Towcester Greyhound Stadium

Towcester Greyhound Stadium is a greyhound racing track located within Towcester Racecourse at Towcester in Northamptonshire, England.^[1] It has been the home of the English Greyhound Derby since 2021, having previously hosted the event from 2017 to 2018.

Towcester Greyhound Stadium

View of Towcester Greyhound Track from the main grandstand
Location	Towcester Racecourse, Watling Street, Towcester, Northamptonshire
Coordinates	52.1237°N 0.9701°W / 52.1237; -0.9701
Field size	420 metres (1,380 ft)
Surface	Sand
Opened	6 December 2014 re-opened 22 May 2020
Website
Official website

Opening

Towcester opened on 6 December 2014 becoming the first track in Britain to open since the 1995 openings of Harlow and Sittingbourne. The idea of a track inside the horse racing course was created by Lord Hesketh the racecourse owner and Chief Executive Kevin Ackerman. Former Walthamstow Racing Manager Chris Page, Deputy Racing Manager Andy Lisemore and Steve Cale were recruited to run the operation.^[2]

Construction

At a cost of £1.5 million the 420 metres circumference circuit was created by laying down 60,000 tonnes of soil so that the greyhound racing surface met the horse racing home straight at a level setting, resulting in a six-metre rise. The bends are very wide which assists the occasional eight dog race. The kennels were constructed inside unused horse stables and new trainers included five times champion trainer Mark Wallis, 2011 champion trainer Chris Allsopp, Kevin Hutton and Matt Dartnall. The distances are 260, 480, 500, 655, 686 and 906 metres and the first race was won by 4-1 shot Fairest Royal trained by Wallis.^[3] A big screen situated on the home straight was a new feature to greyhound tracks.

Achievements

• Trainer Kevin Hutton won the prestigious Trainers Championship in March 2015.^[4]
• Hutton twice retained the title in 2016 and 2017, joining a select group of trainers to win more than one title.^[5]
• The track was crowned the BAGS National Champions at Perry Barr Stadium in December 2015 (team manager - Andy Lisemore).^[6]
• Retained the BAGS National Championship in December 2016 (team manager - Simon Pearson).^[7]
• Awarded the Greyhound Derby after the closure of Wimbledon Stadium.^[8]
• Awarded the Puppy Derby in 2017 following the closure of Wimbledon Stadium.^[9]
• Kevin Hutton won the 2018 English Greyhound Derby
• In 2018 the track gained another original classic race, the Oaks, from the Greyhound Racing Association (GRA).^[10]
• In 2018 the stadium signed a deal with ARC to race every Saturday morning and Sunday evening.^[11]
• In 2021, Thorn Falcon won the Derby for Belgian born Patrick Janssens^[12]

2018 administration

In August 2018 the future of Towcester racecourse was put in doubt. A statement released by the racecourse on 16 August read: "Towcester Racecourse Company Limited, proprietors of Towcester Racecourse, are currently experiencing trading difficulties and are in discussions with key stakeholders and professional advisers on the way forward. However, the directors have concluded that they have no alternative in the short term but to seek court protection and are now taking steps to place the company into administration. As a result, the last greyhound meeting was on 12 August.

On 23 August KPMG were appointed as administrators and 134 out of 137 members of staff at the racecourse were made redundant.^[13] Eight trainers joined Henlow, including Mark Wallis and Nick Savva while Kevin Hutton joined Monmore.

On 13 November it was announced by the administrators that the racecourse's assets were being sold to a company called Fermor Land LLP.^[14][15] This company was formed on 18 October (26 days before the sale) and is headed by Lord Hesketh's brother-in-law Mark Westropp, a trustee of the Hesketh Family trusts.^[14][16]

Re-opening

In October 2019 Kevin Boothby, promoter of Henlow Stadium, signed a deal for a 10-year lease at Towcester, with the intention that greyhound racing would re-start in March 2020.^[17] The stadium's re-opening was delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic before eventually opening on 22 May 2020.^[18][19] Several major competitions returned to the track including the English Greyhound Derby, Puppy Derby and Juvenile.^[20][21]

Competitions

• The English Greyhound Derby
• The English Greyhound Derby Invitation
• The Puppy Derby
• Juvenile
• Blue Riband

Track records

Current track records

Metres	Greyhound	Time (sec)	Date	Notes/ref
270	Aero Sacundai	15.35	29 June 2024	[22]
500	Lennies Desire	28.39	31 May 2025	[23]
712	Savana Jackpot	42.02	21 July 2024	[24]
942	Ballymac Taylor	57.91	26 May 2024	[25]

Former (2020 onwards)

Extended content

Metres Greyhound Time (sec) Date Notes 270 Bentley Crew[26] 15.61 29 June 2021 270 Bockos Jon Jo[27] 15.64 30 March 2021 Northamptonshire Sprint 270 Shrewd Call[28] 15.64 18 May 2021 270 Havana Class[29] 15.45 10 July 2021 270 Flashing Willow[30] 15.42 11 June 2022 500 Priceless Jet[31] 29.11 11 May 2021 500 Warzone Tom[32] 29.08 18 May 2021 500 Bockos Belly[33] 29.03 11 June 2021 2021 English Greyhound Derby 2nd round 500 Lautaro[34] 28.84 19 May 2022 2022 English Greyhound Derby 1st round 500 Priceless Jet[30] 28.78 11 June 2022 2022 English Greyhound Derby quarter final 500 Swords Rex[35] 28.76 7 May 2023 2023 English Greyhound Derby trial stake 500 Clona Duke[36] 28.73 26 May 2023 English Greyhound Derby 1st Round 500 Clona Duke 28.69 24 June 2023 English Greyhound Derby semi final 500 King Memphis[37] 28.66 19 November 2023 Puppy Derby semi final 500 Romeo Command[38] 28.64 31 December 2023 500 Droopy Clue[39] 28.58 14 April 2024 Derby trial stake 500 King Memphis[40] =28.58 24 May 2024 Derby heats 500 De Lahdedah[41] =28.58 29 June 2024 Derby first round 500 Barntick Bear[42] 28.52 28 July 2024 500 Avongate Venus[43] =28.52 8 September 2024 500 Barntick Bear[44] 28.44 20 October 2024 712 Blue Mischief[45] 43.47 30 March 2021 712 Night Time Danny[46] 43.20 30 March 2021 712 Kishlawn Shakira[47] 43.00 2 July 2021 712 Salacres Pippy[48] 42.90 14 November 2021 Hunt Cup final 712 Bockos Brandy[49] 42.80 24 April 2022 712 Havana Lover[50] 42.76 16 October 2022 Hunt Cup semi final 712 Coonough Crow[51] 42.43 22 June 2024 942 Aayamza Royale[52] 58.15 15 August 2021

(2014-2018)

Extended content

Metres Greyhound Time Date Notes 260 Razldazl Banjo 15.63 6 December 2014 260 Opus Star 15.54 13 December 2014 260 Mays Teejay 15.47 20 December 2014 260 Club Notes 15.46 27 December 2014 260 Leaveittome 15.30 3 January 2015 260 Mays Teejay 15.07 22 January 2015 260 Cloudbursting [53] 15.00 1 February 2015 480 Fairest Royal 28.55 6 December 2014 480 King Dec 28.46 6 December 2014 480 Killglen Chief 28.44 6 December 2014 480 Priests Place 28.41 12 December 2014 480 Ballymac Brogan 28.30 13 December 2014 480 King Dec 28.20 13 December 2014 480 Ballymac Mossjoe 28.09 22 January 2015 480 Blue Moment 27.91 22 January 2015 480 Domino Storm 27.84 2 January 2015 480 Forest Twilight 27.72 15 August 2015 Lowther Stakes heats 480 Forest Twilight [54] 27.59 22 August 2015 Lowther Stakes final 500 Tyrur Shay [55] 28.72 9 June 2017 2017 English Greyhound Derby 2nd round 655 Billys Bullet 39.69 6 December 2014 655 Holdem Hawk 39.42 13 December 2014 655 Billys Bullet [56] 38.90 8 February 2015 686 Touch Tackle 41.91 6 December 2014 686 Vanrooney 41.55 13 December 2014 686 Black Francis 41.45 22 January 2015 686 Vanrooney 40.97 8 February 2015 686 Rubys Rascal [57] 40.89 24 June 2017 Derby Stayers heat 906 Supreme Rossie 57.09 6 December 2014 906 Supreme Rossie 56.75 6 December 2014 906 Ribble Atom 55.46 25 July 2015 TV Trophy Trial Stakes 906 Ballymac Bonnie 55.29 8 August 2015 TV Trophy heats 906 Droopys Cottage [58] 55.17 8 August 2015 TV Trophy heats 480 H Razldazlnewstalk 28.41 18 August 2015 480 H Ballymac Manix [59] 28.38 24 June 2017 Champion Hurdle heats