Kilkenny Greyhound Stadium

Kilkenny Greyhound Stadium

Location	St. James' Park, Kilkenny, Ireland
Coordinates	52°39'47.2"N 7°15'48.9"W
Date opened	1946
Race type	greyhound racing
Official website

Kilkenny Greyhound Stadium is a greyhound racing track located in north-west Kilkenny in Ireland. ^[1]

The racing takes place on a Wednesday and Friday evenings at 6.30pm.

St James Park in Kilkenny is a large park that contains sports pitches to the south and a greyhound track to the north. The greyhound circuit can be found south of Parkview Drive off the Freshford Road. Race distances are 300, 325, 550, 727, 750 & 1000 yards.

History

The opening night was on 5 June 1946 and the first ever winner was Rebel Gunner. The following year the Kilkenny management wanted to introduce a major race to bring an identity to the track, they decided on a race over 525 yards and called it the McCalmont Cup. The first Winner in 1947 was a greyhound called Lady Maud who also broke the track record in winning the event. The McCalmont Cup attracted Ireland's biggest names each time it was held including the three times Irish Greyhound Derby champion Spanish Battleship who claimed the crown in both 1954 & 1955. Two years later in 1957 a greyhound called Prairie Champion took the honours; this brindle would have his name changed to Pigalle Wonder who went on to win the 1958 English Greyhound Derby. ^[2]

The circuit has been described as both a good galloping track and too tight which is probably because of the slightly odd shape of the track. In addition to the McCalmont Cup the track hosted two other popular events called the Hurst Cup and Great Whistler Cup. ^[3]

Jimmy Kinahan was the Racing Manager when the track opened back in 1946 and remained so until his death in 1978. One of the track bookmakers in the sixties and seventies was the well-known celebrity show jumper Tommy Wade who rode Dundrum. John O'Flynn became Racing and General Manager and stayed with the track for twenty years continuing the long service record of its management. He saw the Bord na gCon buy a minority stake in the track from the Agricultural Society who use the fields at St James Park for agriculture events such as bull sales and show jumping. ^[4]

In July 2007, the Bord na gCon put aside €8 million for a long-awaited regeneration project, the agreement between the Bord na gCon (IGB) and Agricultural Society would allow a new lease, demolition of the old structures and the building of a new grandstand. ^{[5] [6]} However the project did not go ahead and following much deliberation towards the end of 2008 it was decided that the financial position of Kilkenny made it no longer viable to operate.

After the meeting on 30 January 2009 the track closed its doors until further notice. However a group of local owners, breeders and supporters got together forming the Kilkenny Track Supporters Club and re-opened Kilkenny on 17 May 2009, they met with the IGB and agreed a funding policy and re-laid the entire track surface in addition to installing new rails and a new hare system. ^[7]

Despite the small nature of the track it is regarded as an important contributor to the local economy and is still supported strongly by the same Kilkenny Track Supporters Club. The long running BEAM race nights have been a success for over 25 years. Tom Kinane arrived as General Manager and in recent years sponsorship was secured from Red Mills allowing the track to stage the Red Mills Unraced, Red Mills Juvenile and Langton Derby in addition to the prestigious McCalmont Cup. ^[8]

In December 2023, the stadium renewed the contract agreement (as part of the GRI) with S.I.S for 2024. ^[9]

Competitions

• McCalmont Cup (current)
• Grand National (former)

Track records

Current ^[10]

Yards	Greyhound	Time	Date	Notes
300	Ullid Conor [11]	15.99	12 September 2008
325	Ballygur Mike	17.49	17 June 2009
525	Priceless Brandy	28.46	17 June 2016
550	Dingo Will	30.12	29 May 2016
725	Sparta Rocky [12]	40.07	27 September 2019
970	Hulkster	56.88	18 June 2006
1000	Crackoftheash	57.46	22 July 2012
525 H	Comans Joe	29.10	24 June 2007

Former ^{[13] [14] [15]}

Yards	Greyhound	Time	Date	Notes
300	Veroden	16.50	17 November 1961
300	Moygara Sligo	16.50	2 June 1973
300	Margos Choice	16.50	2 September 1977
300	Margos Choice	16.50	7 April 1978
300	Roses Friend	16.36	1988
300	Greyfriars Rose	16.28	11 October 1989
300	Ballybray Jasper	16.14	5 September 2001
300	Derwent Storm	16.13	3 October 2003
300	Balerno Ron	16.13	20 June 2004
300	Honcho's Pearl	16.08	15 May 2004
500	Magic Hands	28.30	25 May 1968
525	Clomoney Grand	29.00	28 May 1966
525	Ballybeg Maid	29.00	2 July 1975
525	Nameless Star	29.00	23 July 1976
525	Lax Law	28.98	21 September 1979
525	Spiral Nikita	28.70	7 July 1996
525	Kilcarrig Zak	28.69	20 June 2004
525	Boherduff Light	28.53	3 September 2004
525	Boherduff Light	28.49	10 September 2004
550	Clopook King	31.50	10 July 1959
550	Welesbourne Dan	30.25	11 September 2009
700	White Sails	41.00	3 June 1966
700	The Knack	40.85	1980
700	Ballyknock Amy	40.65	13 August 1982
700	Deenside Mist	40.47	5 July 1991
700	Penn Pepe	40.45	4 July 1999
700	Coolavanny Bird	40.37	11 July 2003
700	Smooth Slippy	40.33	25 June 2004
700	Group Skater	40.10	3 October 2008
725	Salacres Whyte	42.35	21 June 2009
725	Kiltrea Brian	40.31	9 July 2017
745	Summerhill Swift	43.50	6 July 1997
745	Blue Boomer	43.08	23 June 2002
745	Kilcloney Wine	42.98	20 June 2004
970	Ballygalda Keri	57.63	4 July 1999
970	Finuge Rumble	57.41	22 June 2003
1000	Barrow Stamps	58.33	21 June 2009
300 H	Singing Border	17.35	7 November 1952
525 H	Tropical Splendour	29.95	14 June 1961
525 H	Sober Pride	29.88	24 June 2001
525 H	Debs The Best	29.64	10 May 2002
525 H	Dot Tom	29.56	22 June 2003
525 H	Bally Euro	29.56	16 April 2004
525 H	Comans Joe	29.51	13 June 2007

References

1. "Kilkenny Greyhound Stadium". Touring Ireland.
2. Genders, Roy (1981). The Encyclopedia of Greyhound Racing. Pelham Books Ltd. ISBN   07207-1106-1.
3. Genders, Roy (1981). The Encyclopedia of Greyhound Racing. Pelham Books Ltd. ISBN   07207-1106-1.
4. Barnes, Julia (1991). Daily Mirror Greyhound Fact File. Ringpress Books. ISBN   0-948955-61-9.
5. "Remember When - July". Greyhound Star. 8 July 2018.
6. "Bord na gCon announces €28m investment". RTE. 24 July 2007.
7. "Kilkenny back on track". Kilkenny People. 2 April 2013.
8. "Kilkenny (St James Park)". Greyhound Data.
9. "SIS GRA 2024 Agreement". Greyhound Racing Ireland. Retrieved 9 December 2023.
10. "Irish Track Records as of January 2024". Greyhound Star. 10 January 2024. Retrieved 14 February 2024.
11. "Droopys Stud & K.G.O.B.A. Open 300 Stake Final". Irish Greyhound Board.
12. "The Church Kennels D1 725 Semi-Fina". Greyhound Racing Ireland. Retrieved 14 February 2024.
13. "Track records". Greyhound Data.
14. "Track records". Greyhound Star. 22 January 2018.
15. "Kilkenny Track records". Greyhound Star. 7 January 2019.

External links

• Irish Greyhound Board