The 1960 UK & Ireland Greyhound Racing Year was the 35th year of greyhound racing in the United Kingdom and the 34th year of greyhound racing in Ireland.
Roll of honour
Major Winners Award Name of Winner1960 English Greyhound Derby Duleek Dandy 1960 Irish Greyhound Derby Perrys Apple 1960 Scottish Greyhound Derby Rostown Genius 1960 Welsh Greyhound Derby Fitz's Star Greyhound of the Year Crazy Paving & Gorey Airways
Summary The National Greyhound Racing Club released the 1960 figures for their affiliated tracks, which showed that 14,243,808 paying customers attended 5,736 meetings. The totalisator turnover was £54,188,302 but government tote tax remained at 10% with track deductions remaining at 6%. Turnover and attendances remained stable but one piece of government legislation was about to have a dramatic impact on the industry. The Betting and Gaming Act 1960 was passed on 1 September 1960 and would come into effect four months later, on 1 January 1961.
Tracks Staines Greyhound Stadium closed, forcing Jack Walsh to open a bookmakers shop in Egham, Surrey, Walsh had been part owner with William Hill of the 1938 English Greyhound Derby winner Lone Keel.
Gerry Bailey and Jack Carter took over the lease at Rye House Stadium from the Lea Valley Regional Park Authority and immediately began to upgrade the facilities moving the greyhound track to the outside of the speedway track to form a 440-yard circumference. Racing was held on Wednesday and Saturday evenings and an 'Inside Sumner' system and photo finish was installed.
Competitions Mile Bush Pride reappeared after a remarkable 1959 and won the Wembley Spring Cup at his home track Wembley. His sire The Grand Champion was the leading sire in 1960. Scurry Gold Cup champion Gorey Airways ran a creditable second place behind Catch Cold in the Gold Collar at Catford Stadium.
Sprint champion Gorey Airways then became the first greyhound to successfully defend the Scurry Gold Cup, the Jimmy Jowett trained brindle ran out as easy five and a quarter length winner. The following month the Laurels at Wimbledon Stadium, attracted the usual strong entry and the £1,000 prize went to Dunstown Paddy with Gorey Airways finishing third and Clonalvy Pride fifth. The Derby champion Duleek Dandy broke a hock and could not contest any further races in 1960.
The Cesarewitch at West Ham Stadium was won by the Rostown Genius adding to his Scottish Greyhound Derby crown; Clonalvy Pride did win the Pall Mall Stakes and Select Stakes but finished his year underachieving after finishing fourth in the Cesarewitch final. He had been favourite for three classics and second favourite for the Derby and failed in all four attempts.
News A kennel block at Rochester Stadium suffered a terrible fire which resulted in the death of 24 greyhounds trained by Reg Morley. Morley and his head lad Mr Morton attempted to rescue them and both suffered injuries, Morley was brought out unconscious. Ken Appleton died and his West Ham Stadium kennels were taken over by his son Kenric Appleton.
Ireland The Bord na gCon installed a new totalisator system at four tracks Harolds Cross, Shelbourne Park, Cork and Limerick, in addition to obtaining Clonmel from the Morris family headed by T.A.Morris the former secretary of the Irish Coursing Club.
Dunmore Stadium in Belfast had sixty bookmakers operating on course, an unusually high amount but tote betting was still illegal in Northern Ireland despite the sport being more popular than in Southern Ireland.
During the 1960 Irish Greyhound Derby second round action, a puppy called Palms Printer ran on the supporting card and won a graded race in a very fast time. The pup was sold at the Shelbourne Park sales in November and was eventually bought by Paddy McEvoy for £400. The Irish Derby winner Perrys Apple and two finalists Eccentric Sam and Kilmoney Tulip all found themselves at the Shelbourne sales and surprisingly all three failed to meet their reserves, the champion Perrys Apple only attracted a 750 guineas.
The Irish Derby final was to be a final swansong for the great champion Pigalle Wonder, now aged four and a half years old, he was then retired. He would later become a prominent sire.
Principal UK races
Grand National, White City (April 30 525y h, £300) PosName of GreyhoundTrainerSP TimeTrap 1st Bruff Chariot Jimmy Jowett 1-1f 29.50 32nd Prince Again 2-1 29.82 23rd Doron Barney O'Connor 100-8 30.46 64th Violets Fancy Paddy McEllistrim 50-1 30.68 45th Tom the Forkim Clare Orton 40-1 30.94 56th Final Selection John Perrin 6-1 31.12 1
BBC Sportsview Trophy Harringay (May 2, 880y, £1,000)PosName of Greyhound TrainerSP Time Trap 1st Crazy Paving Charles Payne 100-7 51.22 52nd Chantilly Lace Jimmy Clubb 10-11f 51.23 33rd Rapid Progress II Gunner Smith 7-1 51.99 44th Canadian Crawler Ron Hookway 20-1 52.00 65th Fearless Mac Joe De Mulder 5-1 52.88 16th Dunmore Rocco Dennis Hannafin 5-2 00.00 2
Gold Collar, Catford (May 21, 440y, £500)PosName of Greyhound TrainerSP Time Trap 1st Catch Cold Dennis Hannafin 8-1 25.56 42nd Gorey Airways Jimmy Jowett 7-2 25.84 53rd Flying Fox II Jimmy Jowett 10-1 26.06 24th Varra Black Nose Dennis Hannafin 8-11f 26.08 35th Granite Glittering Reg Holland 6-1 26.62 66th Last Chance 20-1 26.86 1
The Grand Prix Walthamstow (May 24, 500y, £600)PosName of Greyhound TrainerSP Time Trap 1st Dunstown Paddy Tom Reilly 11-4 28.26 62nd Galbally Airways Dr Dennis O’Brien 6-1 28.28 43rd Noonans Rhapsody Jimmy Jowett 33-1 28.50 34th Violets DukeBarney O'Connor 5-4f 28.62 55th Town King 11-2 28.78 16th Twinies Pet Jimmy Jowett 8-1 28.88 2
Welsh Derby, Arms Park (Jul 1, 525y £500)PosName of Greyhound TrainerSP Time Trap 1st Fitz's Star Tom Paddy Reilly 4-1 29.48 12nd Clonalvy Pride Jack Harvey 4-6f 29.56 33rd Loughane Airways Miss C.Grove 20-1 29.70 44th Prince of Shandrum Jimmy Purnell 25-1 30.32 25th Drumlee Ville Jimmy Purnell 33-1 30.54 56th Wincot Clifford Jack Toseland 9-4 30.60 6
Oaks, Harringay (Jul 4, 525y, £500)PosName of Greyhound TrainerSP Time Trap 1st Wheatfield Countess Stan Martin 5-4f 29.33 12nd Tillside Binnie George Waterman 3-1 29.89 33rd Miss Cheerful Dave Geggus 9-4 30.21 64th Black Rattler Joe De Mulder 100-6 30.29 55th Fancy Cinema Harry Buck 20-1 30.41 46th Barrack Street Ball Reg Bosley 100-6 30.452
Scottish Greyhound Derby, Carntyne (Jul 9, 525y, £500)PosName of Greyhound TrainerSP Time Trap 1st Rostown Genius Joe Pickering 5-4f 28.92 62nd Rorys Pleasure P.O'Loughlin 5-1 29.08 23rd Dunstown Paddy Tom Reilly 2-1 29.12 14th Firgrove Sorcerer H Hancox 12-1 29.32 35th Skibbereen Rocket G Rodgerson 6-1 29.48 46th Fitz's Star Tom 'Paddy' Reilly 7-1 29.72 5
Scurry Gold Cup, Clapton (Jul 23, 400y £600)PosName of Greyhound TrainerSP Time Trap 1st Gorey Airway Jimmy Jowett 5-4f 22.48+ 62nd Snipe Island Ronnie Melville 100-7 22.90 43rd Cassagh Cheerful Miss Mary Vaughan 100-8 23.12 24th Dunstown Warrior Tom 'Paddy' Reilly 100-8 23.2855th Violets Duke Barney O'Connor 13-8 23.82 16th All the Way Home Ernie Westcott 7-1 24.26 3 +Track Record
Laurels, Wimbledon (Aug 19, 500y, £1,000)PosName of Greyhound TrainerSP Time Trap 1st Dunstown Paddy Tom 'Paddy' Reilly 5-1 28.02 42nd Galbally Airways Dr Dennis O'Brien 7-1 28.06 13rd Gorey Airways Jimmy Jowett5-2 28.20 34th Sailor Boy II Dennis Hannafin 10-1 28.22 65th Clonalvy Pride Jack Harvey 9-4f 28.26 26th Flying Fox II Jimmy Jowett 7-2 28.405
St Leger, Wembley (Sep 5, 700y, £1,000)PosName of Greyhound TrainerSP Time Trap 1st Jungle Man Harry Tasker 2-1 40.08 42nd First Offender Ernie Westcott 10-1 40.12 23rd Rostown Genius Joe Pickering 11-4 40.34 34th Joyful C Jimmy Rimmer 33-1 40.38 55th Merry Man Kevin O'Neill 8-1 40.58 16th Long Story Jim Syder Jr. 7-4f 41.06 6
Cesarewitch, West Ham (Oct 7, 600y, £1,000)PosName of Greyhound TrainerSP Time Trap 1st Rostown Genius Joe Pickering 2-1 33.29 32nd Merry Man (dead-heat) Kevin O'Neill 100-8 33.61 22nd Cross Word (dead-heat) Arthur Hancock 11-2 33.61 44th Clonalvy Pride Jack Harvey 8-11f 33.67 55th Winter Bell Clare Orton 50-1 33.71 66th Bermudas Cloud Leslie Reynolds 33-1 33.83 1
Totalisator returns
The totalisator returns declared to the licensing authorities for the year 1960 are listed below. Not all track with tote facilities during 1960 are listed and tracks that did not have a totalisator in operation are not listed.
StadiumTurnover £London (White City) 5,155,242London (Harringay) 3,749,853London (Wimbledon) 3,315,712London (Walthamstow) 2,586,506London (Wembley) 2,555,218London (Clapton) 2,251,990Manchester (Belle Vue) 1,556,427London (Catford) 1,535,477London (Hackney) 1,393,647Romford 1,008,264Manchester (White City) 958,017Brighton & Hove 844,175Edinburgh (Powderhall) 844,223
StadiumTurnover £Birmingham (Perry Barr, old)831,479Birmingham (Hall Green) 820,414Slough 687,494Manchester (Salford) 670,241Leeds (Elland Road) 662,364Crayford & Bexleyheath 653,271Newcastle (Brough Park) 649,413Wolverhampton (Monmore)648,397Newcastle (Gosforth)646,493Southend-on-Sea 612,907Sheffield (Owlerton) 529,794Cardiff (Arms Park) 522,829Willenhall 488,769
StadiumTurnover £Bristol (Eastville) 477,272Ramsgate (Dumpton Park) 471,845Glasgow (Shawfield) 464,848Gloucester & Cheltenham 429,065Reading (Oxford Road)418,753Middlesbrough 391,730Rochester & Chatham 308,834Hull (Old Craven Park) 301,825Oxford298,367Leicester (Blackbird Rd) 286,405Derby274,724Preston 236,663Portsmouth 197,848
References