Dog Tracks: Survival of the Fittest
While a choice of 19 venues means that most people, in England at least, are not a huge distance away from their nearest dog track, the situation used to be much better. During its post-war peak, there were just over 100 different tracks across the UK meaning many people had a variety of local options to choose from. Recent years though have seen a swathe of closures such as Peterborough (2020), Poole (2020), Belle Vue (2020), Hall Green (2017), Ellesmere (2014), Westhoughton (2010), Oxford (2012), Ayr (2011), Portsmouth (2010), Swansea (2009) being some notable examples.
While there has been a general decline in the number of venues across the entire nation, the most noticeable number of closures has been located in London. Today the capital of England features just two official dog racing venues, Romford and Crayford, yet 25 others have come and gone as you can see below.
| Venue | Closed |
|---|---|
| Wimbledon Stadium | 2018 |
| Walthamstow Stadium | 2008 |
| Catford Stadium | 2003 |
| Wembley Stadium (Old) | 1998 |
| Hackney Wick Stadium | 1997 |
| Harringay Stadium | 1987 |
| White City Stadium | 1984 |
| Vicarage Road | 1978 |
| Southall Greyhound Stadium | 1976 |
| Clapton Stadium | 1974 |
| Hendon Greyhound Stadium | 1972 |
| West Ham Stadium | 1972 |
| Charlton Stadium | 1971 |
| New Cross Stadium | 1969 |
| Park Royal Stadium | 1969 |
| Stamford Bridge Stadium | 1968 |
| Wandsworth Stadium | 1966 |
| Dagenham Greyhound Stadium | 1965 |
| Temple Mills Stadium | 1949 |
| Edmonton Stadium | 1947 |
| Brixton Greyhound Stadium | Pre-WW2 |
| Mitcham Stadium | 1937 |
| Battersea Greyhound Track | 1936 |
| Perry Hill Stadium | 1935 |
| Greenford Park | 1928 |
While most of these closures are not recent, they do demonstrate how risky an investment a greyhound track is. Given that many of these failed when greyhound racing was far more popular too, it is very hard to imagine we will see any new racing tracks appear in the English capital, especially given the cost of land.
As we have mentioned previously, greyhound racing as a sport is simply nowhere near as popular as it used to be. Despite this rather sharp decline during the latter half of the 20th century, there are definite signs that greyhound racing has now faced the worse of it.
Across several key metrics, there is a real indication that any fall in popularity has tailed off and the industry is now hitting largely consistent and reliable numbers. These show that the sport does have a sustainable future, at least over the short term.
The number of races is one measure that was largely stable during the previous full decade as you can see from the table above. The drop-off in 2020 was simply a result of the global health catastrophe that affected almost all sports and the related restrictions that were imposed on dog tracks. Excluding this anomaly, there have been in the region of 55,000 and 60,000 races annually, something which appears a sweet spot for the industry.
The number of registrations has also shown fairly minimal fluctuation during the same time frame. Although the general trend is of a tiny decline, there is still plenty of interest in getting greyhounds registered by the governing body (GBGB).
These figures are actually quite similar to what was seen during 1989 and 1996 in which every year saw fewer than 10,000 dogs registered. So, while it is down from the 21st-century peak of 2004 (11,912) this is of no actual cause for concern.
We wanted to include the races per dog registered figures as these highlight the typical workload a dog faces. The consistent figures, excluding the health crisis impacted 2020 data, shows that dogs have faced a largely steady workload this century. This is good news for the dogs as it shows that they are not being overworked to make up for a dwindling number of competitors.
The combination of these three graphs paints a fairly healthy picture of the industry now, assuming that it can make a recovery from the restrictions placed in 2020 and 2021. Having posted steady numbers for years, it is clear that greyhound racing still has a committed following and some ability to appeal to more casual spectators.
Map of UK Dog TracksAdding markers to the map …
As well as the map we also have a list of every greyhound stadium in the UK, along with what days they race and are open to the public. Some of the tracks also run races on other days to be broadcast on TV (and in bookies throughout the country) but the ability to attend these events is not guaranteed.
The case of Bling Bling Chip
One of the stories that illustrates the darker side of Greyhound Racing relates to the treatment of a dog called Bling Bling Chip.
The owner had been suspended from various GBGB tracks after he was found to have doped Bling Bling Chip to make the dog race slower and in return, enhance the odds.
Bling Bling Chip then won as an outsider after being taken off the drug, resulting in large winning for anyone who had bet on the dog.
The trainer was eventually banned, but before that, three of his dogs were taken in by Hope Rescue with broken legs after racing at the Valley.
One of the dogs died due to post surgery complications.
British greyhound racing – Track race 480m
According to the Greyhound Board of Great Britain, dog racing is the sixth most popular spectator sport in the UK.
And if that is true it begs the question… where have all the greyhound tracks in the UK gone?
From its pomp in the 1940s, when 70 million people would frequent their local greyhound track per year, today just 19 venues remain on UK soil.
Changes in tastes, the ability to stream greyhound races online and a general apathy to the sport seem to be the main causes of the decline, as well as the fact that many dog tracks were found in prime locations – its always difficult to turn down a property developer that offers millions for your land.
So it’s sad but true: the number of greyhound tracks in the UK is the lowest it has been for the best part of a century. Instead of being miserable about that though, let’s look back fondly on some of the best known tracks and their history.