47-438: Newcastle Stadium is a greyhound racing and former motorcycle speedway stadium, located on The Fossway, Byker , Newcastle . Racing at the stadium takes place on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. The circumference of the greyhound track is 415 metres. From 1929 until mid-2022, speedway racing took place at the stadium. The stadium used to be known as Brough Park until it changed its name to Newcastle Stadium and
94-544: A parimutuel betting tote system with on-course and off-course betting available. Attendances have declined in recent years, mainly due to the decrease in evening fixtures with the majority of fixtures being held in the daytime. Attendances peaked in 1946 at around 70 million and totalisator turnover reaching £196,431,430. As of January 2024, there are 20 licensed stadiums in the United Kingdom (excluding Northern Ireland) and just one independent stadium (unaffiliated to
141-483: A 15-day period, except for special circumstances. In any event the competition must be completed within 18 days. Category One races replaced competitions called classic races in the 1990s. Category Two Race These races must have minimum prize money of £5,000. They can be run with one, two or three rounds but must be completed within a 15-day period. Category Three Race These races must have minimum prize money of £1,000. They can be run over one or two rounds and within
188-496: A Stow Marathon victory in 1973 and Norman Oliver was voted Greyhound Trainer of the Year in 1973 but Patricias Hope stopped Ramdeen Stuart from taking Greyhound of the Year . 1974 brought about new owners to Brough Park as the TGH which included Crayford & Bexleyheath , Gosforth and Leeds was taken over by Ladbrokes . New joint Racing Managers were Tony Smith and Paul Richardson and
235-494: A governing body). Modern greyhound racing evolved from a form of hunting called coursing , in which a dog runs after a live game animal – usually a rabbit or hare. The first official coursing meeting was held in 1776 at Swaffham , Norfolk . The rules of the Swaffham Coursing Society, started by Lord Orford , specified that only two greyhounds were to course a single hare. Coursing by proxy with an artificial lure
282-644: A great run of form for the kennels as Shady Begonia reached the 1968 English Greyhound Derby final one year later as well as securing the Television trophy title . In 1969 Shady Begonia won the Regency . In 1971 Ramdeen Stuart (trained by Oliver) won the classic races the St Leger and Gold Collar ; other successes were the Stewards Cup , Ben Truman Stakes and Scottish St Leger . Trainer Bill Raggatt steered Cute Caddie to
329-592: A management team that leased the track and then he bought the track from the Neeshams in September 1986. The legendary Scurlogue Champ won the 1986 Television Trophy at the track. Jubilee Rebecca won the 1994 Television Trophy for trainer Gordon Rooks. A major milestone and turning point for the track arrived in 2003. William Hill bookmakers purchased the track which then underwent major investment similar to that of Sunderland Greyhound Stadium whom William Hill had acquired
376-489: A nine-day period. A category three race can be staged over one day but must have minimum prize money of £500. Invitation Race A special type of open race usually staged by the promoter in support on the night of other opens. This will be proposed to the committee by the Greyhound Board or by a promoter, with the racers being invited into the competition rather than the usual process. The minimum prize money for these races
423-401: A race. Greyhounds from which samples can not be obtained for a certain number of consecutive races are subject to being ruled off the track. If a positive sample is found, violators are subject to penalties and loss of their racing licenses by the Greyhound Board of Great Britain (GBGB). The trainer of the greyhound is at all times the "absolute insurer" of the condition of the animal. The trainer
470-761: A rarely seen centre green hare controller was in operation (the vast majority of tracks drove the hare from a home straight position). Two more competitions called the Northumberland Stakes and Northumberland Cup were introduced. In 1946 Brough Park experienced the unique situation where during the 1946 running of the All England Cup all four national Derby champions competed. The English Greyhound Derby champion Mondays News, Irish Greyhound Derby winner Lilac Luck, Scottish Greyhound Derby winner Lattin Pearl and Welsh Greyhound Derby champion Negro's Lad all lined up for
517-461: A standard colour scheme. The starting traps (equipment that the greyhound starts a race in) determines the colour. Races with eight greyhounds are no longer held. A racing jacket worn by a reserve bears an additional letter 'R' prominently on each side. Greyhound racing at registered stadiums in Great Britain is regulated by the Greyhound Board of Great Britain (GBGB). Greyhounds are not kept at
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#1732863134533564-555: A vaccination to minimize outbreaks of diseases such as kennel cough and a retirement bond before being allowed to race. All tracks are required to have veterinary room facilities on site. When a greyhound is due to race or trial at a track its health and condition must be checked by the veterinary surgeon at kennelling time and again before they are permitted to race, the weight must be recorded by officials and random drugs tests are conducted. From 1 April 2023, all vehicles transporting racing greyhounds must have air-conditioning. When
611-544: Is held on just one racecourse. There is no requirement for central registration or licensing, and no code of practice. In England, standards for welfare and integrity are set by local government, but there is no governing or other regulatory body. In the 1940s, there were seventy-seven licensed tracks and over two hundred independent tracks in the United Kingdom, of which thirty-three were in London. There are 20 active Greyhound Board of Great Britain (GBGB) registered stadiums in
658-516: Is now owned by the Arena Racing Company . In 1927 an area of land in Byker was selected for a new greyhound stadium. The site had previously been a racecourse for trotting, that had been laid out 1899 and a football team called Newcastle City had played on the site from 1912 to 1914. The stadium plot had previously contained garden allotments and the north section of the football ground. The stadium
705-464: Is responsible for any positive test regardless of how the banned substance has entered the greyhound's system. Due to the increased practice of random testing, the number of positive samples has decreased. Over a one-year period from 2017 to 2018, over 15,000 greyhounds were tested by the GBGB 'flying squad' which returned four positive cocaine tests. These cases resulted in disqualification or suspension for
752-594: Is the Greyhound Trust (GT). The GT is a charity but is partly funded by the British Greyhound Racing Fund (BGRF), who gave funding of £1,400,000 in 2015 and rehomed 4,000 greyhounds in 2016. In recent years the racing industry has made significant progress in establishing programmes for the adoption of retired racers. Many race tracks have established their own adoption programmes in addition to actively cooperating with private adoption groups throughout
799-483: Is £750. Minor Open Race This is any other open race. The minimum added money for these races is £150. In 1986, Ballyregan Bob beat the record for the most number of consecutive races won by winning his 32nd race, besting the record set by Joe Dump in the United States in 1978 and 1979. This is any other race staged at a track, and prize money is varied. This kind of racing is the core of most stadiums and some of
846-547: The Arena Racing Company (ARC) acquired both Sunderland Greyhound Stadium and Newcastle Greyhound Stadium from William Hill. The stadium gained one of the sports most prestigious competitions the Laurels in 2017 from the GRA . There is now renewed hope that the competition may regain its category 1 status and increase its prize fund. In 2017 Angela Harrison took over the trainer's licence and Newcastle contract from Jimmy Wright and in 2018
893-621: The Greyhound Board of Great Britain (GBGB), and a sector known as 'independent racing' or 'flapping' which is unaffiliated with a governing body. Registered racing in Great Britain is regulated by the Greyhound Board of Great Britain (GBGB) and has been UKAS accredited since 2010. All in the registered sector are subject to the GBGB Rules of Racing and the Directions of the Stewards, who set
940-490: The Irish Greyhound Derby , held at Shelbourne Park , is open to British greyhounds. There used to be a Scottish Greyhound Derby and Welsh Greyhound Derby but the events finished in 2019 and 1977 respectively. In 2010, a short lived Northern Irish Derby was introduced. Category One Race These races must have minimum prize money of £12,500. They can be run between one and four rounds but must be completed within
987-969: The General Strike of 1926 looming, the two men scoured the country to find others who would join them. Eventually they met Brigadier-General Critchley , who in turn introduced them to Sir William Gentle . Between them they raised £22,000 and launched the Greyhound Racing Association . On July 24, 1926, in front of 1,700 spectators, the first modern greyhound race in Great Britain took place at Belle Vue Stadium , where seven greyhounds raced round an oval circuit to catch an electric artificial hare. They then hurried to open tracks in London at White City and Harringay . The first three years of racing were financially successful, with attendances of 5.5 million in 1927, 13.7 million in 1928 and 16 million in 1929. The greyhound racing industry in Great Britain currently falls under two sectors: that registered by
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#17328631345331034-488: The Lincolnshire, Suffolk and Portsmouth Greyhound Trusts reported that all retired greyhounds were being homed and that there was a shortage. Concerns were raised that if the shortage of retired greyhounds continued it could force some homing organisations to close. The most recent independently verified published figures show that the 2021 injury rate was 1.23% which equated to 4,442 from 359,083 runs. The most common injury
1081-547: The Totalisators and Greyhound Holdings (TGH) became owners of stadium followed by a new general manager in Dan McCormick and Racing Manager Mr R Slater. The hare was switched to an outside Navan type with racing held on Thursday and Saturday evenings. Distances were 525, 650, 700, 750 and 880 yards including hurdles over 525 yards. In 1967 Norman Oliver secured the 1967 Scottish Greyhound Derby with Hi Ho Silver. This started
1128-579: The UK to come to an end but the GBGB responded criticising the charities' inaccurate data. In 2023, trainer Rebecca Perkins received a jail sentence and life ban after committing offences contrary to the Animal Welfare Act. TV Trophy (greyhounds) The Television Trophy (TV Trophy for short) is a greyhound racing competition held annually. It was inaugurated in 1952 and shown on the BBC . A different venue
1175-658: The United Kingdom. There are no active GBGB tracks in Scotland and just one in Wales. Northern Irish tracks do not come under the control of the GBGB. There is just one active independent stadium: There are various types and levels of competitions in Britain, with prize money reaching £15,737,122. Greyhound Derby The English Greyhound Derby currently has a winner's prize of £175,000. The competition (held at Towcester) has six rounds and attracts around 180 entries each year. In addition,
1222-656: The best in the country. Jimmy Wright scored a double success in 2010 when Target Classic picked up the William Hill Classic and England Expects lifted the William Hill Grand Prix on the same evening. Elwick Chris trained by Michael Walsh won the Laurels in 2010 and Droopys Hester won the Champion Stakes one year later. In 2012 Newcastle won the BAGS/SIS Track Championship. In May 2017
1269-469: The country. There are also many independent organisations which find homes for retired Greyhounds. Several independent rescue and homing groups receive some funding from the industry but mainly rely on public donations. In 2016, 1,500 greyhounds were rehomed by independent groups. In 2018, several tracks introduced a scheme whereby every greyhound is found a home by the track, these include Kinsley and Doncaster. During 2020 many homing organisations including
1316-512: The event. The hope that all four would progress to the final failed to materialise but Mondays News and Lattin Pearl did finish first and second in the final. During the fifties the Racing Manager was Mr Greeves and he officiated during the period when greyhounds such as Endless Gossip and Just Fame claimed victory in the All England Cup. As the sixties arrived the track underwent considerable changes including new ownership and management. In 1964
1363-409: The greyhounds finish their racing careers they are retired under the GBGB bond scheme (introduced in 2020) which ensures the homing costs are met. Owners may keep the dog for breeding or as pets, or they can send them to greyhound adoption groups. The Greyhound Board of Great Britain (GBGB) have introduced measures to locate where racing greyhounds reside after they have retired from racing and from 2017
1410-488: The new director of racing for Ladbrokes was Arthur Aldridge. The stadium underwent improvements with a new restaurant. Three years later in 1977 a new competition was inaugurated and was called the Trainers Championship , this involved a series races with greyhounds from the top six trainers in the country. Brough Park was chosen as the very first venue that saw a tie between Natalie Savva and Geoff De Mulder. In 1980
1457-466: The offending parties. Isolated incidents have occurred that resulted in national newspaper articles. In 2007, a builder called David Smith destroyed greyhounds with a captive bolt gun, he received a jail sentence. Subsequently, anyone found to have sent a greyhound to him was warned off for life by the GBGB. During September 2022, the RSPCA, Blue Cross and The Dogs Trust jointly called for greyhound racing in
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1504-494: The racing can be viewed in betting shops on the Bookmakers Afternoon Greyhound Service (BAGS). The Racing Manager selects the greyhounds based on ability and organises them into traps (called seeding) and classes (usually 1–9) with grade 1 being the best class. The sex and weight of the greyhound has no bearing. + Only used if a track has an alternative standard distance. Greyhound racing in Britain has
1551-462: The retirement data has been available to the public. Concern among welfare groups is the well-being of some racing greyhounds who are not adopted upon their retirement, and that they may subsequently be put down or sold by their owners, some others are put down because they are not suitable for retirement. However the GBGB require all owners to sign a retirement form indicating the retirement plans. The main greyhound adoption organisation in Britain
1598-640: The second greyhound stadium in Newcastle because the Tyneside Sports Stadium Ltd opened a track to the south of Scotswood Bridge called the White City Stadium just 28 days previous. The opening night was on 23 June 1928 with the first ever race being won by a greyhound called Marvin at odds of 3-1. In 1938 the All England Cup was introduced and the significant prize money attracted many of
1645-470: The second sponsored by the Evening Standard being the inaugural Sky event. In 2018 the Greyhound Board of Great Britain , who hold the rights of the competition, invited tracks to tender for its hosting following the shock closure of Towcester Greyhound Stadium . Crayford and Romford were chosen for the 2018 and 2019 editions. Scurlogue Champ , Ericas Equity, Midway Skipper and Aayamza Royale are
1692-414: The south side of these kennels was the tracks third and fourth bends. The stadium had a main stand on the home straight with licensed club facilities and a smaller stand on the back straight, also with licensed club facilities. In addition to the stands there were several tote buildings located on the home straight and between bends three and four next to the tote indicator and coffee bar. Brough Park became
1739-606: The stadium held the Northern Flat following the closure of Belle Vue Stadium . In 2022, the stadium owners ARC signed a long term deal with Entain for media rights, starting in January 2024. 54°58′40″N 1°33′54″W / 54.97787°N 1.56502°W / 54.97787; -1.56502 Greyhound racing in the United Kingdom Greyhound racing is a sport in the United Kingdom. The industry uses
1786-407: The stadium signed a deal with their parent company ARC to race every Wednesday lunchtime, Thursday evening and every Friday and Saturday afternoon. Droopys Verve trained by Angela Harrison finished runner-up in the 2018 English Greyhound Derby and Droopys Expert reached the 2019 English Greyhound Derby final. Harrison also secured the 2019 British Trainers Championship at Sheffield . In 2021,
1833-532: The standards for greyhound welfare and racing integrity, from racecourse facilities and trainers' kennels to retirement of greyhounds. There are Stewards' inquiries, and then disciplinary action is taken against anyone found failing to comply. The registered sector consists of 20 racecourses and approximately 880 trainers, 4,000 kennel staff and 860 racecourse officials. Greyhound owners number 15,000, with approximately 7,000–8,000 greyhounds registered annually for racing. Independent racing, also known as 'flapping',
1880-431: The top greyhounds from London and the south. The competition worth £1,100, replaced the Northumberland Stakes as the primary event at the stadium. As with many tracks the war soon interrupted the regular racing. The surface was described as a good grass track, 430 yards in circumference with distances of 295, 500 & 520 yards with an inside Sledge-Trackless hare. The 500 yard distance had recently replaced 480 yards and
1927-629: The track changed from grass to sand and Bill Hughes became Racing Manager. The future became uncertain when Ladbrokes decide to sell the track in 1983 to Glassedin Greyhounds Ltd; the company was headed by James Glass father of trainer Jane Glass. The kennels were sold for redevelopment into the Brough Park trading estate and soon after in 1984 the track changed hands from Glassedin Greyhounds Ltd to Bernard and Joan Neesham. Just two years later Kevin Wilde headed
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1974-530: The tracks and are instead housed in the kennels of trainers and transported to the tracks to race. Licensed kennels have to fall within specific guidelines and rules and are checked by officials to make sure the treatment of racing greyhounds is within the rules. In 2018, licensing and inspecting trainer's kennels was conducted through the government-approved, UKAS accredited method. Greyhounds require microchipping, annual vaccinations against distemper , infectious canine hepatitis , parvovirus , leptospirosis ,
2021-491: The year before. A rebranding took place in 2007 and because the track was the only one left in Newcastle the decision was made to rename the stadium from Brough Park to Newcastle. The investment in the new facilities and track was rewarded with selection as the host of the Television Trophy in 2009 and Newcastle under Operations Manager Ian Walton and Racing Manager Paul Twinn have seen the standard of greyhounds become one of
2068-494: Was a hind limb muscle at 1,012 (0.28%), this was followed by foot injuries 876 (0.24%), hock 811 (0.23%), wrist 752 (0.21%), fore limb muscle 414 (0.12%), fore long bone 106 (0.03%) and hind long bone 26 (0.01%), other equated to 425 (0.12%). Track fatalities were 120 (0.03%). The Greyhound Board of Great Britain (GBGB) actively works to prevent the spread of drug usage within the registered greyhound racing sector. Attempts are made to recover urine samples from all six greyhounds in
2115-417: Was chosen each year over the marathon distance of the relevant track. The competition consisted of heats (normally three) and a final one week later. The BBC continued to televise the event from 1952 until 1996 on Sportsview (later Sportsnight ). When Sportsnight ended the competition coverage it switched to Sky Sports which resulted in two editions of the 1997 event, the first being the last BBC event and
2162-570: Was constructed just south of the Fossway, east of Tunstall Avenue and west of the large garden allotments that ran alongside Roman Way. The transfer of the lease to the Greyhound Racing Association was arranged in June 1927. The resident kennels were constructed right next to the Fossway and sat directly on the route of Hadrian's Wall . The kennels were very large and accommodated the greyhounds that would supply both Brough Park and Gosforth in later years. On
2209-470: Was introduced at Hendon , on September 11, 1876. Six dogs raced over a 400-yard straight course, chasing an artificial hare. This was the first attempt to introduce mechanical racing to the UK; however it did not catch on at the time. The oval track and mechanical hare were introduced to Britain in 1926, by Charles Munn, an American, in association with Major Lyne-Dixson, a key figure in coursing. Finding other supporters proved to be rather difficult, and with
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