1942 UK & Ireland Greyhound Racing Year

1942 UK & Ireland Greyhound Racing Year
←  1941 1943  →

The 1942 UK & Ireland Greyhound Racing Year was the 17th year of greyhound racing in the United Kingdom and Ireland. ^[1]

Summary

The year continued to be dominated by the effect of World War II. The only major races that had not been suspended were the Irish Greyhound Derby and Scottish Greyhound Derby. Many race meetings held throughout the country helped with the war effort with money collections made frequently for various funds. The crowds remained healthy and the racing provided a welcome distraction from the war. ^{[2] [3] [4] [5]}

The distraction was so significant that the annual totalisator turnover set another new record, reaching £49,989,183, government tax and track deduction remained at 6% each respectively. ^[6] An example of the sports popularity was highlighted at the House of Commons when an issue was addressed. The issue concerned was when upwards of 500 personnel at an aircraft factory left without permission to attend an afternoon greyhound meeting. ^[7]

Ballynennan Moon

Ballynennan Moon returned after a winter rest and won the Walthamstow Stakes and Wimbledon Spring Cup. In his next 48 races, he was to win on forty occasions and finish second seven times. After finishing first, fourteen times in succession, he seemed certain to beat Mick the Miller's 19 straight wins but, in the fifteenth race, he was beaten a neck by Laughing Lackey. ^{[2] [8]} He then went on to record another eight successive wins during a five-month period and became a household name. He won the Wimbledon Spring Cup, the 1,000 Guineas at Park Royal Stadium, the Wembley Summer Cup, the Eclipse at Coventry, the Stewards Cup at Walthamstow Stadium ^{[2] [3] [4] [9]} and at the end of the year the International at Wimbledon Stadium at odds of 1/5f. ^[10]

Competitions

The fawn dog Ballycurreen Soldier won the Scottish Derby for the second time, ^[11] the veteran racer was running in his fourth consecutive final. ^[12]

News

Stan Martin took over the Joe Harmon kennel range, following the death of Harmon the previous September. The range included the greyhound Lights O'London. ^[13] A memorial race would be initiated in Harmon's honour and the race would aptly be won by the best greyhound in training, Ballynennan Moon. ^[2] Alfred Critchley became the Chairman of the Greyhound Racing Association, in place of the late Edward Loch, 2nd Baron Loch. ^[14]

Ireland

The Irish Derby moved back to a more traditional slot at the end of May and was held at Cork Greyhound Stadium. It was only the second time the classic was run outside Dublin. Cork had won the rights to host due to the unfortunate circumstances that had stopped them from holding the event the year before (Foot-and-mouth disease). The first prize was only £175, the lowest on record but the track experienced record crowds. John Crowley a local pub owner in Cork trained Uacterlainn Riac to success for his brother Jerry who owned the dog. Uacterlainn Riac (meaning Creamery Brindle) attempted hurdles after the Derby but failed to take to them and plans for a Grand National double were scrapped. ^{[15] [16]}

Roll of honour

Major Winners
Award	Name of Winner
1942 English Greyhound Derby	Suspended
1942 Irish Greyhound Derby [15] [16]	Uacterlainn Riac
1942 Scottish Greyhound Derby [17]	Ballycurren Soldier
1942 Welsh Greyhound Derby	Suspended

Scottish Greyhound Derby, Carntyne (18 Jul, 525y) Pos Name of Greyhound Trainer SP Time (sec) Trap 1st Ballycurreen Soldier Michael Conroy 1/1f 29.94 3 2nd Jamboree Reveller Harringay 9/4 29.98 1 3rd Joint Refusal Austin Hiscock 6/1 30.02 6 4th Train 9/2 30.06 4 5th Light Bone C Lee 12/1 30.10 5 6th Brave Captain Newcastle 50/1 30.38 2

Totalisator Returns

Extended content

The totalisator returns declared to the licensing authorities for the year 1942 are listed below. Tracks that did not have a totalisator in operation are not listed. [6] Stadium Turnover £ London (White City) 4,585,310 London (Harringay) 2,557,417 London (Wembley) 2,289,400 4 Glasgow Stadia combined (Albion, Carntyne, Shawfield, White City) 2,182,311 London (Walthamstow) 2,018,317 London (Wimbledon) 1,713,542 London (Clapton) 1,603,789 Manchester (Belle Vue) 1,290,238 London (Stamford Bridge) 1,220,680 London (Catford) 1,181,455 London (Wandsworth) 1,171,904 London (New Cross) 1,017,753 3 Birmingham stadia combined (Hall Green, Kings Heath, Perry Barr) 962,113 Sheffield (Owlerton) 852,899 London (Park Royal) 840,206 Bristol (Eastville) 818,054 Bradford (Greenfield) 798,008 London (West Ham) 780,577 London (Hackney) 741,855 London (Hendon) 717,011 Wolverhampton (Monmore) 714,606 Edinburgh (Powderhall) 681,446 Sheffield (Darnall) 602,082 Coventry (Lythalls Lane) 590,990 Newcastle (Brough Park) 586,086 Romford 553,110 Crayford & Bexleyheath 552,625 Liverpool (White City) 542,340 Stadium Turnover £ Liverpool (Stanley) 537,478 Liverpool (Seaforth) 506,371 Brighton & Hove 506,213 Manchester (White City) 502,040 London (Charlton) 495,073 Newcastle (Gosforth) 457,364 Manchester (Salford) 439,878 Gateshead 439,436 Newcastle (White City) 388,045 Gloucester & Cheltenham 384,311 Ashington (Co Durham) 379,901 Leeds (Elland Road) 364,109 South Shields 340,121 Reading (Oxford Road) 338,726 Slough 336,212 Portsmouth 302,335 London (Dagenham) 273,327 Stoke-on-Trent (Hanley) 272,613 Liverpool (Breck Park) 270,732 Bradford (City) 267,238 Southampton 264,684 Stanley (Co Durham) 260,930 Sunderland 254,042 Hull (Old Craven Park) 250,432 Middlesbrough 247,529 Oxford 236,772 Long Eaton 231,264 West Hartlepool 226,491 Sheffield (Hyde Park) 220,371 Norwich (Boundary Park) 208,588 Newport 197,435 Stadium Turnover £ Edinburgh (Stenhouse) 175,739 Houghton-le-Spring 174,983 Ipswich 142,438 Luton 131,693 Aberdeen 114,942 Willenhall 111,610 Norwich (City) 109,804 Falkirk (Brockville Park) 100,116 Wigan (Poolstock) 93,115 Easington (Co Durham) 91,360 London (Stratford) 87,450 Warrington 76,224 Coundon (Co Durham) 73,643 London (Southall) 49,307 Glasgow (Mount Vernon) 45,981 Doncaster (Spotbrough) 45,320 Wallyford (East Lothian) 43,391 Wishaw (North Lanarks) 42,823 Kingskerswell (Devon) 27,050 Durham City 25,902 Leeds (Parkside) 24,132 Rotherham 23,112 Thornton (Fife) 19,437 Castleford (Whitwood) 15,466 Irvine (Caledonian) 12,576 Worksop 8,257 Stockport (Hazel Grove) 7,422 Ayr (Tams Brig) 6,872 Wombwell (South Yorks) 3,373 Aldershot 1,244 Summary Area Turnover London £ 24,450,103 Rest of England £ 21,516,547 Wales £ 372,779 Scotland £ 3,449,749 Total £ 49,989,183

References

1. Fry, Paul (1995). The Official NGRC Greyhound Racing Yearbook. Ringpress Books. ISBN   186054-010-4.
2. Genders, Roy (1975). The Greyhound and Racing Greyhound. Page Brothers (Norwich). ISBN   0-85020-0474.
3. Genders, Roy (1981). The Encyclopedia of Greyhound Racing. Pelham Books Ltd. ISBN   07207-1106-1.
4. Genders, Roy (1990). NGRC book of Greyhound Racing. Pelham Books Ltd. ISBN   0-7207-1804-X.
5. Hobbs, Jonathan (2002). Greyhound Annual 2003. Raceform. ISBN   1-904317-07-3.
6. Particulars of Licensed tracks, table 1 Licensed Dog Racecourses. Licensing Authorities. 1942.
7. ""House Of Commons." Times, 19 Mar. 1942, p. 8". The Times . 19 March 1942. p. 8.
8. "Ballynennan Moon surprise" . Birmingham Daily Gazette. 16 November 1942. Retrieved 8 December 2024– via British Newspaper Archive.
9. "Hall of Fame, Ballynennan Moon". Greyhound Board of Great Britain.
10. "London Dog Track Winners" . Irish Independent. 14 December 1942. Retrieved 8 December 2024– via British Newspaper Archive.
11. Barnes, Julia (1988). Daily Mirror Greyhound Fact File. Ringpress Books. ISBN   0-948955-15-5.
12. "Thrill Finish" . Daily Record. 19 July 1941. Retrieved 8 December 2024– via British Newspaper Archive.
13. "Long-awaited special match" . Daily Mirror. 24 January 1942. Retrieved 8 December 2024– via British Newspaper Archive.
14. ""City News In Brief." Times, 22 Oct. 1942, p. 9". The Times . 22 October 1942. p. 9.
15. Comyn, John. 50 Years of Greyhound Racing in Ireland. Aherlow Publishers Ltd.
16. Fortune, Michael. Irish Greyhound Derby 1932-1981. Victory Irish Promotions Ltd.
17. Hobbs, Jonathan (2007). Greyhound Annual 2008, pages 153-154. Raceform. ISBN   978-1-905153-53-4.