Greyhound Racing Association
Encyclopedia
It currently operates five sites:
- Oxford StadiumOxford StadiumOxford Stadium is the home of greyhound racing and speedway in Oxford, located in Sandy Lane, Cowley.-History:The stadium was built in 1938 on the site of a 'flapping' track where owners could turn up and run their greyhounds around an oval on the days selected for racing...
- Wimbledon StadiumWimbledon StadiumWimbledon Greyhound Stadium is a greyhound racing track located in Wimbledon in southwest London, England. It also hosts speedway, stock car and other racing events....
, LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its... - Hall Green StadiumHall Green StadiumHall Green Stadium is a greyhound racing stadium located in the Birmingham suburb of Acocks Green, just over the border from Hall Green itself. Opened in August 1927 it was the first greyhound track to be built in the city. It hosted speedway between 1928 and 1938...
, BirminghamBirminghamBirmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a... - Perry Barr StadiumPerry Barr StadiumPerry Barr Stadium is a stadium and racetrack on Aldridge Road in Perry Barr, Birmingham, England....
, BirminghamBirminghamBirmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a... - Belle Vue StadiumBelle Vue StadiumBelle Vue Stadium is a greyhound racing track in Belle Vue, Manchester where the very first race around an oval track in Britain was held on 24 July 1926. It is also used for speedway as the home ground of Elite League team Belle Vue Aces since 1988 and since 1999 has British Stock Car Association...
, ManchesterManchesterManchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
Early History
Greyhound racingGreyhound racing
Greyhound racing is the sport of racing greyhounds. The dogs chase a lure on a track until they arrive at the finish line. The one that arrives first is the winner....
was developed from coursing
Coursing
Coursing is the pursuit of game or other animals by dogs—chiefly greyhounds and other sighthounds—catching their prey by speed, running by sight and not by scent. Coursing was a common hunting technique, practised by the nobility, the landed and wealthy, and commoners with sighthounds and lurchers...
in 18th-century Britain. The first official coursing club was the Swaffham
Swaffham
Swaffham is a market town and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. The town is situated east of King's Lynn and west of Norwich.The civil parish has an area of and in the 2001 census had a population of 6,935 in 3,130 households...
Coursing Society in Norfolk
Norfolk
Norfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...
, England, which put on its first event in 1776.
Modern greyhound racing was effectively developed by Owen Patrick Smith, the chamber of commerce director in Hot Springs, South Dakota
Hot Springs, South Dakota
Hot Springs is a city in Fall River County, South Dakota, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 3,711. It is the county seat of Fall River County...
in the early years of the 20th century. He had been involved in organising local coursing events but did not like the sport, which he felt was inhumane. He began to look for a way to make the sport less bloody by using an artificial lure.
After much trial and error, Smith attracted investors and perfected an artificial lure system in 1912. His tracks allowed for six greyhounds to race at a time, and were circular instead of straight. Although it took some time for the concept to be fully developed and put into practice, by the 1920s, his greyhound racing tracks were spread across the country and attracted thousands of visitors.
Modern greyhound racing was developed in England by the GRA. An American businessman named Charles A. Munn had secured the rights from Smith for artificial-lure racing in England in the early 1920s. Together with three key players he formed the Greyhound Racing Association Trust Ltd in August 1925.
In addition to Munn, the four founders of the company were Brigadier General Alfred C Critchley
Alfred Critchley
Brigadier-General Alfred Cecil Critchley, CMG, CBE, DSO was an entrepreneur and politician in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland . He served as a Conservative Member of Parliament from 1934 to 1935....
a Canadian-born flying veteran from the first world war; Major L Lyne Dixson, a noted coursing judge; Sir William Gentle
William Gentle
Sir William Benjamin Gentle was known for his work in fighting racecourse crime and was jointly responsible for promoting greyhound racing in the United Kingdom....
, a retired chief constable. Although Gentle was the first company chairman, it was Critchley who took control of the company as managing director, and provided the energy and vision to drive it forward.
The North West of England was chosen to introduce the sport to the country, most likely hoping that the area's coursing tradition would make it attractive to the local population. On 14 October 1925 the association took a seven-year lease on land at the northern end of Kirkmanshulme Lane (an old brickfield), Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
at an annual rent of £276, leased from the adjacent Belle Vue Zoo
Belle Vue Zoo
Belle Vue Zoological Gardens was a large zoo, amusement park, exhibition hall complex and speedway stadium in Belle Vue , Manchester, England, opened in 1836...
. With capital of £22,000, £8,000 of which was borrowed, Belle Vue stadium was built on the land. The stadium opened on 27 July. Although the attendance at the first meeting was disappointing, by the end of the first season in October, thirty seven meetings had been held, with an average attendance of 11,000.
In 1927, Greyhound racing was taken to London with the acquisition of the near-derelict White City Stadium
White City Stadium
White City Stadium was built in White City, London, for the 1908 Summer Olympics, often seen as the precursor to the modern seater stadium and noted for hosting the finish of the first modern distance marathon. It also hosted speedway and a match at the 1966 World Cup, before the stadium was...
. GRA also moved its headquarters to White City Stadium
White City Stadium
White City Stadium was built in White City, London, for the 1908 Summer Olympics, often seen as the precursor to the modern seater stadium and noted for hosting the finish of the first modern distance marathon. It also hosted speedway and a match at the 1966 World Cup, before the stadium was...
from Belle Vue Stadium
Belle Vue Stadium
Belle Vue Stadium is a greyhound racing track in Belle Vue, Manchester where the very first race around an oval track in Britain was held on 24 July 1926. It is also used for speedway as the home ground of Elite League team Belle Vue Aces since 1988 and since 1999 has British Stock Car Association...
at the same time.
The GRA finanaced its activities by employing the then sophisticated automatic totalisator betting system developed by the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
-born but long time Australian resident (the concept of Australian citizenship
Citizenship
Citizenship is the state of being a citizen of a particular social, political, national, or human resource community. Citizenship status, under social contract theory, carries with it both rights and responsibilities...
does date earlier than from the 1970s
1970s
File:1970s decade montage.png|From left, clockwise: US President Richard Nixon doing the V for Victory sign after his resignation from office after the Watergate scandal in 1974; Refugees aboard a US naval boat after the Fall of Saigon, leading to the end of the Vietnam War in 1975; The 1973 oil...
) George Alfred Julius.
The company's sophisticated commercial structure was quickly evident. From the earliest a complex set of subsidiaries and joint holdings characterised the company structure. The ownership of the Belle Vue track was actually in the hands of a subsidiary, Greyhound Racing Trust (Manchester) Ltd. In many cases Critchley and his co-directors owned a controlling or significant interest in these subsidiaries.
By the end of 1927 the company had acquired an interest in 18 racing tracks. Its relationship to many of these tracks was affiliation, rather than full ownership. Nonetheless, in November 1927, just two years after the company was formed they were able to report that 4,500,000 people had passed through their turnstiles giving gross receipts of £500,000. In the same month the company was approaching its shareholders with plans to take the company public. To effect this plan a new entity, The Greyhound Racing Trust Ltd, was formed. Whilst Critchley and Munn were still directors of this new company, Lyne Dixson no longer featured and Gentle
William Gentle
Sir William Benjamin Gentle was known for his work in fighting racecourse crime and was jointly responsible for promoting greyhound racing in the United Kingdom....
had been replaced by Major General, the Lord Loch
Edward Loch, 2nd Baron Loch
Major-General Edward Douglas Loch, 2nd Baron Loch CB, CMG, DSO, MVO was a senior British Army officer and peer....
, as chairman. The new company issued its prospectus in December of the same year.
Diversification also came quite early in the company's history as they quickly adapted their venues for use as speedway tracks. In 1936 it diversified further by acquiring land next to its stadium in Harringay
Harringay
Harringay is a residential area of North London, part of the London Borough of Haringey, United Kingdom. It is centred on the section of Green Lanes running between the northern boundary of Finsbury Park up to the southern boundary of Duckett's Common, not far from Turnpike Lane.-Location:The...
, north London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and building the short-lived Harringay Arena
Harringay Arena
Harringay Arena was a sporting and events venue on Green Lanes in Harringay, North London, England. Built in 1936, it lasted as a venue until 1958.-Construction:...
.
The first major challenge for the company came with the 1934 Betting Act which stipulated that greyhound tracks must plan their programme a year in advance and hold no more than 104 meeting a year (two a week). It also required that tracks in the same neighbourhood must hold their meetings on the same evening.
Nonetheless, given the novelty of the sport the GRA, and the industry in general, was able to weather both this and the disruption brought about by the Second World War.
Post-war development
The popularity of greyhound racing boomed in the post-war years, with 25 million people passing through the turnstiles nationwide each year.The 1960 Betting and Gaming Act heralded the end of the sport's popularity. The legislation set up the conditions for alternatives to track-betting by allowing the opening of bingo halls, casinos and betting shops. The development of high street betting meant that people could now bet without having to visit to the track. The Act also subjected greyhound track operators and the Greyhound Tote
Tote
Tote may refer to:*Tote, abbreviation for Tote board, the name for the computerised system which runs parimutuel betting, calculating payoff odds, displaying them, and producing tickets based on incoming bets...
to much higher tax rates than the betting shops.
By the end of the decade attendances had declined to 10 million visitors a year. Although this meant that greyhound racing was still the country's second most popular sport after football, it was a dramatic decline on attendances after the war.
Presaged by the sale of the Harringay Arena
Harringay Arena
Harringay Arena was a sporting and events venue on Green Lanes in Harringay, North London, England. Built in 1936, it lasted as a venue until 1958.-Construction:...
in 1958, the company soon moved to support it share price in the face of falling attendance by focussing the market on the value of its property portfolio. In the summer of 1969 in renamed it itself the Greyhound Racing Property Trust. This move together with a contemporaneous improvement of tax conditions for the industry by Chancellor
Chancellor
Chancellor is the title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the Cancellarii of Roman courts of justice—ushers who sat at the cancelli or lattice work screens of a basilica or law court, which separated the judge and counsel from the...
Jim Callaghan saw the GRA's share price improve dramatically.
Despite this, in the fifties and sixties the GRA's strategy was to buy up tracks which raised the value of the company’s stock. This continued into the early seventies when the price of property boomed. The company renamed itself GRA Property Trust in the summer of 1969 in order to focus the stock market on the potential of its property portfolio and support its share price.
Foreseeing that industry rationalisation would be required, the company embarked on a strategy that would allow them to control this phase, buying up competing tracks. As part of this spate of buying, in March 1972, GRA Property Trust acquired Wimbledon Stadium
Wimbledon Stadium
Wimbledon Greyhound Stadium is a greyhound racing track located in Wimbledon in southwest London, England. It also hosts speedway, stock car and other racing events....
, its flagship venue today.
In this period, the GRA also began to apply for planning permission of some of its London sites to secure their development value. However, a slump in the property market caused shares in property companies to free-fall. At the beginning of 1975 GRA Property Trust was suspended from the Stock Exchange
London Stock Exchange
The London Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located in the City of London within the United Kingdom. , the Exchange had a market capitalisation of US$3.7495 trillion, making it the fourth-largest stock exchange in the world by this measurement...
following news of debts said to be in the region of £20 Million.
The company survived in part through a mid-eighties sale of a number of leading GRA venues, including Slough
Slough
Slough is a borough and unitary authority within the ceremonial county of Royal Berkshire, England. The town straddles the A4 Bath Road and the Great Western Main Line, west of central London...
, Shawfield, Harringay
Harringay Stadium
Harringay Stadium was a major greyhound racing and speedway venue in Harringay, North London. It was built and opened in 1927 and closed in 1987.-Construction:...
, and Powderhall
Powderhall
Powderhall is an area in the north of Edinburgh, the Scottish capital. It is mainly centred around Broughton Road. Until recently it was best known for its greyhound racing track, which has now closed. The site has been redeveloped for housing and business purposes...
.
In 1987 GRA was the subject of a £68.5 million reverse takeover by Wembley Stadium
Wembley Stadium
The original Wembley Stadium, officially known as the Empire Stadium, was a football stadium in Wembley, a suburb of north-west London, standing on the site now occupied by the new Wembley Stadium that opened in 2007...
. Wembley assumed control of GRA and in February 1988 the GRA Group was renamed Wembley plc.
The company went through a period of reorganisation and modernisation during the 1990s, and 1998 GRA purchased Oxford Stadium
Oxford Stadium
Oxford Stadium is the home of greyhound racing and speedway in Oxford, located in Sandy Lane, Cowley.-History:The stadium was built in 1938 on the site of a 'flapping' track where owners could turn up and run their greyhounds around an oval on the days selected for racing...
. 2003 saw the acquisition of another new track, Perry Barr Stadium
Perry Barr Stadium
Perry Barr Stadium is a stadium and racetrack on Aldridge Road in Perry Barr, Birmingham, England....
, in north Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
. At the same time the Catford Stadium
Catford Stadium
Catford Stadium was a historic greyhound track in Catford, a suburb of London. It was open between 1932 and 2003, when it was closed by its commercial operator Wembley . The local amateur side, Catford Wanderers, were mooted to move into the stadium, though this dream was never realised...
track was closed.
In 2005 Ltd GRA was sold by Wembley PLC to venture capitalists Risk Capital Partners Ltd for £50 million.
In 2009 the Portsmouth Stadium track was sold by Risk Capital to pay down debt. It closed the same year.