Afternoon:
8°c
Britain has been threatened with the loss of its AAA credit rating amid fears over weaker growth prospects and potential shocks from the eurozone crisis. George Osborne said it was a 'reality check' for Britain's debts
More...
Catford's gone to the dogs
By Jonathan Hobbs, in the Evening Standard Last updated at 00:00am on 17.11.03The traps first opened at Catford Stadium on 30 July, 1932. They closed for the last time on 5 November, 2003. Or, to be more exact, the previous afternoon when Redders Senorita became the last winner of a greyhound race at the famous old venue.
The next day, the track's owners, the Greyhound Racing Association (GRA), issued a press release stating that Catford was to close "with immediate effect". Even those who worked there had no idea, no notice.
"It's like losing a close friend or family member, without having the opportunity to say goodbye," said one Catford regular of 30 years on hearing that the turnstiles had shut at what was the home of greyhound racing in the south-east for 70-plus years.
The GRA's decision has incensed large sections of the sport, and especially those who lived and breathed greyhound racing at Catford. Racking up losses year-on-year, the track's demise had been long predicted, but just as any bereavement, it came as a shock.
While greyhound tracks up and down the country invested in plush bars, restaurants and other creature comforts, Catford was left behind to rot. Unlike other south-east London institutions, it was not a listed building - maybe it should have been.
The rich and famous, Hollywood stars and those from the world of sport all visited this corner of Adenmore Road, underneath Catford Bridge. The Gold Collar trophy, its most prestigious race, regularly had a ' personality' to present the winning trophy.
In 1934, in its first running, film star Tallulah Bankhead greeted the successful owners in style, and it was a tradition that lived on in the modern day when, under the sponsorship of local bookmaker John Humphreys, the likes of Henry Cooper, Lester Piggott, Lennox Lewis, Frank Bruno, Leslie Grantham and even Red Rum stepped across the famous sand track to the presentation podium, where starstruck owners, trainers and well-wishers celebrated before being joined by their heroes in a lap of honour. The following race would always be delayed by half an hour!
But behind the scenes all was not well. The GRA stopped spending money on Catford, as it chose to plough money into its other stadia - Wimbledon, with its 'Mick the Miller' enclosure, Hall Green (Birmingham) and Oxford, with their 'executive' boxes - in the largely successful search for the corporate pound, and the recent purchase of another track in Birmingham, Perry Barr.
The reason for the lack of interest in probably the most atmospheric greyhound track of all, in its heyday at least, was that the GRA didn't actually own the land. To be more precise, it didn't own the car park, which is the property of Railtrack. The GRA's critics will argue they didn't do enough to prise it away from them.
The fact that the stadium sits between two commuter rail lines, and that access to it is limited, always seemed to be Catford's advantage, especially in the property boom of the 1970s and 1980s, during which time several of the capital's tracks were lost.
It was felt that the surrounding roads would not take the congestion caused by a supermarket. The same reason might preclude any housing development, and it must be hoped that Lewisham Council do not lose the fact that another leisure and recreational facility has been lost in an already largely deprived area. There is not even a cinema in the area.
But while the local council has a responsibility, so too do the GRA. Greyhound racing's largest promoter has let the sport down badly, again, with another high-profile closure, and another PR disaster. In the minds of the ignorant, such news will have sounded the death knell for greyhound racing, but they really could not be further from the truth.
The GRA claimed it was dwindling attendances that caused Catford's closure, and that's right to an extent. But people just chose not to take family and friends to a dilapidated arena, and who could blame them? It is no reflection at all on what remains a great sport, just take yourself over to Walthamstow, Wimbledon, Crayford or Romford, and have a look.
As for Catford's faithful supporters, its loyal staff and management, bookmakers and punters, they have been denied the chance to bid farewell at a final meeting, which would have matched the crowds that surged through the gates to be sure of a place in the stands for the traditional, and hugely popular, Boxing Day morning meeting. You were probably there once or twice yourself.
Reader views (3)
Byline: Kevin Condron MSc BSc
It is with a combination of nostalgia and sadness that I learnt of the closure of Catford Stadium Catford Stadium was a historic greyhound track in Catford, a suburb of London. It was open between 1932 and 2003, when it was closed by its commercial operator Wembley [1] [2]. . I attended the track on a regular basis from 1974 to 1993 before I moved to Scotland. After that I would still attend Catford every couple of months on my regular trips back to London to visit my parents.
I was well known to the layers, especially with John Humphreys who was the main bookmaker. John even gave my Dad a lift, in his Rolls Royce Rolls Royce, to the derby.
I grew up with greyhounds. My uncle, Paddy Keane, won both the English (1966 Faithful Hope) and Irish Derby (Pampered Rover). He also trained Tommy Astaire, who brought the great Westpark Mustard's unbeaten run to an end in the mid-seventies (pre-Ballyregan Bob).
I saw some of the best dogs in the country competing for the Gold Collar, Catford's showpiece show·piece
run over the unusual standard distance of 555m.
The competition allowed the brilliant early pace of many Derby winners to be tested against the stamina of the winners of Wembley's St Leger, remember Westmead Champ beating Mutts Silver in 1976. It was also an honour to see Scurlogue Champ break the long distance clock in 1984, a record that stood the test of time.
Checkout Scurlogue Champ on Youtube - what a dog!
- Kevin Condron, Geneva, Switzerland, 24/02/2011 15:00
Report abuse
When I was a child my Dad used to take me to watch the racing every Saturday night. It was always my dream to have my own greyhound. And I did, he was one of the winners at the last meeting when it closed, he then raced at Crayford and I now have him at home with me as he was badly injured. A few weeks ago I was on a train to London and I could have cried to see the remains of the old stadium, (I imagined seeing the dogs racing and hear the noises, it was very eerie) it is now all over grown with the sign "Catfrod Stadium" still standing. What a waste when it could have still been left open and maybe my boy would still have been running. His racing name by the way is Murrays Lad.
- Yvonne Murray, Mottingham, London, 19/08/2008 12:32
Report abuse
What a shame Catford had to close and even more was the way it finally went. Surely one last evening of racing could have been organised with some open races. I feel like it is the death of an old friend without being able to say goodbye to.
- Michael Rivers, East Grinstead W.Sussex, 16/08/2007 21:54
Report abuse
