What do you remember about these tracks which have now closed

Clapton.. now were shall we start.. tremendously strong betting market in all the Rings.. Top class dogs were trained there.. The Scurry Cup was run there when that competition was really prestigious and classy... in wet weather it really favoured the outside boxes.
Distances were 400yds.. 575yds...760yds...934yds.. and always a tremendous atmosphere.. I wish I was going there tonight.
Getting there.. Taxi from Sidney Street, 5 in a cab for Half a Crown each , or a nearby coach that went there.

I totally agree Clapton
It had some of the best dogs in the country

Park Royal
one of my favourite BAGS tracks
Monday and Friday afternoons, when I could get time off work
also on way to Wembley for evening meetings same nights

ebulGery.. wasnt it a great time for the game..miss it terribly .

yes I agree Clapton
..there was a choice of tracks all over London
great days

Clapton had 5 derby winners in about 8 years during the 60s.

Sorry 4 winners in 6 years.

Park Royal hosted the guineas run over 400 yds and the longer distance was 570 yds I believe.

sounds about right sparrow ..memory hazy

Park Royal was one of the first tracks covered by off course bookmakers in the afternoon. I always remember the first race being timed at 2.30 and always seemed to be off at 2.31.
Stamford Bridge was also covered in the early days by the extel service.

saw a 11/10 shot called woodford alan
it got beat
the locals set fire to the straw that was on the track outside the hare rail
[ it was during the winter ]

The old Coke-Braziers went on.. remember it well.

I remember Woodford Alan a railer if I remember rightly, but for some reason missed that particular race.

Bang-on Sparrow it was a railer.. a Black Dog.. I recall it being an Odds-on chance

clapton was the first to have video recordings

Introduced in the mid 60s I think, mad dog man.

yes mdm..black and white

Fortunes changed hands in the Ring... mind you in those days it seemed much easier to get a few Quid.. unlike today when everybody is nailed to the floor, and have not got any moves !!

http://www.gettyimages.ie/detail/news-photo/greyhound-racing-at-clapton-stadium-in-london-17th-may-1937-news-photo/109744387

Not sure if this will work, but an excellent picture of Clapton Stadium in the 1930s.
You can of course get the picture from Google images.

yes very easy to get bets on..most tracks tbh
being an on course bookie was a good game then

When I first went to Clapton in the 60s, the bookmakers stood in both rings and on the bend as well!
AS has been said, fortunes changing hands.

you'll have pf moaning again if you dont stop this now!

and I loved the all grass tracks
..well more like a ploughed field on inside in winter

I would have thought he had enough to moan about, in the present climate.

youve still got another 3 or 4 hours till he rambles in

Sparrow just seen that.. amazing crowds and thats on the bend !! looks like they are coming off the last bend... Incredible to think that the last couple of months at the Stow it was banged out as well.. in the enclosures anyway .....

clapton, When I lived in London I rarely went to the stow, every race in those days 3/1 the field just like BAGS racing now.

Sparrow same here... I never went to Walthamstow either in those days.. much to hard.. but got to love it in recent years, as it became so punter friendly.

i used to go there in a ford popular

Clapton was the 4th london track to open on the 7th april 1928

do you still use it mdm

pmsl

South Shiels and Warrington were also controlled by clapton stadiums ltd

Never knew about those 2 tracks Spot the dog, only Slough.
Were they licensed tracks or flappers?

A link for more info on the track at Warrington

http://forum.warringtonguardian.co.uk/viewtopic.php?t=398

did a trainer by the name of cox train at slough ?? i saw him one night at portsmouth dogs...he must of

  had one of the biggest noses on the circuit. !! 

Greyhound racing at Redheugh Park (south shiels) commenced in 1937, which brought a boost to the Football Clubs financial status and subsequently eased the burden for the upkeep of the stadium. However the inclusion of the Greyhound track reduced the size of the playing area, the terracing at either end of the ground and subsequently the capacity.

With the loss of Football League status in 1960 and the Football Club's subsequent continual slide down the leagues, a further heavy blow was dealt with the cessation of greyhound racing at the stadium in 1966.

GLASGOWCALLING yes cox trained at portsmouth and slough both tracks being owned by the GRA

john cox he also trained at wembley and his dad trained at hendon

JC got the sack from Wembley.

was his kennels near bracknell?

lead collar lol

Clapton, last time Blue Grey made a profit

Talking of tracks in London, i remember one night at Wembley for the semis of the St Leger. It was the year where Westmead Pulse was the eternal bridesmaid. Anyway, me and a friend had one over the eight but we had 3 winning trios, each paying hundreds. Somehow found myself at Waterloo Station trying to catch a train to Raynes Park and an inspector kindly put me on the right one, it must have been the last train at midnight. There was one other man on the train in my carriage and i mumbled Raynes Park? He nodded and as luck would have it that was his stop and he woke me up as he was getting off. I just managed to stagger out before the doors closed, otherwise think i would have ended up on the south coast!

Everything was hazy in the morning. I rooted through my pockets to find something and discovered all this money, things started to dawn on me then!

Speaking of John Cox, he had dogs at Slough; not the straightest of trainers by far. One particular evening in the 80's everyone and his brother at the track knew that one of his was 'ready' in an mid-card graded race. My own dog, Claremont Point (with Paddy Pierce) had trap 1 in the same race and although out of form, he always ran well from the inside. With slow starters in 2 and 3 I knew we would have a squeak. Come the race, Johns dog was backed into slight odds on at the end, mine was ignored, not surprisingly. I had 2 bets of £25 at 20s (you could get on then), a few bob to me at the time. As I expected, Claremont broke well and down the back straight must have been 3 clear being chased by the fav. My shouting was probably heard in the town centre ;-) Sadly the fav got up to beat mine in a photo, I was gutted, JC had ruined what would have been one of my better pay days then, i've never forgiven him ;-)

Took a trip to Walthamstow one year for the Grand Prix final. Cant remember what won, but i was on Bally something Snow, i think. Only went for the final and to have a bet and watch Iceman Merlin. Got 8/1, shot out and led everywhere bar the line, beaten a short-head by the favourite, gutted. Went on to win big races at the Stow in flying times, robbed. Only one other race worth its salt that night really and thankfully, recall winning. Think it was the short 4-bend race where i had something Moment over a Court Ads runner, i seem to remember

Didn't John Cox end up at the kennels south of Ascot, which were once Peter Collett's? What happened to Peter Collett? Did John at one stage have kennels in Bedfont Road across the railway line from what was known as Feltham Borstall. Long time ago now; miss those Slough meetings, and as Andrew said, money went on then.

Great pic of Clapton Sparrow

That would have been the last bend where you can just see the books
Funny it's the spot where I liked to stand when I went.

Park Royal

Tube to Park Royal tube station and across the North Cir for a little walk down a ally pass the Guiness brewery.

You could smell the beer as you walked by the place.

Again I can remember the sprint was 400 yards with a nice long run to the bend right in front of the main stand.

It was a tight track with not many dogs able to come from behind.

Cant remember the long distance they run over maybe someone else can.

From what I can remember they only ever run in the afternoons.

As someone has already said on to Wembley to get it back or play up the winnings.

575 6bends 760 8bends

"seaside".....Park Royal had both morning & afternoon meetings on Boxing Day,Whit Monday & the August Bank Holiday........16 races in a day.

White City (Manchester) had a similar arrangement.

white city loved the seafood bar

mr memory i also remember hackney having a morning and afternoon meeting

I can remember a Hackney afternoon meeting that was held during a strike at Fords......firstly they ran out of programmes & then they had to shut the gates.

Before betting shops.

The old Greyhound Express used to print two editions on Bank Holidays, a "Matinee" edition with all the morning and afternoon cards and an "Evening" edition. Both crammed with racecards, a massive choice of meetings for dog fans.

the greyhound express a rearly good paper

The Boxing Day Marathon matinee meeting at Catford was not to be missed, part and parcel of the festive season.

White City - Patricias Hope second derby, hooked afterwards, queues to get on tote, unreal
Stamford Bridge - Grass track, undeciferable tote board, massive cliff face terrace far side.
Wimbledon Old Side - Sihthole, still is this side.
Catford - Dodgy train, lovely people, good craic, phisced
Bury - Unreal, dodgy as feck, overound impossible
Aldershot - Amateur, friendly, unique.

Rye House. All quiet, punters feeding frenzy, then quiet again every race.

Catford. Come out of the press box and you could easily fall head over t*t down the slope.

Norton Canes. Back of nowhere, was very cheap but many a good dog ran there, especially Geoff DeMulder's.

Coventry. Bookies take the biscuit for worst over-round.

Walthamstow. Will remember the Grand Prix' and match races. Went down once and stayed in Leightonstone. Cost me an absolute fortune in taxis, didnt find out till next morning, a local bus went virtually door to door.

Bolton. Never known a dead-heat announced so quickly there, virtually as they crossed the line and yes, the photo-finish equipment was working!

the hackney saturday morning breakfasts

I remember J C ,he was an eighteen carat ****.
Like Irishone I remember Aldershot as being a nice friendly place.
But for fun I doubt you could beat Rodgers' at Loudwater on a saturday afternoon.Racing behind a ball hare,it was a stroke a minute!
Then there was another ball hare with one bend on The Buckingham Road,Aylesbury,Mick Morley ran it and ,true to form ,it was another stitch up.
The whippet racing at Wokingham FC was terrific fun.I saw a dog run there in blinkers.The blinkers looked as if they had been made out of the cardboard inner from a toilet roll and an old bra.
The hapless beast was called Tattenham Tornado and connections went for a tiny touch.It was only small change betting there.The lids went up and the blinkers got caught in the traps.But game little dog that it was it went hurtling up the straight unable to see where it was going .And it kept going, straight into the fence.It was unharmed.
Why did it wear blinkers?Christ knows.

i was on holiday once in chudleigh in devon
there was a track there where i saw an afghan race
anyone know anything about it ?
can't remember the name of the place at all

Ambrosia?

Stanford Bridge
Where Chelsea play football
Tube to Fulham broadway and a short walk to the entrance
If I remember right they raced over 525 yards again nice long run up to the bend.
I can only remember them racing in the afternoons.
Anybody that went will remember jumping in a cab with anyone and everybody to get over to the White City to get it back or play the winnings up.

"seaside".......The tube station for Stamford Bridge was Walham Green..........it was later changed to Fulham Broadway.
The distances were 500 & 700 yards............it was the fastest track in England.

"irishone"........it may have been Yarcombe Terrier Races held in early August.

If you Google it, you will get the full details of last years meeting.

mr memory do you remember the peanut man at hendon peanuts come and get your peanuts and the same old music played at hendon dogs for years good days they were

Everything was hazy in the morning. I rooted through my pockets to find something and discovered all this money, things started to dawn on me then

gordon bennet,is there a post of yours that doesnt end with you aftertiming a winner or 3?

"mad dog".......No crap...Hendon & Wembley both played Victor Sylvester records between races.

A lad i knew years ago had the best whippet in the country, it was called agile mover, wokingham was its dungheap.

Talking of music, always Herb Alpert and Bert Kaempfert at Clapton.

White City music.....always associated with Tony Morris....ABBA singing "Money,Money,Money...its a rich mans world"

Thank you mr memory that was indeed the place
They held open races, all breeds, mighty craic, saw a dulux dog get stuck in those boxes
Brilliant mate, thanks for the memory, so many years ago now !

i remember harringay playing max bygraves records between races

I think the old girl that served the breakfasts at Hackney on Saturday mornings was called Pearl I think if memory serves. One morning a bit of her **** ash fell on my plate. She wiped it off with a tea towel and went on her merry way without a care in the world bless her Those were certainly the good old days.

Good grief   ****

f a g

St. Helens (park road) was a proper greyhound track. I remember yer man giving good dogs 13 yards start and getting up on the line
pat whelan, roy barker, arthur timmins (and many more, remember bob collins?)standing up.
big george, little george, philbin, bamber, birdie, welsh mel just some of the faces
Been shut for 20 years now so only distant memories but good ones

Mr Memory's recolection of morning and evening meetings on the same day brought reminded me of Southend, every bank holiday, they even had heats in the morning and the final that night, dogs running twice in one day! It was a great circuit even if the graded racing was always a stitch up. All you needed to do to find most graded winners would be to wait for Albert Skelton's men and watch what they backed, sounds easy now but never seemed quite so simple at the time!

what about releigh used to start racing very late at night

Geeboy had many a good friday nite at park road then into the Primrose with Tommy Canning and Charlie Willet use to back Ronnie Jones Silver Birch on heavy going he was unbeatable round the outside

Rayleigh Friday night specials every week:
Na Kwenda - sprint
Brief Respite - standard

Park Royal Friday afternoon regulars:
Hiver Tatty
Runaround
Clive's Legacy

Stamford Bridge Tuesday afternoon favourite:
Enaud

Hackney Wick Satuday morning glory:
Sloop John B
Buxom Joe
Scunthorpe

My mate (rip) and I were at Catford one summer evening and scored with the barmaid and her mate , I ended up on the 12th floor of a tower block in Greenwich with said barmaid , who was she said ' divorced '. At 2am an axe broke through the door .....she meant ' separated ' . I escaped with a black eye but next dog ( bottom grade Maidstone multiple winner ) was called Pauls Panic !

Great Old thread of what the Game once was

Also We have woody pished drunk getting His back doors smashed in on a Train ,woke up the Next morning thought he had Cracked on Tricasts  At Wembley when finds a roll of notes in his pocket....

thanks for some great memories lads,I only wish I had been around then,it must be heartbreaking for you guys to see the sport as it is today.

It certainly is heartbreaking, SGExpert. The worst part is the total lack of atmosphere at the tracks nowadays.

Yet who would have believed that we now can watch Greyhound racing 7 days a week on our TVs.
And you'll be lucky to see one thread on here about tonight's card. I have to admit the cards don't tempt me to post anything.

its overkill sparrow

3 or maybe 4 nights of decent racing a week is plenty

but they don't even have all the best racing, hove regency heats/semis on bags, monmore puppy derby same
sure there have been other comps as well

most nights its betting fodder for the addicts

Donny interesting track

Nice long galloping track

But ****g hell lister got his things out

1-6 poke , 2-6 , 8-11 thing

Killed any interest for me watch on

I play Notts most mondays now that would
Of gem added!

a lot of money for that orse riddler

were is gary write and old ray micheil thay were at harring gay and walthamstow