody has. If you don't get a response on here, try the greyhound forum. |
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who was the best you saw catford??
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Howdi
Yes, just realised that with SlippyBlue! At the risk of upsetting someone else, I think I might have got confused with Zilzal1!!! As for what way has horse racing gone downhill? Christ, where to start? On course betting rings ruined with no money and no atmosphere, too much sh*tty horse racing with form all over the shop, with a few exceptions the standard of jockeyship has dropped alarmingly compared to the days of Piggot, Cauthen, Eddery, Carson, Starkey etc. etc, To continue, tracks only ever full with day trippers out for the beer, stewards calling enquiries for everything except blatant cheating but never taking any action anyway.. Sorry to say, the whole game is on the way out unless exchange betting can somehow be introduced to the race course to bring punters back... |
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cheers pal
Im a jumps man and go the big meets so not seeing it at grass roots level |