1953 UK & Ireland Greyhound Racing Year

none November 2024 November 2024 1953 UK & Ireland Greyhound Racing Year 1953 Lizette greyhound.jpg Oaks winner Lizette 1952 1954 The 1953 UK & Ireland Greyhound Racing Year was the 28th year of greyhound racing in the United KingdomGreyhound Racing South Gloucestershire Gazette 24 Jul 1926 9 March 2026 https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0004065/19260724/015/0003 British Newspaper Archive subscription and the 27th year of greyhound racing in Ireland.https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0001542/19270419/075/0003 Belfast's New Sport Northern Whig 19 April 1927 British Newspaper Archive subscription 9 March 2026Fry Paul The Official NGRC Greyhound Racing Yearbook 1995 Ringpress Books 186054-010-4 Roll of honour Major Winners Award Name of Winner1953 English Greyhound Derby Daws Dancer Dack Barrie Greyhound Derby, the first 60 years, pages 95/96 1990 Ringpress Books 0-948955-36-8http://www.greyhound-data.com/d?r=2059 1953 Greyhound Data1953 Irish Greyhound Derby Spanish BattleshipComyn John 50 Years of Greyhound Racing in Ireland Aherlow Publishers LtdFortune Michael Irish Greyhound Derby 1932-1981 Victory Irish Promotions Ltd1953 Scottish Greyhound Derby Not held Hobbs Jonathan Greyhound Annual 2008, pages 153-154 2007 Raceform 978-1-905153-53-41953 Welsh Greyhound Derby Glittering Look Genders Roy The Greyhound and Racing Greyhound, page 320 1975 Page Brothers (Norwich) 0-85020-0474Greyhound of the Year Magourna Reject Summary The annual totalisator was £61,522,849 which constituted a solid year.Particulars of Licensed tracks, table 1 Licensed Dog Racecourses 1953 Licensing Authorities The main stars of the year were Spanish Battleship, in Ireland and Magourna Reject, in the United Kingdom. Competitions There was a surprise in store during the first major event of the year when 1951 Scurry Gold Cup runner up Mushera Silver won the Gold Collar, at 13-2 beating Monachdy Girlie by two lengths.Genders Roy The Encyclopedia of Greyhound Racing 1981 Pelham Books Ltd 07207-1106-1 The Scottish Greyhound Derby was cancelled for the second successive year due to insufficient entries Barnes Julia Daily Mirror Greyhound Fact File 1988 Ringpress Books 0-948955-15-5 but the Welsh Greyhound Derby received a high standard of entry. Glittering Look made amends for his unlucky Derby performance beating fellow Derby finalists Small Town, Galtee Cleo in addition to Endless Gossip and Ollys Pal.https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000104/19530706/122/0008 Glittering Look wins Dog Derby Western Mail 6 July 1953 British Newspaper Archive subscription 22 November 2024 A competition called the London Tracks Coursing Cup (confined to London track greyhounds) was held near Cambridge and was won by Must Venture trained by Bill Cowell at Wandsworth Stadium. It was an unusual competition because it was becoming increasingly rare for track greyhounds to take part in coursing.Genders Roy NGRC book of Greyhound Racing 1990 Pelham Books Ltd 0-7207-1804-X Paddys Dinner who had finished lame in the 1952 English Greyhound Derbyhttp://www.greyhound-data.com/d?r=2060 1952 Greyhound Data reached the Scurry final in July but lost out to Rolling Mike while Daws Dancer made a final appearance for Paddy McEvoy in the Laurels final, before being sold to Wimbledon Stadium Ltd and leased to W J Cearns. At Wembley, 30,000 people turned up to watch the final of the St Leger, a race that was also seen by several million on television. Defending champion Funny Worker now with Jack Harvey was not expected to beat Magourna Reject but the latter had failed in the classics during 1952.Barnes Julia Daily Mirror Greyhound Fact File, Vol Two 1991 Ringpress Books 0-948955-61-9 Magourna Reject, now trained by Tom Reilly, had won the Key at Wimbledon, the Stewards Cup at Gloucester and the Wood Lane Stakes at White City before lining up for the St Leger final. His supporters were rewarded as he easily won by five lengths, Funny Worker finished last. Magourna Reject then defeated his rivals in the Cesarewitch final winning by three and a half lengths from Oaks champion Lizette, his time of 33.24sec being the fastest ever for the distance at West Ham Stadium.http://www.gbgb.org.uk/hall-of-fame.aspx?id=1016 Hall of Fame Greyhound Board of Great Britain Magourna Reject had finished 1953 as double classic champion and was voted Greyhound of the Year by a press panel on behalf of the British Greyhound Breeders and Owners Association.Monthly Greyhound Star (Remember When 1954) February edition 2012 Greyhound Star News After a misunderstanding, a greyhound called Captain Jock trained by Frank Conlon ran unplaced in an open race at Stamford Bridge in the afternoon and then ran again in the evening at Clapton Stadium without success. It was a regular practice for greyhounds to race early in a racecard to qualify for a final later but very unusual to have to travel to two tracks in the same day. Noreen Collin relinquished her post at the Walthamstow Stadium kennels and was replaced by Tom 'Paddy' Reilly; the kennels included the great Magourna Reject. Scotland Yard detective Stan Baker published a book called Greyhound Racing with the lid off. It listed 29 stimulants and depressants that are suspected of being used by doping gangs in greyhound racing. The National Greyhound Racing Club (NGRC) are tasked with finding the doping gangs that target tracks running under the NGRC banner and on the independent circuit, two men were jailed for 30 days in Dunfermline for attempting to run a ringer at Crossgates Greyhound Stadium. Endless Gossip retired after finishing his career with a Select Stakes win at Wembley beating Magourna Reject and Galtee Cleo and a Wimbledon Champion Stakes win in October, which he again won from Magourna Reject with Galtee Cleo third, and brought his winnings to more than £5,000. He won a prize in the show ring at Cruft's and was sold to an American breeder to stand at stud in the United States.http://www.gbgb.org.uk/hall-of-fame.aspx?id=1015 Hall of Fame - Endless Gossip Greyhound Board of Great Britain Ireland Tim O'Connor had taken charge of the litter in Ireland, sired by Spanish Chestnut, the half-brother of Irish Greyhound Derby champion Spanish Lad. One of the litter Spanish Battleship was entered for the St Leger at Limerick but after winning a heat he failed to progress from the second round. O'Connor believed that he had gone well enough and phoned Tom Lynch in Dublin and asked him to train the dog for the 1953 Irish Greyhound Derby. He duly won the Derby and then took part in three competitions; the Laurels, the McCalmont Cup and McAlinden Cup and won every single qualifier, nine races in all but on all three occasions did not win the final. The Laurels had been won by Templenoe Rebel, who then made his way to be trained in England Fortune Michael Irish Greyhound Derby 1932-1981 Victory Irish Promotions Ltd as did McAlinden winner Rose of Meath, sold to Arsenal and Scotland footballer Alex Forbes.Monthly Greyhound Star (Remember When 1953) Greyhound Star Principal UK races Grand National, White City (May 9 525y h, £300) PosName of GreyhoundTrainerSP TimeTrap 1st Denver Berwick David Geggus 10-11f 30.26 52nd Nighthar O'Leer 100-8 30.56 33rd Tunny Dick Norman Merchant 6-4 30.70 24th Brighton MasterR.C Ford 25-1 31.06 45th Water Chief 10-1 31.54 6N/R Lambourn Toreador O Papps 1 Gold Collar, Catford (May 30, 440y, £500)PosName of Greyhound TrainerSP Time Trap 1st Mushera Silver L.T.Gould 13-2 25.7032nd Monachdy Girlie Jimmy Jowett 3-1 25.90 13rd Carlane Briskie L.T.Gould 8-1 26.04 54th Iona Special Ron Chamberlain 5-2f 26.06 25th Summer Breeze 100-8 26.14 46th Rockfield Nigger Paddy McEvoy 3-1 26.50 6 Welsh Derby, Arms Park (Jul 4, 525y £500)PosName of Greyhound TrainerSP Time Trap 1st Glittering Look Tom Reilly 5-2 29.39 62nd Small Town Leslie Reynolds 100-8 29.47 53rd Galtee Cleo Jack Harvey 4-5f 29.55 14th Montego Bay Jack Harvey 33-1 29.67 25th Endless Gossip Leslie Reynolds 4-1 29.75 36th Ollys Pal Norman Merchant 4 Scurry Gold Cup, Clapton (Jul 25, 400y £600)PosName of Greyhound TrainerSP Time Trap 1st Rolling Mike Jimmy Jowett 5-2f 22.77+ 62nd Cavehill Tanner 13-2 23.27 13rd Paddys Dinner Tom Smith 4-1 23.41 24th Al Fresco 100-6 23.63 45th Parchments Breeze Tom Reilly 11-4 23.95 36th Snow White Brown Henry Parsons 4-1 23.98 5 + Track Record Laurels, Wimbledon (Aug 21, 500y, £1,000)PosName of Greyhound TrainerSP Time Trap 1st Polonius Tom Reilly 7-2 28.04 42nd Knockeevan Champion Leslie Reynolds 5-2 28.24 53rd Flashy Name Paddy Power 20-1 28.48 24th Marsh Harrier William Mills 5-1 28.60 65th Daws Dancer Paddy McEvoy 7-4f 28.63 36th Oriel Olga Dal Hawkesley20-1 28.66 1 St Leger, Wembley (Sep 14, 700y, £1,000)PosName of Greyhound TrainerSP Time Trap 1st Magourna Reject Tom Reilly 7-4f 39.88 42nd Lizette Paddy Fortune 6-1 40.36 53rd Priceless Spot F.A.Gavin 100-6 40.58 24th Cheeky Tippy Bob Burls 9-1 40.78 35th Fly Prince W.E.Hughes 9-4 41.02 16th Funny Worker Jack Harvey 6-1 41.06 6 Oaks, White City (Sep 26, 525y, £500)PosName of Greyhound TrainerSP Time Trap 1st Lizette Paddy Fortune 6-4f 29.18 52nd Waltzers Choice Reg String Marsh 2-1 29.66 23rd Narrogar Joanna Ron Mills 8-1 29.74 34th Marazion Millie Paddy Fortune 11-2 29.82 15th Ashcott Winsome Eric Hiscock 8-1 30.00 46th Great Charm 33-1 30.52 6 Cesarewitch, West Ham (Oct 16, 600y, £600)PosName of Greyhound TrainerSP Time Trap 1st Magourna Reject Tom Reilly 1-4f 33.24+ 42nd Lizette Paddy Fortune 9-2 33.60 23rd Kensington Perfection Bill Higgins 25-1 33.96 14th Wolf Wild John Drown 100-7 34.14 65th Ardskeagh Ville Dave Barker 50-1 34.24 36th Narrogar Joanna Ron Mills 50-1 34.34 5 + Track Record Totalisator returns The totalisator returns declared to the licensing authorities for the year 1953 are listed below. Tracks that did not have a totalisator in operation are not listed. 442 26 August 1954 The Ups and Downs in Promoter's Share Greyhound Owner and Breeder StadiumTurnover £London (White City) 4,799,000London (Harringay) 3,336,000London (Wembley) 2,616,000London (Wimbledon) 2,422,000London (Walthamstow) 2,397,000London (Wandsworth) 1,796,783London (Park Royal) 1,729,033London (Clapton) 1,695,177London (West Ham) 1,693,000Manchester (Belle Vue) 1,613,649London (Stamford Bridge) 1,577,000London (Catford) 1,558,116London (Hackney) 1,297,000London (New Cross) 1,145,000London (Hendon) 1,042,000Manchester (White City) 936,800Romford 847,000Brighton & Hove 836,133London (Charlton) 826,000Glasgow (Shawfield) 815,000Newcastle (Brough Park) 737,000Edinburgh (Powderhall) 732,000Newcastle (Gosforth)723,000Birmingham (Hall Green) 714,283Birmingham (Perry Barr, old)707,000Crayford & Bexleyheath 681,533Cardiff (Arms Park) 664,000Manchester (Salford) 656,933London (Dagenham) 644,000Sheffield (Owlerton) 630,050Wolverhampton (Monmore)609,000Glasgow (White City) 541,000Birmingham (Kings Heath) 530,700Gateshead 524,916Bradford (Greenfield) 511,566Southampton 509,850Bristol (Eastville) 487,000Southend-on-Sea 472,650 StadiumTurnover £Leeds (Elland Road) 472,000Glasgow (Albion) 463,000Coventry (Lythalls Lane) 462,000Slough 449,966Liverpool (Seaforth) 444,750Sheffield (Darnall) 423,000Willenhall 413,000Ramsgate (Dumpton Park) 411,133Blackpool (St Anne's) 406,500Middlesbrough 395,000Glasgow (Carntyne) 390,000Liverpool (White City)361,733Reading (Oxford Road)358,000South Shields 351,230Leicester (Blackbird Rd) 341,000Ashington (Co Durham)331,000Bolton 327,567Gloucester & Cheltenham 320,517Chester 301,000Rochester & Chatham 299,200Liverpool (Stanley) 287,533Bradford (City) 264,233Hull (Old Craven Park) 264,000Preston 257,950Plymouth 251,000Nottingham (White City)248,000Portsmouth 242,000Aberdeen 228,000Newport 216,000West Hartlepool 214,000Blackburn 213,000Sheffield (Hyde Park)212,983Derby212,250Stanley (Co Durham) 205,000Oxford202,000Warrington 197,667Sunderland 194,250Exeter (County Ground)184,467 StadiumTurnover £Stoke-on-Trent (Cobridge) 184,000Stoke-on-Trent (Hanley) 182,000Glasgow (Firhill) 179,000Yarmouth 167,167Keighley167,000Luton 162,000Norwich (Boundary Park) 157,517Bristol (Knowle) 149,533Norwich (City) 145,633Houghton-le-Spring 140,000St Helens 133,000Ipswich 127,750London (Southall) 119,000Rochdale 111,900Wallyford (East Lothian)103,000Oldham 102,000Peterborough 97,933Rayleigh (Essex) 90,000Cradley Heath 89,450Stockton-on-Tees (Belle Vue) 89,000Stockport (Hazel Grove) 84,267Long Eaton80,950Easington (Co Durham) 77,000Swindon 73,933Wigan (Poolstock) 68,000London (Harlington Corner) 64,000Wakefield 61,000Wigan (Woodhouse) 56,000Aycliffe (Co Durham) 53,000Durham City 53,000Tamworth 50,000Doncaster (Spotbrough) 49,000Rotherham 45,000Northampton 40,000Spennymoor (Co Durham) 37,950Workington 27,000Coundon (Co Durham) 19,000Irvine (Townhead)7,000 References 30em Category:Greyhound racing in the United Kingdom Category:Greyhound racing in the Republic of Ireland UK and Ireland Greyhound Racing Year UK and Ireland Greyhound Racing Year UK and Ireland Greyhound Racing Year UK and Ireland Greyhound Racing Year