Dungannon Greyhound Stadium
 | |
| Location | Oaks Road Dungannon, County Tyrone, BT71 4BA, Northern Ireland[1] |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 54°30′40″N 6°45′36″W / 54.51111°N 6.76000°W |
| Opened | 1930 |
| Closed | 2003 |
Dungannon Greyhound Stadium or Oaks Park was a greyhound racing track held on Oaks Road, Dungannon, County Tyrone, BT71 4BA, Northern Ireland.[1] [2]
History
[edit]Dungannon became the third Northern Irish greyhound track behind Celtic Park and Dunmore Stadium in July 1930.[3] Being a greyhound track in Northern Ireland it was neither under the jurisdiction of the National Greyhound Racing Club which was the governing body for UK Tracks or the Bord na gCon (the Irish Greyhound Board) which is the governing body for Irish tracks, the latter did however publish the results for Northern Ireland.
The track was 485 yards in circumference and racing took place every Tuesday or Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday evening and used an Outside Sumner hare system.[3]
The Ulster Oaks was introduced in 1970 establishing itself as the main event run at the track. Other competitions of note were the Mick Horan Puppy Championship (Horan was Mick the Miller's first trainer), the Tuborg Viceroy Cup and the Harry McCrory Memorial Cup (McCrory had a 30-year association with the track).[4]
In 1962 Tommy McCombe became the General and Racing Manager after Clones closed.[4]
In 1990 a fire destroyed a large part of the main stand around the same time that a letter was sent to the Bord na gCon threatening further attacks on the racecourse unless they stopped supporting coursing clubs.
Closure
[edit]The Dungannon (Oaks Park) Stadium Greyhound Racing Limited who had taken over the track in 1995 saw the opportunity to make a substantial profit by developing the site and the track closed down in 2003. It was not until 2011 that planning permission was granted for 120 mixed residential dwellings, with a Sainsbury's shopping centre to the West and Dunlea Vale directly to the North. In 2014 the derelict grandstand was subject to an arson attack and completely destroyed.
Track records
[edit]| Yards | Greyhound | Time (sec) | Date | Notes/ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 325 | Millionaire | 18.11 | 1950 | |
| 325 | Hi Spy | 17.65 | 1970 | |
| 325 | Kensington Lil | 17.64 | 7 October 1969 | [5] |
| 325 | Cornetto | 17.62 | 1970 | |
| 325 | Beautiful Sara | 17.35 | 15 September 1982 | |
| 325 | Hard Ecu | 17.27 | 17 October 1991 | |
| 325 | Cassie Boy | 17.25 | 5 February 1992 | |
| 400 | Belmont Villa | 33.55 | 13 June 1990 | |
| 500 | Head Over | 29.96 | 1950 | |
| 500 | Stoneville Queen | 28.17 | 1970 | |
| 500 | Kensington Lil | 27.64 | c.1970 | |
| 500 | Sheilas Emma | 1979 | ||
| 500 | Stradey Park | 27.92 | July 1981 | |
| 500 | Easterly Gale | 27.70 | 4 August 1984 | |
| 500 | Rooskey Rose | 27.65 | 4 April 1990 | |
| 500 | Praidora | 27.50 | 14 August 1991 | |
| 500 | Speedy Shane | 27.08 | 7 July 1999 | |
| 525 | Paulas Pal | 29.18 | 1960 | |
| 525 | Leitrim Solo | 29.06 | 1981 | |
| 525 | Chief Ironside | 28.80 | 11 June 1984 | |
| 525 | Glenhill Pride | 28.70 | 14 August 1991 | |
| 525 | Gems Whisper | 28.65 | 29 April 1992 | [6] |
| 550 | Kilcool Mounty | 31.97 | 1950 | |
| 550 | Newdown Son | 31.33 | 1970 | |
| 550 | Dicks Bridge | 30.91 | 1978 | |
| 550 | Merchants Bound | 30.75 | 1980 | |
| 550 | Carters Lad | 30.05 | 27 May 1987 | |
| 550 | Glenhill Pride | 29.75 | 9 October 1991 | |
| 600 | Rose Velvet | 33.78 | 1960 | |
| 600 | Brookvale Pride | 33.57 | 11 June 1981 | |
| 780 | Twelfth Man | 45.29 | 1970 | |
| 780 | Rosevale Desire | 44.67 | 1980 | |
| 780 | Moyletra | 44.40 | 15 September 1982 | |
| 780 | Braccan Connie | 43.94 | 9 October 1991 | |
| 325 hurdles | Calrossie Morning Star | 19.39 | 1960 | |
| 525 hurdles | Maggies Pup | 31.75 | 1950 |
Ulster Oaks Winners
[edit]- 1971 Kilwoney Rose
- 1972 Trace of Red
- 1973 Ashling Ban
- 1974 Rokeel Rebel
- 1975 Bright Evening
- 1976 Kisses For Me
- 1998 Toumpane Valley
- 1999 Rosalettos Girl
- 2000 Tullymurry Tango
- 2001 Shanless Park
- 2002 Baltic Star
References
[edit]- ^ a b "PRONI Historical Maps". NI Direct.gov.
- ^ "DUNGANNON GREYHOUND STADIUM". Greyhound Derby.com.
- ^ a b Barnes, Julia (1988). Daily Mirror Greyhound Fact File. Ringpress Books. p. 325. ISBN 0-948955-15-5.
- ^ a b Comyn, John. 50 Years of Greyhound Racing in Ireland. Aherlow Publishers Ltd.
- ^ "Kensington Lil romps home". Belfast News-Letter. 8 October 1969. Retrieved 18 December 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Track record". Greyhound Star.