The 1981 UK & Ireland Greyhound Racing Year was the 56th year of greyhound racing in the United Kingdom and the 55th year of greyhound racing in Ireland.
Roll of honour Major Winners Award Name of Winner1981 English Greyhound Derby Parkdown Jet 1981 Irish Greyhound Derby Bold Work 1981 Scottish Greyhound Derby Marbella Sky Greyhound Trainer of the Year Joe Cobbold Greyhound of the Year Decoy BoomIrish Greyhound of the Year Parkdown JetTrainers Championship Joe Cobbold
Summary The National Greyhound Racing Club (NGRC) released the annual returns, with totalisator turnover down 10%, at £72,950,373 and attendances down 10%, recorded at 4,943,396 from 5291 meetings. Attendances had decreased significantly for the second year running, although party due to 200 less meetings it was a worrying time for the industry. Track tote retention remained 17% and government tote tax 4%.
Decoy Boom, a fawn bitch was voted Greyhound of the Year. She won the BBC TV Trophy, GRA Stakes, Scottish Marathon, Stow Marathon and Longcross Cup.
Tracks Chesterton Greyhound Stadium and Maidstone joined the NGRC permit scheme. Two independents opened Brownhills and Skegness.
News Tim Hale and Derek Bowman replaced Racing Manager Harry Bridger at Leeds; the track owners Ladbrokes later announced the site would be used for industrial development in the near future.
Towards the end of the year the country suffered terrible weather and the majority of the horse racing fixtures were cancelled. This meant that extra afternoon race meetings were organised to help the betting shops. Extra fixtures were organised by Hackney, Bristol, Monmore, Cambridge, Romford and Crayford. This provided an opportunity for tracks to negotiate a better deal for the future to combat the drop in attendances blamed on the betting shops, however they failed to do so preferring to take short term cash benefits instead.
The Greyhound Racing Association (GRA) announced that they had repaid two thirds of their debt. The business was doing well from its greyhound racing income which begged the question as to how the company allowed themselves to get into such debt in the first place.
Leading trainer Pat Mullins died in March after collapsing whilst working at his kennels in Manningtree. He had suffered a heart attack the previous year and had been warned by doctors to avoid stress. His wife Linda Mullins would take over the kennels. The leading independent trainer Charlie Lister took out an NGRC licence and would soon gain some success, his first breakthrough was with Swift Band, who won the 1981 East Anglian Derby.
Competitions Marbella Sky won the Scottish Greyhound Derby at Shawfield Stadium, and later finished runner up in the Edinburgh Cup at Powderhall Stadium. The greyhound (still a puppy) faced an exciting future but was then stolen from the Wakefield kennels of his trainer Ray Andrews. He was never recovered.
A new major event was inaugurated at Wembley called the Blue Riband and would replace the long running Wembley Spring Cup which had been one of the first major competitions in the greyhound racing calendar. The Grand National at White City went to Bobcol trained by Norah McEllistrim; the black dog had already won the Springbok crown the previous year. The hurdler went on to score a hat-trick when travelling to Powderhall and winning the Scottish Grand National.
Lauries Panther, a black and white dog, whelped in April, 1980 by Shamrock Sailor out of Lady Lucy, was owned by Laurie James and trained at Romford by Terry Duggan and appeared on the racing scene in the Bobby Jack Puppy Cup run at Wimbledon Stadium in November, followed by the Christmas Puppy Cup at Romford. He performed well and would be aimed at the Pall Mall Stakes the following year.
Oran Jack twice broke the Irish national 550 yards record on his way to winning the Irish St Leger at Limerick. The fawn dog trained by husband and wife team Michael and Rose Grealish recorded 30.20 and 30.16 in the second round and semi finals respectively, before winning the final.
Principal UK races
BBC TV Trophy, Perry Barr (Mar 18, 830m, £2,000)PosName of GreyhoundTrainerSP TimeTrap 1st Decoy BoomJoe Cobbold 54.27 7-4f 52nd Laugh Lines 54.31 16-1 33rd Pineapple Choice Paul Smith 54.67 4-1 44th Salina George Lang 54.87 3-1 25th Westmead Light Natalie Savva 54.88 7-2 16th Corboy Champion George Curtis 55.16 20-1 6
Grand National, White City (April 4 500m h, £4,000) PosName of Greyhound TrainerSP Time Trap 1st BobcolNorah McEllistrim 1-2f 30.64 12nd Westmead Prince Natalie Savva 10-1 30.84 33rd Dine Out Paddy McEvoy 11-4 30.88 24th Breakaway Slave 50-1 31.18 65th Weston Whisky 10-1 31.30 56th Westlands Steve Gunner Smith 10-1 31.44 3
Laurels, Wimbledon (May 22, 460m, £5,000)PosName of Greyhound TrainerSP Time Trap 1st Echo Spark Joe Cobbold 5-1 27.84 62nd Upland Tiger George Curtis 4-9f 27.8513rd Over the River Tom Reilly 10-1 27.97 24th Johnnys Brandy 66-1 28.31 45th Lancia Q Paddy McEvoy 8-1 28.45 36th Radio Skinomage Jack Coker 25-1 28.51 5
Scurry Gold Cup, Slough (Jul 18, 442m, £5,000)PosName of Greyhound TrainerSP Time Trap 1st Longcross Smokey Phil Rees Jr. 5-1 27.17 62nd Emerald Freedom Charlie Coyle 9-2 27.21 13rd Bright Tiger Les Stiles 10-1 27.29 24th Lancia Q Paddy McEvoy 1-1f 27.31 55th Sawyers King Arthur Hitch 10-1 27.55 46th Express Work Hazel Walden 33-1 27.79 3
Harp Lager Scottish Derby, Shawfield (Aug 8, 500m, £3,000)PosName of Greyhound TrainerSP Time Trap 1st Marbella Sky Ray Andrews 12-1 30.66 32nd Dysart Ends Stewart Loan 20-1 30.88 23rd Zippi Boy Bill Gray 7-2 30.92 44th Heres Gay Gordon Hodson 5-2 30.98 15th Solos Style 10-1 31.14 56th Decoy Ranger Joe Cobbold 11-10f 31.18 6
St Leger, Wembley (Aug 28, 655m, £6,000)PosName of Greyhound TrainerSP Time Trap 1st Fox Watch Mrs Jill Holt 5-2jf 40.17 42nd Alfa My Son Leon Steed 5-2jf 40.27 63rd Ballybeg Bob David Oswald 8-1 40.31 24th Johnny Bristol Peter Payne 7-1 40.37 35th Safe Landing Tom Foster 12-1 40.40 16th Longcross Smokey Phil Rees Jr. 7-2 40.42 5
Gold Collar, Catford (Sep 19, 555m, £5,000)PosName of Greyhound TrainerSP Time Trap 1st Laughing Sam Mrs Pat Goode 4-1 35.50 62nd Geekay Patch G Kenny-Derby 13-8f 35.51 33rd Crack On 50-1 35.77 24th Sport Promoter Linda Mullins 4-1 35.80 55th Ballybeg Bob David Oswald 3-1 35.83 46th Rathduff Solara Tony Dennis 5-1 35.87 1
Cesarewitch, Belle Vue (Oct 3, 815m, £4,000)PosName of Greyhound TrainerSP Time Trap 1st Kinda Friendly Ernie Gaskin Sr. 7-4f 52.68 62nd McElm Pride Miss S Phillips 5-2 53.20 33rd Nails United Smith 12-1 53.44 54th Rolstone RoseMary Baber 7-2 53.68 15th Newlands Honour 33-1 53.72 46th Rambling Bridie Tony Jowett 5-1 53.73 2
The Grand Prix, Walthamstow (Oct 17, 640m, £5,500)PosName of Greyhound TrainerSP Time Trap 1st Rathduff Solara Tony Dennis 2-1jf 40.71 62nd Relkcom Johnny Faint 2-1jf 40.81 53rd Emerald Freedom Charlie Coyle 5-1 40.82 14th Ballybeg Bob David Oswald 9-2 41.22 25th Korchnoi Bill Horton 6-1 41.2436th Burgess Gift 40-1 41.46 4
Oaks, Harringay (Oct 30, 475m, £3,000)PosName of Greyhound TrainerSP Time Trap 1st Thanet Princess Dick Hawkes11-2 28.82 32nd Toker Gannet T Nicholls 7-2 28.90 43rd Sundridge Bet-U Tony Dennis 4-1 29.02 54th Decoy Villa Joe Cobbold 15-8f 29.08 15th Oakfield Tracey Rita Hayward 16-1 29.48 66th Sailor May Eric Pateman 4-1 30.02 2
Principal Irish finals
Easter CupShelbourne (525y)PosName of Greyhound Time Trap Trainer1st Murrays Mixture29.15 Francie Murray2nd3rd4th5th6th
Purina National Produce Clonmel (525y £6,250)PosName of Greyhound Time Trap Trainer1st Calandra Champ 29.66 Francie Murray2ndPure Hardship 29.68 3rd4th5th6th
Shelbourne 600 Shelbourne (600y)PosName of Greyhound Time TrapTrainer 1st Macintosh Mentor33.78 Mullen2nd3rd4th5th6th
Smithwicks St Leger Limerick (10 October, 550y, £7,500)PosName of Greyhound Time Trap Trainer 1st Oran Jack 30.622Rose Grealish2ndSharps Express30.83 5Matt O'Donnell3rdMurlens Blond31.04 1Paddy Keane4thCaoilte 31.18 3SimpsonuCarless Sonny 4John HayesuKillimy Ivy 6Matt O'Donnell
Lyon Industrial Estates Oaks Shelbourne (525y £11,300)PosName of Greyhound Time TrapTrainer1st Claremount May29.52 Niall Maher2ndThornbrae Lass29.62 3rdOur Tallyho 29.67 uJoebe uKasco Lady uBlue Rum Michael Byrne
Champion Stakes Shelbourne (550y)PosName of Greyhound Time Trap Trainer 1st I'm Lovely 32.02 John Hayes2nd3rd4th5th6th
Cashman LaurelsCork (29 Aug, 525y £7,500)PosName of Greyhound Time TrapTrainer 1st Knockeen Master29.503Christy O'Callaghan2ndMillbowe Sam29.602Murray3rdFree To All 4BoyleuKilmagoura Mist 1Hickeyu Ahaveen Katie 5CurtinuOcean Jerome 6Hayes
Burmah Puppy Derby Harolds Cross (Sep, 525y)PosName of Greyhound Time Trap Trainer1st Greenwood Robic 29.82 Tom Lynch2ndStradey Park 30.10 Cecil Todd3rdBright Pin 4thOyster Cracker uCooladine Super uBallywilliam Star
Totalisator returns
The totalisator returns declared to the National Greyhound Racing Club for the year 1981 are listed below.
StadiumTurnover £London (Walthamstow) 8,053,327London (White City) 7,880,545London (Wimbledon) 5,779,087London (Harringay) 4,070,119Romford 3,603,654Brighton & Hove 3,602,521London (Catford) 3,362,440London (Wembley) 3,108,983Slough 3,047,136Manchester (Belle Vue) 2,425,326Birmingham (Hall Green) 2,253,573Crayford & Bexleyheath 2,036,679Edinburgh (Powderhall) 1,972,105Newcastle (Brough Park) 1,444,716Birmingham (Perry Barr, old)1,407,054Sheffield (Owlerton) 1,405,848
StadiumTurnover £Southend-on-Sea 1,398,628Glasgow (Shawfield) 1,393,818Leeds 1,126,619Wolverhampton (Monmore)1,109,007London (Hackney) 941,982Yarmouth 844,127Ramsgate 840,013Gloucester & Cheltenham 824,159Portsmouth 805,085Derby751,876Bristol 696,632Oxford518,221Milton Keynes507,891Newcastle (Gosforth)507,474Nottingham 490,251Ipswich 463,919
StadiumTurnover £Poole450,595Reading 423,842Middlesbrough 404,421Hull (Old Craven Park) 383,348Cradley Heath 375,280Henlow (Bedfordshire) 332,928Leicester 309,996Cambridge 307,163Rye House 300,976Coventry 274,602Swindon 260,091Manchester (White City) 225,933Maidstone 110,142Chesterton 94,243Norton Canes 20,000
References