1991 UK & Ireland Greyhound Racing Year

1991 UK & Ireland Greyhound Racing Year
Ravage Again, 29 consecutive wins
←  1990 1992  →

The 1991 UK & Ireland Greyhound Racing Year was the 65th year of greyhound racing in the United Kingdom and Ireland. ^[1]

Roll of honour

Major Winners
Award	Name of Winner
1991 English Greyhound Derby	Ballinderry Ash [2] [3]
1991 Irish Greyhound Derby	Ardfert Mick [4]
1991 Scottish Greyhound Derby	Phantom Flash [5]
Greyhound Trainer of the Year	John McGee Sr.
Greyhound of the Year	Bobs Regan
Irish Greyhound of the Year	Ardfert Mick
Trainers Championship	Linda Mullins

Summary

The National Greyhound Racing Club (NGRC) released the annual returns, with totalisator turnover at £97,311,283 and attendances recorded at 3,979,090 from 6051 meetings. Track tote deduction remained at 17.5%. ^[6]

An industry discussion concluded that a greyhound's career longevity was reduced by two breeding factors. The first factor being the fact that breeding was predominantly conducted between the fastest middles distance stars and therefore increasing the average speed (bringing higher injury rates) and eliminating the stamina of stayers and marathon greyhounds. The second factor was the lack of coursing bloodlines, thereby reducing the durability traits. The physical difference between a 1930s and 1990s greyhound was significant and despite advancement in track preparation the track layouts remained the same. ^[1]

Bobs Regan trained by Brian Timcke was voted Greyhound of the Year after winning the Golden Jacket, the Kent St Leger and the Regency. Ardfert Mick was voted Irish Greyhound of the Year after winning the 1991 Irish Greyhound Derby. ^[7] John McGee won the Greyhound Trainer of the Year for the fourth successive year, a new record beating the three won by George Curtis and Phil Rees Sr. McGee notched over 200 winners during the year. ^{[8] [1]}

Ravage Again won his 29th successive race at Sunderland but then on 26 January at Powderhall at odds of 2-9 he stumbled out of the boxes and found trouble, failing to catch the winner Base Rate. The world record attempt was over and he was immediately retired. ^[7]

Tracks

A & S Leisure (owners of five casino restaurants) purchased Sheffield and spent £3 million on refurbishment. Ramsgate secured a BAGS contract with Mick Wheble installed as the new Group Racing Manager. Stuart Netting became Ramsgate Racing Manager in place of Jeff Jefcoate. ^[7] Mildenhall Stadium started racing for the first time.

Brent Walker the owners of William Hill and Hackney Wick Stadium were in a precarious position in regard to gigantic debts, which brought an uncertain future for both. ^[9] In a statement to a committee of MP's, BAGS representative Tom Kelly reveals that Hackney (and other tracks) are only paid a £900 broadcasting fee for a ten race BAGS meeting that produces a £2 million turnover (£200,000 per race) for BAGS. Tory MP David Sumberg says "This £900 bugs me, it is so small"; Kelly is unconcerned by the disparity and financial difficulties of tracks and responds by saying that "the tracks must be satisfied because they apply for contracts". Over the next decade tracks will close at an alarming rate, including Hackney six years later. ^[10]

Competitions

The Scottish Greyhound Derby increased prize money from £10,000 to £15,000 and was won by Phantom Flash trained by Nick Savva; the black dog had a great 1990 winning the Sussex Cup and Breeders Forum and was unlucky not to win the Irish Derby. He would later leave Savva to join trainer Patsy Byrne following a disagreement with owner Dave Hawley. ^[11]

The Grand National final at Hall Green produced a memorable race after a dead heat by Ideal Man and Ballycarney Dell, the pair finished just ahead of Run On King and a promising hurdler called Kildare Slippy. Dempseys Whisper continued his good ways when becoming only the second greyhound to successfully defend the Grand Prix title at Walthamstow Stadium. ^{[7] [8] [12]}

News

Tom Smith the owner of Swaffham investigates some of the track trainers kennels and finds unlicensed handlers and greyhounds missing from the establishments that they are supposed to be kennelled at, which leads to the NGRC being called in to hold a series of inquiries. ^{[7] [8]}

Patsy Byrne joined Wimbledon as a trainer and sponsors the International while Maggie Lucas leaves Hackney for Romford. The Mullins family split camp as Linda Mullins’s son David takes out his first trainers licence at Sunderland. Sunderland had only returned to NGRC rules in 1990 were improving their profile by taking on Mullins and former top flapping man Ted Soppitt, in addition Harry Williams who was responsible for getting the new Sunderland of the ground started training again. There were two major trainer changes towards the latter part of the year both involving Walthamstow, Linda Mullins was recruited from Romford to increase Walthamstow's recent policy of bringing in leading open race trainers. As a consequence Walthamstow's top man Kenny Linzell left to join Romford after being unhappy with the new policy. ^{[7] [1] [8]} Former English and Irish Derby winning trainer John Bassett died in March aged 81. ^[13]

Wheres The Limo trained by Linda Mullins won 28 from 45 starts to be leading open race winner. ^[7]

An ITV production called Gone to the Dogs filmed at Walthamstow and starring Jim Broadbent, Martin Clunes, Harry Enfield, Alison Steadman and Sheila Hancock is a success after viewing figures of nine million.

Principal UK races

Daily Mirror/Sporting Life Grand National, Hall Green (Apr 3, 474m h, £5,000) Pos Name of Greyhound Trainer SP Time Trap 1st Ideal Man (dh) John McGee Sr. 3-1jf 29.81 1 1st Ballycarney Dell (dh) Tony Gifkins 14-1 29.81 3 3rd Run on King Linda Mullins 7-2 29.83 2 4th Kildare Slippy Paddy Hancox 7-2 29.86 4 5th Herbie Lambug Mick Puzey 3-1jf 29.98 6 6th Gizmo Pasha Linda Mullins 9-1 30.38 5 dh=dead heat

BBC TV Trophy, Monmore (815m, £6,000) Pos Name of Greyhound Trainer SP Time Trap 1st Jennys Wish Eric Jordan 12-1 52.44 2nd Catsrock Dan George Lynds 1-3f 52.66 3rd Colleague G Corbett 52.72 4th Sir Alva Nick Savva 53.00 5th Bobs Regan Brian Timcke 53.01 6th Poor Annie Stan Kennett 53.04

Regal Scottish Derby, Shawfield (May 11, 500m, £15,000) Pos Name of Greyhound Trainer SP Time Trap 1st Phantom Flash Patsy Byrne 1-4f 29.77 6 2nd Ballycarney Dave M Bell 20-1 30.25 2 3rd Woodhill Echo Dawn Milligan 7-1 30.47 5 4th Strange Twist Gordon Rooks 33-1 30.53 4 5th Hopeful Billy Matt O'Sullivan 33-1 30.54 3 6th Sheer Elegance J Mominimee 10-1 30.55 1

David Richardson Scurry Cup, Catford (Jul 13, 385m, £6,000) Pos Name of Greyhound Trainer SP Time Trap 1st Portun Flier Paddy Milligan 2-1f 23.43 4 2nd Killouragh Katie Paddy Milligan 5-1 23.69 2 3rd Bolt Home Ernie Gaskin Sr. 14-1 23.75 3 4th Mandies Supreme Derek Tidswell 5-2 23.91 1 5th Ritas Wish John McGee Sr. 12-1 24.97 5 6th Pretty Supreme 7-1 25.15 6

John Humphreys Gold Collar, Catford (Sep 21, 555m, £7,500) Pos Name of Greyhound Trainer SP Time Trap 1st Appleby Lisa Harry Dodds 5-1 34.67 3 2nd Pams Ace Jim Reynolds 14-1 34.77 1 3rd Simple Trend John McGee Sr. 9-2 35.07 5 4th Sail Over Sam Sykes 5-4f 35.21 2 5th Timmys Hobby Chris Duggan 8-1 35.22 4 6th Springville Pam John Coleman 4-1 00.00 6

Websters Yorkshire Bitter Cesarewitch, Belle Vue (Sep 28, 853m, £5,000) Pos Name of Greyhound Trainer SP Time Trap 1st Wayzgoose Dick Hawkes 20-1 55.30 6 2nd Red Arrow Lady Nigel Saunders 8-1 56.10 5 3rd Bobs Regan Brian Timcke 5-4f 56.18 1 4th Easy Bimbo Trevor Cobbold 3-1 56.19 2 5th Westbrook Penny John Coulter 14-1 56.27 4 6th Carlsberg Champ Barry Silkman 5-1 56.49 3

Laurent-Perrier Grand Prix, Walthamstow (Oct 12, 640m, £7,500) Pos Name of Greyhound Trainer SP Time Trap 1st Dempseys Whisper Patsy Byrne 2-1f 39.20 6 2nd Appleby Lisa Harry Dodds 10-1 39.58 2 3rd Coalbrook Suzie Tony Meek 40-1 39.68 3 4th Parquet Pet Arthur Hitch 11-4 39.76 4 5th Bracklyn Spark Theo Mentzis 7-2 39.86 1 6th Cheeky Bubbles Garry Irving 9-2 39.89 5

Oaks, Wimbledon (Oct 26, 480m, £6,000) Pos Name of Greyhound Trainer SP Time Trap 1st Simple Trend Ernie Gaskin Sr. 2-1f 29.06 1 2nd Curraduff Jill Vicky Holloway 3-1 29.14 4 3rd Westmead Surprise Natalie Savva 3-1 29.30 6 4th Ballintee Lass Philip Rees Jr. 10-1 29.31 2 5th Coalbrook Suzie Tony Meek 10-1 29.37 5 6th Tubercurry Vixen C Walker 20-1 29.59 3

St Leger, Wembley (Nov 15, 655m, £10,000) Pos Name of Greyhound Trainer SP Time Trap 1st Temps Perdu Albert Hill 9-4jf 40.18 1 2nd Bobs Regan Brian Timcke 4-1 40.19 5 3rd Nickel Coin Rita Summers 9-2 40.23 3 4th Salisbury Arthur Hitch 20-1 40.51 2 5th Fawn Pearl Terry Kibble 16-1 40.59 4 6th Snow Shoes John McGee Sr. 9-4jf 40.65 6

Laurels, Wimbledon (Dec 26, 460m, £7,500) Pos Name of Greyhound Trainer SP Time Trap 1st Glengar Ranger Jimmy Fletcher 6-4f 27.47 4 2nd Supporting Cast John Faint 3-1 28.23 2 3rd Crossford Jumbo John Copplestone 20-1 28.26 3 4th Hi Roger Patsy Byrne 9-4 28.40 6 5th Drumgower Swank Barry Silkman 33-1 28.80 5 6th Pennys Best Pat Cusack 6-1 29.18 1

Principal Irish finals

Burmah Castrol Puppy Derby Harold's Cross (Oct 11, 525y, £7,000) Pos Name of Greyhound SP Time Trap 1st Polnoon Chief (Fraser Black) 3-1 29.98 5 2nd Early Potter (Michael Enright) 4-1 30.05 4 3rd Barneys Alarm (Mary Graham) 2-1f 30.19 6 4th Jamie Icy Star (Aidan Tynan) 16-1 3 5th Jamie Icy Wind (Aidan Tynan) 20-1 2 6th Ballyard Champ (Michael Enright) 7-2 1

Totalisator returns

Extended content

The totalisator returns declared to the National Greyhound Racing Club for the year 1991 are listed below. [14] [15] Stadium Turnover £ London (Wimbledon) 13,813,679 London (Walthamstow) 13,398,416 Romford 7,967,785 Brighton & Hove 6,064,602 London (Catford) 5,468,360 Birmingham (Hall Green) 5,252,914 London (Wembley) 4,578,369 Manchester (Belle Vue) 4,514,485 Crayford 3,393,219 Glasgow (Shawfield) 3,067,291 Sunderland 2,215,727 Oxford 2,046,684 Edinburgh (Powderhall) 1,834,272 Stadium Turnover £ Sheffield (Owlerton) 1,829,080 Newcastle (Brough Park) 1,763,071 Birmingham (Perry Barr) 1,725,914 Ramsgate 1,669,956 Wolverhampton (Monmore) 1,662,848 Yarmouth 1,636,821 Portsmouth 1,512,823 Canterbury 1,478,918 Reading 1,466,782 Peterborough 1,095,297 Bristol 923,143 Milton Keynes 872,100 Rye House 790,479 Stadium Turnover £ Nottingham 774,826 Swindon 741,366 Henlow (Bedfordshire) 662,899 London (Hackney) 575,775 Hull (New Craven Park) 528,909 Middlesbrough 517,125 Swaffham 476,184 Norton Canes 467,527 Cradley Heath 405,775 Mildenhall 88,554 Wisbech 30,000

References

1. Fry, Paul (1995). The Official NGRC Greyhound Racing Yearbook. Ringpress Books. ISBN   186054-010-4.
2. Hobbs, Jonathan (2007). Greyhound Annual 2008, page 91. Raceform. ISBN   978-1-905153-53-4.
3. "1991". Greyhound Data.
4. Fortune, Michael. The 75 Years History of the Irish Greyhound Derby 1932-2006. Irish Greyhound Review. ISSN   0332-3536.
5. Hobbs, Jonathan (2007). Greyhound Annual 2008, pages 153-154. Raceform. ISBN   978-1-905153-53-4.
6. NGRC calendar. National Greyhound Racing Club. January 1992.
7. Barnes/Sellers, Julia/John (1992). Ladbrokes Greyhound Fact File. Ringpress Books. ISBN   0-948955-22-8.
8. Hobbs, Jonathan (2002). Greyhound Annual 2003. Raceform. ISBN   1-904317-07-3.
9. ""A £600m hole in Brent Walker." Times, 21 May 1991, p. 23". The Times. Times Digital Archives. 21 May 1991. p. 23.
10. "Monthly Greyhound Star (Remember When) June edition". Greyhound Star. 2012.
11. "Monthly Greyhound Star (Remember When 1991) February edition". Greyhound Star.
12. Hobbs, Jonathan (2004). Greyhound Annual 2005. Raceform. ISBN   1-904317-58-8.
13. "Remember When series (March 2020)". Greyhound Star. March 2020.
14. Totalisator returns of National Greyhound Racing Club Licensed tracks. National Greyhound Racing Club. 1991.
15. "Promoters stay mum about crowds". No. 2427. Greyhound Owner and Breeder. 22 January 1993.