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Brighton & Hove Greyhound Stadium

April 09, 2024

Brighton & Hove Greyhound Stadium is a greyhound racing track located in the Hove Park area of the city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex.[1] The stadium also has a restaurant and a number of bars and is owned by the Gala Coral Group and race meetings are held every Thursday and Saturday evening, in addition to three afternoon meetings.

Brighton and Hove Greyhound Stadium
A view of the grandstand in 2007
LocationBrighton and Hove
OperatorEntain (Ladbrokes Coral)
Opened1928
Tenants
Greyhound racing
Website
Official website

Competitions edit

Origins edit

The plans for the site on Nevill Road and adjoining Hove Park were unanimously passed by the Brighton Corporation in January 1928. Charles Wakeling, Freddie Arnold and Major Carlos Campbell instigated the construction and the Greyhound Racing Association (GRA) had shares in the company called the Greyhound Racing Association (Brighton) Ltd.[2]

Opening edit

The first race to be held at the track known as the Hove Sports Stadium was the Hove Stakes and took place on 2 June 1928. 'Costs' the 7-4f won the 525 yards race for trainer Toone and won £16 for his owner W. G. Hooper, who was a solicitor by trade.[3]

Pre-war history edit

Originally the track was primitive with the hare being wound around the course by hand and it took ten years of racing before electric lighting was installed. A hand-operated tote was installed in 1932 but suffered from the government ban on tote betting the same year until the Betting and Lotteries Act 1934 reversed the ban. In 1940 the resident kennels moved to Morley Lodge, Albourne, Henfield, West Sussex. This purpose built kennel facility for over 200 hounds offered a modern brick facility and each range had its own grass paddock. Breeding kennels were set up on a farm in Sussex and rearing kennels were built in nearby Cumberland. The circuit was described as easy swinging turns of 160 yards and short straights of 85 yards and distances were 310, 525, 565 and 800 yards with an 'Inside MacWhirter Trackless' hare. Amenities included a club in both enclosures (the Nevill Road Club and the Orchard Road Club) and there were dining facilities in the Grand enclosure.[4]

1945–1980 edit

 
Greyhounds racing at Brighton c.1960

After the war the company was called the Brighton & Hove Stadium Ltd and in 1948 the stadium introduced a new event called the Regency. The Managing Director Charles Wakeling who was also the chairman of Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. died leaving the stadium in the hands of Major Carlos Campbell. Campbell died in 1958 leaving the controlling interest of the shares in the hands of the GRA. They brought in Gerard Kealey as General Manager and Peter Shotton as Racing Manager (the latter replacing Tom King in 1964)[5] and the pair went about building up the reputation of the seaside track. During the sixties racing was held on Wednesday and Saturday evenings, in addition to the restaurant there was three buffet bars and seven licensed bars. The circumference had changed to 491 yards with distances of 550, 725 and 880 yards with an 'Inside Sumner' hare. The track trainers consisted of Fred Lugg, Arthur Hancock, Birch & Gunner (Charles George) Smith.[6] Gunner Smith steered Luxury Liner through to 1961 English Greyhound Derby Derby final.

George Curtis represented Brighton in two consecutive Greyhound Derby finals with Hard Held in 1969 and Sirius in 1970.

Brighton introduced travelling payments for open race trainers to encourage entries to travel south, and the Sussex Cup was inaugurated in 1972, followed by the Brighton Belle for bitches in 1975.[7] In 1976 a significant deal was struck in when Coral Leisure purchasing Brighton and Romford. Des Nichols was brought in as Racing Manager from sister track Romford when Shotton moved to Wembley in 1978. Jim Layton succeeded him a few years later. A fourth major race called the Olympic was introduced in 1979

1981–1999 edit

George Curtis became a three times Greyhound Trainer of the Year winning the title in 1983, 1984 and 1986. Brighton greyhound Ballyregan Bob trained by Curtis became a household name after breaking the world record in 1986 by winning 32 consecutive races. One year later the stadium became the last course in Britain to remove their turf surface changing to all-sand. Gerard Kealey died in 1989 and Peter Shotton became general manager (he had returned to Brighton from Wembley).[8]

In 1991 Coral announced that their greyhound tracks would be sold to fund the purchase of 73 bingo halls from Granada Theatre Ltd, but, despite the deal being struck and subsequent birth of Gala Bingo, the tracks remained under the ownership of Coral. However, Coral did lose a court case around the same time to the Alliance & Leicester, forcing them to relinquish land where the Orchard Road enclosure stood. A new generation of trainers arrived at Hove in the 1990s. Brian Clemenson was three times champion trainer, and his assistant Alan (Claude) Gardiner replaced Bill Masters when he retired. Peter Miller replaced Jim Layton as racing manager in 1994.[9]

2000–present edit

 
The track in 2013

Brian Clemenson was three times champion trainer in 2003, 2004 and 2005. The track remains one of the premier venues in the country and attracts some of the best trainers in the country including recent acquisitions Seamus Cahill and Norah McEllistrim. In 2018 the stadium signed a deal with SIS to race every Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday afternoon, and every Thursday and Saturday evening.[10]

In 2019 the track created new race distance of 500 metres; the track had previously raced over that distance in the 1970s. The 515 distance was retained for open races.[11]

In 2022, Entain signed a long term deal with the Arena Racing Company for media rights, starting in January 2024.[12]

Track records edit

[13]

Current records edit

Metres Greyhound Time Date Notes
285 Jimmy Lollie[14] 15.89 7 October 2010
285 Target Harris[15] 15.89 12 June 2014
475 Southfield Jock[16] 27.42 22 October 2015
475 Forest Con[17] 27.42 3 May 2017
500 Antigua Romeo[18] 28.86 23 January 2020
515 Barnfield On Air[19] 29.20 31 July 2007 Sussex Cup final
695 Caloona Striker[20] 40.73 21 June 2005
740 Form of Magic 43.59 30 March 2002
945 Aayamza Royale[21] 57.90 12 December 2020 TV Trophy heats
955 Space Jet[22] 58.35 2 April 2022 TV Trophy semi final
500 H Droopys Chaser 29.67 29 July 2023 Springbok final

Former records edit

+ Record holder during year

Pre Metric edit

References edit

  1. ^ . Greyhound Board of Great Britain. Archived from the original on 25 December 2011. Retrieved 24 December 2011.
  2. ^ Genders, Roy (1981). The Encyclopedia of Greyhound Racing, pages 36-38. Pelham Books Ltd. ISBN 07207-1106-1.
  3. ^ Barnes, Julia (1988). Daily Mirror Greyhound Fact File, pages 73-78. Ringpress Books. ISBN 0-948955-15-5.
  4. ^ Genders, Roy (1981). The Encyclopedia of Greyhound Racing, pages 36-38. Pelham Books Ltd. ISBN 07207-1106-1.
  5. ^ "Remember When - September 1964". Greyhound Star.
  6. ^ Genders, Roy (1981). The Encyclopedia of Greyhound Racing, pages 36-38. Pelham Books Ltd. ISBN 07207-1106-1.
  7. ^ Genders, Roy (1975). The Greyhound and Racing Greyhound, pages 95-96. Page Brothers (Norwich). ISBN 0-85020-0474.
  8. ^ Fry, Paul (1995). The Official NGRC Greyhound Racing Yearbook, pages 216-217. Ringpress Books. ISBN 186054-010-4.
  9. ^ Hobbs, Jonathan (2007). Greyhound Annual 2008, page 189. Raceform. ISBN 978-1-905153-53-4.
  10. ^ "SIS announces schedule for SIS British Greyhound Service for 2018". SIS.
  11. ^ "When is a track record not a track record?". Greyhound Star.
  12. ^ "No Competition - No Progress". Greyhound Star. Retrieved 23 April 2023.
  13. ^ "British Track Records as of January 2024". Greyhound Star. Retrieved 25 January 2024.
  14. ^ . Greyhound Board of Great Britain. Archived from the original on 18 December 2018. Retrieved 17 December 2018.
  15. ^ "2014 equal track record result". Greyhound Board of Great Britain. Retrieved 14 December 2020.
  16. ^ "2015 track record result". Greyhound Board of Great Britain. Retrieved 14 December 2020.
  17. ^ "2017 track record result". Greyhound Board of Great Britain. Retrieved 14 December 2020.
  18. ^ "CORAL 500 - DIVISION A". Greyhound Board of Great Britain. Retrieved 14 December 2020.
  19. ^ . Greyhound Board of Great Britain. Archived from the original on 18 December 2018. Retrieved 17 December 2018.
  20. ^ . Greyhound Board of Great Britain. Archived from the original on 18 December 2018. Retrieved 17 December 2018.
  21. ^ "Coral TV Trophy - Heat 3". Greyhound Board of Great Britain. Retrieved 14 December 2020.
  22. ^ "CORAL TV TROPHY - HEAT 2". Greyhound Board of Great Britain. Retrieved 14 April 2022.
  23. ^ "2018 new distance track record result". Greyhound Board of Great Britain. Retrieved 14 December 2020.
  24. ^ "Race result". Greyhound Board of Great Britain. Retrieved 14 December 2020.
  25. ^ "Monthly Greyhound Star (Remember When 1988) August edition". Greyhound Star.
  26. ^ . Greyhound Board of Great Britain. Archived from the original on 18 December 2018. Retrieved 17 December 2018.
  27. ^ "CORAL Marathon". Greyhound Board of Great Britain. Retrieved 14 April 2022.
  28. ^ "CORAL TV TROPHY - HEAT 1". Greyhound Board of Great Britain. Retrieved 14 April 2022.
  29. ^ . Greyhound Board of Great Britain. Archived from the original on 18 December 2018. Retrieved 17 December 2018.
  30. ^ "Monthly Greyhound Star (Remember When 1957) January edition". Greyhound Star.

External links edit

  • Official site

50°50′31.92″N 0°10′33.42″W / 50.8422000°N 0.1759500°W / 50.8422000; -0.1759500

April 09, 2024
brighton, hove, greyhound, stadium, greyhound, racing, track, located, hove, park, area, city, brighton, hove, east, sussex, stadium, also, restaurant, number, bars, owned, gala, coral, group, race, meetings, held, every, thursday, saturday, evening, addition,. Brighton amp Hove Greyhound Stadium is a greyhound racing track located in the Hove Park area of the city of Brighton and Hove East Sussex 1 The stadium also has a restaurant and a number of bars and is owned by the Gala Coral Group and race meetings are held every Thursday and Saturday evening in addition to three afternoon meetings Brighton and Hove Greyhound StadiumA view of the grandstand in 2007LocationBrighton and HoveOperatorEntain Ladbrokes Coral Opened1928TenantsGreyhound racingWebsiteOfficial website Contents 1 Competitions 2 Origins 3 Opening 4 Pre war history 5 1945 1980 6 1981 1999 7 2000 present 8 Track records 8 1 Current records 8 2 Former records 8 3 Pre Metric 9 References 10 External linksCompetitions editRegency 1948 present Olympic 1947 present Brighton Belle 1975 present Sussex Cup 1972 present Origins editThe plans for the site on Nevill Road and adjoining Hove Park were unanimously passed by the Brighton Corporation in January 1928 Charles Wakeling Freddie Arnold and Major Carlos Campbell instigated the construction and the Greyhound Racing Association GRA had shares in the company called the Greyhound Racing Association Brighton Ltd 2 Opening editThe first race to be held at the track known as the Hove Sports Stadium was the Hove Stakes and took place on 2 June 1928 Costs the 7 4f won the 525 yards race for trainer Toone and won 16 for his owner W G Hooper who was a solicitor by trade 3 Pre war history editOriginally the track was primitive with the hare being wound around the course by hand and it took ten years of racing before electric lighting was installed A hand operated tote was installed in 1932 but suffered from the government ban on tote betting the same year until the Betting and Lotteries Act 1934 reversed the ban In 1940 the resident kennels moved to Morley Lodge Albourne Henfield West Sussex This purpose built kennel facility for over 200 hounds offered a modern brick facility and each range had its own grass paddock Breeding kennels were set up on a farm in Sussex and rearing kennels were built in nearby Cumberland The circuit was described as easy swinging turns of 160 yards and short straights of 85 yards and distances were 310 525 565 and 800 yards with an Inside MacWhirter Trackless hare Amenities included a club in both enclosures the Nevill Road Club and the Orchard Road Club and there were dining facilities in the Grand enclosure 4 1945 1980 edit nbsp Greyhounds racing at Brighton c 1960After the war the company was called the Brighton amp Hove Stadium Ltd and in 1948 the stadium introduced a new event called the Regency The Managing Director Charles Wakeling who was also the chairman of Brighton amp Hove Albion F C died leaving the stadium in the hands of Major Carlos Campbell Campbell died in 1958 leaving the controlling interest of the shares in the hands of the GRA They brought in Gerard Kealey as General Manager and Peter Shotton as Racing Manager the latter replacing Tom King in 1964 5 and the pair went about building up the reputation of the seaside track During the sixties racing was held on Wednesday and Saturday evenings in addition to the restaurant there was three buffet bars and seven licensed bars The circumference had changed to 491 yards with distances of 550 725 and 880 yards with an Inside Sumner hare The track trainers consisted of Fred Lugg Arthur Hancock Birch amp Gunner Charles George Smith 6 Gunner Smith steered Luxury Liner through to 1961 English Greyhound Derby Derby final George Curtis represented Brighton in two consecutive Greyhound Derby finals with Hard Held in 1969 and Sirius in 1970 Brighton introduced travelling payments for open race trainers to encourage entries to travel south and the Sussex Cup was inaugurated in 1972 followed by the Brighton Belle for bitches in 1975 7 In 1976 a significant deal was struck in when Coral Leisure purchasing Brighton and Romford Des Nichols was brought in as Racing Manager from sister track Romford when Shotton moved to Wembley in 1978 Jim Layton succeeded him a few years later A fourth major race called the Olympic was introduced in 19791981 1999 editGeorge Curtis became a three times Greyhound Trainer of the Year winning the title in 1983 1984 and 1986 Brighton greyhound Ballyregan Bob trained by Curtis became a household name after breaking the world record in 1986 by winning 32 consecutive races One year later the stadium became the last course in Britain to remove their turf surface changing to all sand Gerard Kealey died in 1989 and Peter Shotton became general manager he had returned to Brighton from Wembley 8 In 1991 Coral announced that their greyhound tracks would be sold to fund the purchase of 73 bingo halls from Granada Theatre Ltd but despite the deal being struck and subsequent birth of Gala Bingo the tracks remained under the ownership of Coral However Coral did lose a court case around the same time to the Alliance amp Leicester forcing them to relinquish land where the Orchard Road enclosure stood A new generation of trainers arrived at Hove in the 1990s Brian Clemenson was three times champion trainer and his assistant Alan Claude Gardiner replaced Bill Masters when he retired Peter Miller replaced Jim Layton as racing manager in 1994 9 2000 present edit nbsp The track in 2013Brian Clemenson was three times champion trainer in 2003 2004 and 2005 The track remains one of the premier venues in the country and attracts some of the best trainers in the country including recent acquisitions Seamus Cahill and Norah McEllistrim In 2018 the stadium signed a deal with SIS to race every Tuesday Wednesday and Friday afternoon and every Thursday and Saturday evening 10 In 2019 the track created new race distance of 500 metres the track had previously raced over that distance in the 1970s The 515 distance was retained for open races 11 In 2022 Entain signed a long term deal with the Arena Racing Company for media rights starting in January 2024 12 Track records edit 13 Current records edit Metres Greyhound Time Date Notes285 Jimmy Lollie 14 15 89 7 October 2010285 Target Harris 15 15 89 12 June 2014475 Southfield Jock 16 27 42 22 October 2015475 Forest Con 17 27 42 3 May 2017500 Antigua Romeo 18 28 86 23 January 2020515 Barnfield On Air 19 29 20 31 July 2007 Sussex Cup final695 Caloona Striker 20 40 73 21 June 2005740 Form of Magic 43 59 30 March 2002945 Aayamza Royale 21 57 90 12 December 2020 TV Trophy heats955 Space Jet 22 58 35 2 April 2022 TV Trophy semi final500 H Droopys Chaser 29 67 29 July 2023 Springbok finalFormer records edit Metres Greyhound Time Date Notes285 Fell Swoop 16 55 1987 grass285 Ard Boxer 16 48 1988 sand285 I Will Whisper 16 38 1989 285 Ravage Again 16 35 30 August 1990 Etherington Sprint heats285 Ravage Again 16 27 4 September 1990 Etherington Sprint final285 Escort Captain 16 11 11 July 2000285 Smoking Jonesey 16 29 2002 285 Setemup Joe 16 20 22 March 2003285 Tims Crow 16 05 22 May 2003285 Jimmy Lollie 16 02 13 August 2009285 Jimmy Lollie 15 94 17 July 2010475 Droopys Candice 27 67 24 July 2001475 Swift Star 27 47 1 August 2002475 Cash the Deal 27 47 26 July 2003490 Droopys Gold 23 28 38 27 December 2018490 Trade Fudge 24 28 24 31 January 2019500 Linacre 28 99 1976 National record500 Balliniska Band 28 99 1977 500 Mondays Bran 28 96 1979 Sussex Cup final amp world record515 Glen Miner 29 62 4 May 1982 grass amp Olympic Final515 John Doe 30 14 1988 sand515 Hit The Lid 29 73 30 July 1988515 Iceman Joey 29 46 19 July 2002515 Buy the Mystery 29 41 21 August 2003515 Ballybrazil Hero 29 27 20 July 2004 Sussex Cup Heats670 Westmead Champ 39 78 1976 Regency Final680 Fair Reward 40 30 1980 680 Glin Bridge 39 94 1976 695 Ballyregan Bob 41 13 2 November 1985 grass695 Ballyregan Bob 42 04 9 December 1986 sand695 Olivers Wish 25 41 57 August 1988695 Waltham Abbey 41 21 31 August 1989695 Killeacle Phoebe 41 10 21 April 2001695 Form of Magic 40 82 26 March 2002 Trainers Championship695 Centour Corker 40 74 8 May 2003725 Glin Fane 1978725 Princess Glin 43 22 1979740 Paradise Lost 44 65 March 1982 Regency final740 Sundridge Bet 44 42 8 July 1982740 Apache Warrior 44 15 1987 grass740 Ballyregan Bob 44 62 1988 sand740 Life Policy 44 35 1988 740 Sail On Valerie 44 29 5 May 1990740 Mobile Magic 44 24 1992 740 Lady Flyaway 44 20 21 August 1997930 Kegans Gold 56 88 24 July 2001930 Centour Corker 56 29 3 June 2003930 Greenacre Lin 56 20 8 June 2004930 Roxholme Magic 26 56 18 30 July 2015955 Langford Dacoit 58 46 1978 grass955 Antigua Lava 27 58 60 31 July 2021955 Blueberry Bullet 28 58 60 2 April 2022 TV Trophy semi final970 Sandy Lane 59 66 20 August 1983970 Huntsmans Nippy 59 59 1987 grass970 Comeragh Larch 61 20 1988 sand970 Saquita 59 99 27 July 1989970 Marys Gem 59 56 14 September 1997500 H Wotch It Buster 29 71 1978 515 H Sir Winston 30 47 1987 grass515 H Ozarks Warrior 30 89 1988 sand515 H Lord Westlands 30 49 5 November 1988515 H Group Tycoon 30 78 24 July 2001515 H Group Tycoon 30 39 15 September 2001515 H Greenacre George 30 08 1 August 2002515 H Junior Mac 29 29 83 27 July 2010680 H Across The Miles 41 43 1979 695 H August Monday 42 86 1987 grass695 H Mixer Mick 44 06 1988 sand695 H Mixer Mick 43 13 1988 695 H Razmac Dancer 42 95 1989 Record holder during year Pre Metric edit Yards Greyhound Time Date Notes310 Four Mile Bridge 17 14 9 June 1937525 Jesmond Cutlet 29 36 10 July 1938525 Good Worker 29 31 1948525 Kings Signature 29 24 05 1949 Regency final525 Trabolgan Star 30 29 11 1956525 Kans 28 71 14 September 1963525 Carry on Hasty 28 32 1973 525 Easy Investment 28 17 30 June 1973 World and National record550 Woodvilles Fury 30 09 20 September 1965550 Noble Pride 21 April 1966550 Hard Held 29 77 1970565 Bella 31 82 April 1934565 Roving Spring 31 61 14 September 1936565 Raths Record 31 50 1949725 Ballyhandy Cedar 40 48 15 September 1965725 Deneholme Flash 40 20 12 July 1969800 Grosvenor Edwin 46 35 15 August 1938880 Joyful C 50 70 12 April 1961880 Spectre II 50 09 25 April 1967 Sportsview Television Trophy1041 Hi There Snow 60 19 1970310 H Nakomis II 18 11 23 October 1937500 H Conna Chief 30 99 1970 525 H Wooteys Kingmaker 30 39 12 August 1938535 H Athea Lad 30 34 21 July 1948550 H Blue Sprite 31 14 25 August 1965565 H Sammys Adventure 32 61 29 August 1931References edit Track Search Greyhound Board of Great Britain Archived from the original on 25 December 2011 Retrieved 24 December 2011 Genders Roy 1981 The Encyclopedia of Greyhound Racing pages 36 38 Pelham Books Ltd ISBN 07207 1106 1 Barnes Julia 1988 Daily Mirror Greyhound Fact File pages 73 78 Ringpress Books ISBN 0 948955 15 5 Genders Roy 1981 The Encyclopedia of Greyhound Racing pages 36 38 Pelham Books Ltd ISBN 07207 1106 1 Remember When September 1964 Greyhound Star Genders Roy 1981 The Encyclopedia of Greyhound Racing pages 36 38 Pelham Books Ltd ISBN 07207 1106 1 Genders Roy 1975 The Greyhound and Racing Greyhound pages 95 96 Page Brothers Norwich ISBN 0 85020 0474 Fry Paul 1995 The Official NGRC Greyhound Racing Yearbook pages 216 217 Ringpress Books ISBN 186054 010 4 Hobbs Jonathan 2007 Greyhound Annual 2008 page 189 Raceform ISBN 978 1 905153 53 4 SIS announces schedule for SIS British Greyhound Service for 2018 SIS When is a track record not a track record Greyhound Star No Competition No Progress Greyhound Star Retrieved 23 April 2023 British Track Records as of January 2024 Greyhound Star Retrieved 25 January 2024 2010 result Greyhound Board of Great Britain Archived from the original on 18 December 2018 Retrieved 17 December 2018 2014 equal track record result Greyhound Board of Great Britain Retrieved 14 December 2020 2015 track record result Greyhound Board of Great Britain Retrieved 14 December 2020 2017 track record result Greyhound Board of Great Britain Retrieved 14 December 2020 CORAL 500 DIVISION A Greyhound Board of Great Britain Retrieved 14 December 2020 2007 result Greyhound Board of Great Britain Archived from the original on 18 December 2018 Retrieved 17 December 2018 2005 result Greyhound Board of Great Britain Archived from the original on 18 December 2018 Retrieved 17 December 2018 Coral TV Trophy Heat 3 Greyhound Board of Great Britain Retrieved 14 December 2020 CORAL TV TROPHY HEAT 2 Greyhound Board of Great Britain Retrieved 14 April 2022 2018 new distance track record result Greyhound Board of Great Britain Retrieved 14 December 2020 Race result Greyhound Board of Great Britain Retrieved 14 December 2020 Monthly Greyhound Star Remember When 1988 August edition Greyhound Star 2015 result Greyhound Board of Great Britain Archived from the original on 18 December 2018 Retrieved 17 December 2018 CORAL Marathon Greyhound Board of Great Britain Retrieved 14 April 2022 CORAL TV TROPHY HEAT 1 Greyhound Board of Great Britain Retrieved 14 April 2022 2010 result Greyhound Board of Great Britain Archived from the original on 18 December 2018 Retrieved 17 December 2018 Monthly Greyhound Star Remember When 1957 January edition Greyhound Star External links editOfficial site 50 50 31 92 N 0 10 33 42 W 50 8422000 N 0 1759500 W 50 8422000 0 1759500 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Brighton 26 Hove Greyhound Stadium amp oldid 1199061595, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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