45-568: Hackney Wick Stadium was a greyhound racing and speedway stadium located at Waterden Road in Hackney Wick , London, England. The site chosen for the stadium was on land known as Hackney Marshes west of the River Lea and on the west side of the Waterden Road. The stadium was constructed from September 1931 until 1932 and cost £70,000 to build and after completion £18,000 in wages had been paid to
90-483: 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
135-417: A circumference of 472 yards and the greyhounds raced behind an 'Outside Sumner' hare system. Trainers in the 1960s included Annetts, Reg Bosley, Brown, Colebrooke, Cox, Paddy Gordon, Hedley and Lionel Maxen. In the 1970s Mr G.Crookbank the track's chief electrician had invented photoelectric timing gear that would revolutionise the sport. Hand timing would become a thing of the past after Crookbank came up with
180-556: A key figure in coursing. Finding other supporters proved to be rather difficult, and with 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,
225-489: 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
270-401: 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
315-568: A reverse takeover of Hackney and Hendon Greyhounds Stadium Ltd. This meant his private company bought a public company and the new merger resulted in a new company called Brent Walker . This resulted in the end for the Hendon Greyhound Stadium because it was sold to make way for the UK's first stand-alone shopping centre on the site that would soon be known as the Brent Cross shopping centre. It
360-439: A single hare. Coursing by proxy with an artificial lure 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,
405-461: 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
450-555: 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
495-549: A veterinary surgeon on site. The kennel fees were 17s 6d for each greyhound. In 1948, Stanley Pay became the Racing Manager after Fred Whitehead was promoted to Director of Racing for both Hackney and Hendon. Pay was later replaced by Hendon Racing Manager D G Lewis before Michael Marksbecame Racing Manager for three decades until the day the stadium closed. The stadium offered eight buffet and licensed bars during racing held on Thursday and Saturday nights at 7.45pm. The circuit had
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#1733084621389540-498: Is a sport in the United Kingdom. The industry uses 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
585-544: 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
630-464: 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
675-594: 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
720-483: 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
765-621: 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
810-490: 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
855-541: The 1933 film Britannia of Billingsgate were shot at the stadium. The track introduced the Lead sponsored by William Hill in 1975; at the same time they switched the 1,000 Guineas to a longer distance of 484 metres. 1975-1992 (523 metres) 51°32′49″N 0°1′17″W / 51.54694°N 0.02139°W / 51.54694; -0.02139 Greyhound racing in the United Kingdom Greyhound racing
900-557: The Bookmakers Afternoon Greyhound Service (BAGS) being switched to Hendon and Hackney, the racing image of Hackney would change forever as it became the number one BAGS track. Afternoon meetings were introduced and eventually there would be no evening meetings at the track with the Saturday matinee BAGS replacing the Saturday night. In 1970 businessman George Walker , brother of boxing champion Billy Walker arranged
945-517: The Lincoln was hosted by Hackney from 1986 and in 1988 Minnies Siren trained by Terry Duggan won the BBC Television Trophy . Brent Walker bought William Hill/Mecca from Grand Metropolitan in 1989 and one year later leading trainer John 'Ginger' McGee Sr. joined the track. During 1991 it transpired that Brent Walker had amassed debts of £1.2 billion, George Walker was removed from the board and
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#1733084621389990-488: 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
1035-759: The Silver Greyhound Awards in 1951 and every year the winners were announced at the annual dinner and ball at the Dorchester Hotel . In 1970 the voting switched to the Greyhound Trainers & Breeders Association and the venue changed to the London Hilton on Park Lane . In 1982 the Greyhound Writers Association took over the voting and today the awards are now known as the Greyhound Board of Great Britain annual awards which are held at
1080-627: 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. Greyhound of the Year Awards The Greyhound of the Year Awards are the annual awards for the leading greyhounds in the United Kingdom. The British Greyhound Breeders & Owners Association inaugurated
1125-532: The United Kingdom (excluding Northern Ireland) and just one independent stadium (unaffiliated to 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
1170-658: 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,
1215-450: The banker took control of the company's assets. With the bank controlling matters there were numerous rumours about the future of the track. By 1994 the stadium had been acquired by a company called London Stadium Hackney Ltd who were in turn owned by Fleetfoot Racing formed in 1992 by ex- Lloyds broker and racing journalist Robert Parker. Work began on an ambitious project including a £12 million restaurant, leading trainers were recruited and
1260-506: The builders. Hackney opened On Friday 8 April 1932 under the affiliation of the British Greyhound Tracks Control Society (BGTCS) the rival to the larger National Greyhound Racing Club . Thirteen thousand people attended the first night and witnessed Marjorie Graves , MP for South Hackney officially open the track. The capacity of the track was put between 30,000 and 50,000 and a totalisator had been installed for
1305-469: 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
1350-503: 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
1395-451: The first night. A greyhound called Bullseye became the first ever winner at the track. Although the meeting was advertised as the first official meeting there had been a dress rehearsal two days previously on Wednesday 6 April which attracted 12,000 people. The company responsible for the project was Hackney Wick Stadium Ltd headed by Managing Director Arthur Gilbert and Racing Manager Fred Whitehead with William Chandler also holding shares in
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1440-409: 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
1485-429: The idea that a greyhound's race time could be recorded electronically. The invention known as 'Automatic Ray Timing' would remain as the timing method until the advent of modern computer timing. The Hackney sales became a major feature of business throughout the year, these sales became a prominent way for buying and selling greyhounds in London. In 1969 Park Royal Stadium and New Cross Stadium both closed resulting in
1530-529: The new company, Chandler would in due course buy the Crooked Billet independent track and turn it into Walthamstow Stadium one year later. After World War II Hackney Wick and Hendon Greyhound Stadium merged to become the Hackney and Hendon Greyhounds Ltd company. The resident kennels featured six ranges with each able to house up to fifty greyhounds, paddocks sat next to each range with cooking facilities and
1575-674: The new stadium was finally ready offering first-class facilities and significantly high prize money. However, on the reopening night and despite a capacity crowd the stadium went into receivership the same evening. Investigations began and banker, Stephen Welton, was pursued by LWT reporter Trevor Phillips and questioned for the Board's failure to conduct due diligence on a prospective buyer who turned out to be an undischarged bankrupt. Parker appeared on Roger Cook's ITV's television program The Cook Report and allegations were also made against Stephen Rea. Fleetfoot Racing Ltd had lasted just three years, with
1620-466: 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
1665-413: 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
1710-462: 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
1755-698: The stadium closing on 4 January 1997. The stadium was left derelict for several years until it was bought by the London Development Agency and demolished in 2003. The site was the location of the London Olympics Media Centre , the main media and broadcasting centre for the 2012 Summer Olympics and the 2012 Summer Paralympics . Speedway opened in 1935 at Hackney Wick Stadium and operated until 1996. The team raced under various names, known as Hackney Wick Wolves , Hackney Hawks , Hackney Kestrels and London Lions . The speedway scenes from
1800-441: The stadium was rebranded 'The London Stadium'. At the end of 1994 Robert Parker left the company as its director to be replaced by Stephen Rea. Beset with construction problems and internal disagreements the original £14 million scheme to develop the neglected stadium had run into serious problems. Extra cash was raised by rights issues with companies including Rothschild, Henderson Venture Managers and Samuel Montagu. In October 1995
1845-532: 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',
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1890-530: 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 ,
1935-494: 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
1980-496: Was not until the closure of sister track Hendon that Hackney Wick hosted a competition of note. The Guineas long associated with Park Royal had switched to Hendon in 1969 which in turn now found its way to Hackney. Three years later 'The Lead' was introduced and would also become a valuable addition to the calendar. In 1976 local hound Westmead Champ trained by Pam Heasman reached the final of the English Greyhound Derby and
2025-509: Was voted Greyhound of the Year . Hackney fell out with the NGRC in 1987 when the governing body announced that they would charge £300 to a track staging a BAGS meeting covered by Satellite Information Services (S.I.S) plus ten per cent of the tracks BAGS fees. Hackney refused and Ladbrokes took legal advice over the situation but all BAGS tracks would eventually pay a fee to the NGRC. Another race called
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