Chit Chat
There is currently 1 person viewing this thread.
These 164 comments are related to the topic:
Old betting memories of Londons dog tracks
Old betting memories of Londons dog tracks
sort by:
Show
per page
Replies: 164
|
By:
OK squeeze, no worries..im sure someone will know more than us..some quite sharp minds on here when you can find them..
 |
|
By:
The Knight, id say that the jumps jocks are better nowdays but id agree that the flat ones pale into comparison. and yes im 54 this year
 |
|
By:
Howdi,
That's interesting because every year from 2000 to 2010 I made a point of going to the January trials Saturday at Cheltenham. Up until about 2008, it was among the four best days racing in the calendar but from then on even that day changed - to me at least. I went in 2011 but was horribly disappointed. Crowd was still good but had fallen and the atmosphere was missing. Given it up now, sad to say. |
|
By:
Cheeky bar steward The Knight is Howdi
 , I'm 46 but started punting very young and have a great memory  Everyone thinks I'm older than I am on here I was walking greyhounds aged 6 in Keston where a lot of the Catford dogs were based. The last night at Harringay was great, it was not my domain but I felt a sense of loyalty for the sport really to go to the last meeting having seen it on the box many a time when it replaced the abandoned horse racing for the ITV 7. For me Walthamstow closing was the final kick in the Alberts as regards for my love for the sport and chasing here there and everywhere to see a good meeting. Wimbledon is not far from me and I usually pop in every two or three months but more a social thing now. A meal in the restaurant and a few bets here and there but it's so souless now I find it quite depressing really but go sometimes nonetheless for old times sake more than anything really. |
|
By:
The Knight had u down as 52 so he was complimentary this time
 |
|
By:
i took the 4-9 youd be back withan 10 min slippy after reading that
|
|
By:
Oxford dog track was poorly run i could have done it better myself - souless the right word for it
|
|
By:
|
|
By:
Slippy
Keira Knightly on BBC1 - Pirates of the Carribean |
|
By:
^^^ evens he had her in the past
 |
|
By:
zilzal1
Thanks...sorry Slippy!! Agree totally about jump jockeys but then the completely incomporable McCoy has raised the bar there. |
|
By:
Mccoy real is something they be talking about him on here in 100 years time sadly we won't especially slippy who has aged 7 years in one hour
|
|
By:
Best ever dogs imo.
Sprinter - Ravage Again Four bend dog - It can only be Ballyreagan Bob. 32 wins on the spin. He was the track record holder for the 523 trip at Hackney and that's going back a good while in a time that would never have been surpassed even now. Stayer - Scurlogue Champ. I saw him break plenty of track records, he was ridiculous. The back straight pace approaching the second last bend...you really had to be there to believe it. The terraces absolutely packed to the rafters, all of us giving it the big oi oi. Great memories. |
|
By:
didnt know BB won 32 in a row christ
|
|
By:
doantwin2easy,
When I said 'form is all over the place' I meant that it is much harder to fathom now, mainly because there is too much poor racing. Relunctantly, I have had to accept that form is now playing second fiddle to market movements on Betfair. The game is worse for it...IMO! |
|
By:
Howdi,
Take a browse on YouTube - Ballregan Bob at Walthamstow - and see him power home off the last bend over 475 metres... Dog racing at its very best, although the videos of S Champ take some beating! |
|
By:
just have pal the two met i see but champ went lame
|
|
By:
Zilzal1 must be at least 65 I would have thought. I'm pretty sure he said on horse racing he saw Lester win on Never Say Die in '54.
|
|
By:
s champ must have posted the fastest finishing sectional of anyhting ever mustnt he?
|
|
By:
The Knight - knew what you meant but maybe a slightly tenuous link
and no arguing on that front, although the AW form is working out well recently imo, despite all the gambles. |
|
By:
WALTHAMSTOW
Scene of chit chatters meeting up a few years back. Must have been 10 or 12 of us there. After the racing everybody except me and my mrs went for an indian meal. I had been at work all day and was tired, and it's over 100 miles to drive home, so we left the party. There were photos, but I've only got one. You know that old joke when a bloke has a pint in his hand and somebody asks him the time, he turns his wrist and pours his beer all over himself... What mug would fall for that... Tinypic not working |
|
By:
That win at Wembley still amazes me..
I now have the theory that s champ had no interest in the hare and had worked out that he just had to get past the other dogs by a certain point. Add to that how he seemed to enjoy racing by them from way behind and you have the most startling set of dog performances I have ever seen... |
|
By:
Before I go to bed...did anyone on here used to go to the Goodwood Lounge at the Stow after racing when John Power (Jenkins) used to come and hold court about what the firm had won or lost that night? His tales used to make my hair stand on end...
Great days... |
|
By:
so could he have gone faster Knight!!
|
|
By:
The Knight, there is no doubt that he stopped chasing sometimes. The race with BB which was on national tv he downed tools. Two very good dogs Track Man and Glenowen Queen dead heated for second that day and lots of sages were on the forecast as they knew SC wouldn't be in the same parish as Bob and might sulk. That's exactly what happened.
|
|
By:
was champ past his best then slippy?
|
|
By:
The trip was too short for the Champ to get competitive in that race Howdi. Bearing in mind he was taking on the best greyhound there has ever been. It was a tough ask to put it mildly that he would be involved in the finish with his 'quirky' style of racing especially with Track Man( track record holder at Catford over 555 metres) and the very talented bitch Glenowen Queen likely to go the early pace that would mean SC would be unsighted and out of touch. He got the hump, stopped chasing the hare and the rest is history.
|
|
By:
remember the odds that night slip?
|
|
By:
Clapton
Walthamstow Harringay Wembley White City Hackney Been to all on several occasions, must have been something I said Somehow Romford has escaped the carnage so I cannot be a bock  |
|
By:
Agree with you SB about Ballyregan Bob...best there has ever been.
Something for you, Howdi and others to think about overnight though.. Much as I loved S Champ, I sometimes wonder if the hare driving when he was at its peak was subtly done so as to bunch the dogs up that he let go well clear. He was a box office attraction and when he flew out and won one night (at Oxford?) the crowd was a bit disappointed. Hence, I wonder if races were sometimes set up a bit to suit his style? With today's precise technology, the speed of the hare could be very closely examined but not back then... Just a thought...night night all. |
|
By:
Ballyregan Bob was probably the best 6 bend runner but Scurlogue Champ drew the crowds.
When he ran at the Stow they ran out of programs that night,the only time i saw this happen. I saw Scurlogue run at Wembley early 85 and he was a standout bet for the TV trophy, unfortunately 4/6 was the top price outright. Top 4 bend runner at the time would've been a toss up between Yankee Express, Haymaker Mack, Game Ball & Hong Kong Mike. |
|
By:
Glasgowcalling, the Southall track was a flapping track and was opened in the latter part of the thirties, one source indicates it closed in 1996, from memory thought it was earlier, hopefully someone else can clarify
|
|
By:
The Knight and others, if you like reading about the old London tracks, there are a couple of well filled topics on the Greyhound Forum. They are:
'New Cross Anyone ever go there?' and 'Memories of Harringay'. They include posts from such as Whitmarsh and Mr Memory, who certainly go back a bit. I used to attend Wimbledon and Wembley, but my favourite was just outside town, and that was Slough. Enjoyed the flaps at Southall too! |
|
By:
Nice thread squeeze and posters, great read .
|
|
By:
I live in north west but had relatives in London.
Can remember trips as 15 year old to West Ham, Crayford . Wembley, Stow Hackney massive thrill the betting and all the tubes and buses had to catch to get there |
|
By:
Great Sunday morning read, thanks chaps
|
|
By:
Used to love the Wick on a Saturday morning. Sometimes did the double with Wembley Saturday afternoon, or Wimbledon saturday night; once the treble.
The Greyhound derby was may favourite, went for years without missing a trial or a heat. Used to try and take in a round or to of the Irish and Scottish derbies too. Had a good Saturday morning at Crayford once so went to Shawfield to see Westmead Harry win that night; got wrecked and missed the plane home; the missus still hasnt forgiven me. Used to love the Gold Collar; Humphreys put on a good show. Catford for the Collar, Portsmouth for the Muzzle, Stow for the Arc, Crayford for the jacket, Reading for the Masters, Wembley for the Blue Riband, Hackney for the Guineas, Wimbledon for the Laurels; Used to get the monthly open race video too, happy days. Slippy Blue and I met in a bar in a Spain; we could talk dogs for hours; my memory for names was hopeless though. (Except where I had backed the winner) |
|
By:
I know precisely NOTHING about Greyhound Racing, but this is already a little gem of a thread. Keep the misty water-coloured memories coming gentlemen (and of course any lady contributors).
I've personally only ever been to one Greyhound meeting, in the far-off days when I lived on the South Coast. It's not a London track, but perhaps you will indulge my reminiscences. So, here goes : PORTSMOUTH I went one Friday night during a Summer's evening in maybe 1989. Every girl there appeared to have a bun in the oven. A Fagin-like figure standing at the back of what passed for a grandstand was handing out cash from an impressive money roll to a team of hand-picked urchins to invest on each upcoming race. I was perplexed to discover that you could only actually place bets with the track bookies in the minutes before the race was due off. A bell actually rang to indicate the time when betting could commence. God only knows what Pavlov and his own greyhound would have made of this experiment in conditioned behaviour. (Is this a common feature of greyhound betting???). The facilities were spartan, the crowd attendance lamentably low. All in all, an unimpressive night of international sport, and a sad introduction to a historic sporting subculture. |
|
By:
Went to WALTHAMSTOW, bookie who looked like Jackie Palloe the wrestler, was smoking the biggest cigar i have ever seen!!
|
|
By:
3 Greats from New Cross
The Grange Gem.Aughadown Lady & Muswell Matador. and probably this lady.saw her win at Crayford. weaved in and out,had a brain. http://www.doloresrocket.com/ |