Brighton & Hove Greyhound Stadium

Brighton and Hove Greyhound Stadium
	A view of the grandstand in 2007
Location	Brighton and Hove
Operator	Entain (Ladbrokes Coral)
Opened	1928
Tenants
	Greyhound racing
Website
	Official website

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.

Competitions

Regency (1948–present)
Olympic (1947–present)
Brighton Belle (1975–present)
Sussex Cup (1972–present)

Origins

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

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

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

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

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

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

^[13]

Current records

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	Queen Joni^[18]	28.81	4 May 2024	Trainers' Judgement Night
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

Metres	Greyhound	Time	Date	Notes
285	Fell Swoop	16.55	1987+	grass
285	Ard Boxer	16.48	1988+	sand
285	I Will Whisper	16.38	1989+
285	Ravage Again	16.35	30 August 1990	Etherington Sprint heats
285	Ravage Again	16.27	4 September 1990	Etherington Sprint final
285	Escort Captain	16.11	11 July 2000
285	Smoking Jonesey	16.29	2002+
285	Setemup Joe	16.20	22 March 2003
285	Tims Crow	16.05	22 May 2003
285	Jimmy Lollie	16.02	13 August 2009
285	Jimmy Lollie	15.94	17 July 2010
475	Droopys Candice	27.67	24 July 2001
475	Swift Star	27.47	1 August 2002
475	Cash the Deal	27.47	26 July 2003
490	Droopys Gold ^[23]	28.38	27 December 2018
490	Trade Fudge^[24]	28.24	31 January 2019
500	Linacre	28.99	1976+	National record
500	Balliniska Band	28.99	1977+
500	Mondays Bran	28.96	1979+	Sussex Cup final & world record
500	Antigua Romeo^[25]	28.86	23 January 2020
515	Glen Miner	29.62	4 May 1982	grass & Olympic Final
515	John Doe	30.14	1988+	sand
515	Hit The Lid	29.73	30 July 1988
515	Iceman Joey	29.46	19 July 2002
515	Buy the Mystery	29.41	21 August 2003
515	Ballybrazil Hero	29.27	20 July 2004	Sussex Cup Heats
670	Westmead Champ	39.78	1976+	Regency Final
680	Fair Reward	40.30	1980+
680	Glin Bridge	39.94	1976+
695	Ballyregan Bob	41.13	2 November 1985	grass
695	Ballyregan Bob	42.04	9 December 1986	sand
695	Olivers Wish ^[26]	41.57	August 1988
695	Waltham Abbey	41.21	31 August 1989
695	Killeacle Phoebe	41.10	21 April 2001
695	Form of Magic	40.82	26 March 2002	Trainers Championship
695	Centour Corker	40.74	8 May 2003
725	Glin Fane		1978
725	Princess Glin	43.22	1979
740	Paradise Lost	44.65	March 1982	Regency final
740	Sundridge Bet	44.42	8 July 1982
740	Apache Warrior	44.15	1987	grass
740	Ballyregan Bob	44.62	1988	sand
740	Life Policy	44.35	1988+
740	Sail On Valerie	44.29	5 May 1990
740	Mobile Magic	44.24	1992+
740	Lady Flyaway	44.20	21 August 1997
930	Kegans Gold	56.88	24 July 2001
930	Centour Corker	56.29	3 June 2003
930	Greenacre Lin	56.20	8 June 2004
930	Roxholme Magic ^[27]	56.18	30 July 2015
955	Langford Dacoit	58.46	1978+	grass
955	Antigua Lava^[28]	58.60	31 July 2021
955	Blueberry Bullet^[29]	58.60	2 April 2022	TV Trophy semi final
970	Sandy Lane	59.66	20 August 1983
970	Huntsmans Nippy	59.59	1987+	grass
970	Comeragh Larch	61.20	1988+	sand
970	Saquita	59.99	27 July 1989
970	Marys Gem	59.56	14 September 1997
500 H	Wotch It Buster	29.71	1978+
515 H	Sir Winston	30.47	1987+	grass
515 H	Ozarks Warrior	30.89	1988+	sand
515 H	Lord Westlands	30.49	5 November 1988
515 H	Group Tycoon	30.78	24 July 2001
515 H	Group Tycoon	30.39	15 September 2001
515 H	Greenacre George	30.08	1 August 2002
515 H	Junior Mac ^[30]	29.83	27 July 2010
680 H	Across The Miles	41.43	1979+
695 H	August Monday	42.86	1987+	grass
695 H	Mixer Mick	44.06	1988+	sand
695 H	Mixer Mick	43.13	1988+
695 H	Razmac Dancer	42.95	1989+

+ Record holder during year

Pre Metric

Yards	Greyhound	Time	Date	Notes
310	Four-Mile Bridge	17.14	9 June 1937
525	Jesmond Cutlet	29.36	10 July 1938
525	Good Worker	29.31	1948
525	Kings Signature	29.24	05.1949	Regency final
525	Trabolgan Star ^[31]	29.11	1956
525	Kans	28.71	14 September 1963
525	Carry on Hasty	28.32	1973+
525	Easy Investment	28.17	30 June 1973	World and National record
550	Woodvilles Fury	30.09	20 September 1965
550	Noble Pride		21 April 1966
550	Hard Held	29.77	1970
565	Bella	31.82	April 1934
565	Roving Spring	31.61	14 September 1936
565	Raths Record	31.50	1949
725	Ballyhandy Cedar	40.48	15 September 1965
725	Deneholme Flash	40.20	12 July 1969
800	Grosvenor Edwin	46.35	15 August 1938
880	Joyful C	50.70	12 April 1961
880	Spectre II	50.09	25 April 1967	Sportsview Television Trophy
1041	Hi There Snow	60.19	1970
310 H	Nakomis II	18.11	23 October 1937
500 H	Conna Chief	30.99	1970+
525 H	Wooteys Kingmaker	30.39	12 August 1938
535 H	Athea Lad	30.34	21 July 1948
550 H	Blue Sprite	31.14	25 August 1965
565 H	Sammys Adventure	32.61	29 August 1931

References

^ "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.
^ "Sunday Round Up". Greyhound Star. Retrieved 9 May 2024.
^ "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.
^ "Coral 500 - Division A". 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

Official site

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

[1] "Track Search". 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] "2010 result". 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] "Sunday Round Up". Greyhound Star. Retrieved 9 May 2024.

[19] "2007 result". Greyhound Board of Great Britain. Archived from the original on 18 December 2018. Retrieved 17 December 2018.

[20] "2005 result". 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] "Coral 500 - Division A". Greyhound Board of Great Britain. Retrieved 14 December 2020.

[26] "Monthly Greyhound Star (Remember When 1988) August edition". Greyhound Star.

[27] "2015 result". Greyhound Board of Great Britain. Archived from the original on 18 December 2018. Retrieved 17 December 2018.

[28] "CORAL Marathon". Greyhound Board of Great Britain. Retrieved 14 April 2022.

[29] "CORAL TV TROPHY - HEAT 1". Greyhound Board of Great Britain. Retrieved 14 April 2022.

[30] "2010 result". Greyhound Board of Great Britain. Archived from the original on 18 December 2018. Retrieved 17 December 2018.

[31] "Monthly Greyhound Star (Remember When 1957) January edition". Greyhound Star.

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Brighton & Hove Greyhound Stadium

Competitions

Origins

Opening

Pre-war history

1945–1980

1981–1999

2000–present

Track records

Current records

Former records

Pre Metric

References

External links

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