Sunderland Greyhound Stadium

Competitions

Sunderland host two major competitions, one is called the William Hill Classic and the other is called the William Hill Grand Prix. The latter is not to be confused with the defunct classic race, The Grand Prix, held at Walthamstow Stadium until its closure.

Both races form the main part of a festival of racing and have grown in stature due to the value of the first prize for each event.

Origins & Opening

Designed by architects Matkin and Hawkins, the stadium was built at a cost of £60,000 in 1940. The site chosen for the new Boldon Greyhound Stadium, as it was known at the time, was North of Sunderland and south-east of East Boldon where the Sunderland and Newcastle Roads merged. It ran parallel with this road on its south side and the London & North Eastern Railway on its north side. On the opposite side of the road (slightly east) was the East Boldon hospital for infectious diseases which would later become the sanatorium. Boldon had strong links to the mining community which was a common factor with new greyhound tracks.

It all started on the afternoon of Saturday 23 March 1940 at 3pm, quickly followed by a second and third meeting on the Easter Monday. Fred Gillespie was brought into the track to act as General and Racing Manager, along with other officials A E Hawkins from the Coundon track and George Hall from the White City Stadium (Newcastle). The opening meeting saw eight races over 450 yards and the meeting was advertised as a Sunderland super greyhound stadium with a wonder totalisator and three luxurious clubs, large covered enclosures and a free car park. The first ever winner was trap 2 'Percheron' at odds of 5-2 in a time of 28.35 secs.

Early History

The greyhound track at Sunderland has had a varying past with affiliation to the National Greyhound Racing Club (NGRC) on two separate occasions and a long stint as an independent track. It was known as the Newcastle Sports Stadium and the Boldon Greyhound Stadium throughout its history, before being renamed the Sunderland Greyhound Stadium.

Despite opening during the war, business grew year on year until peaking in 1946. The track included a large main glass fronted club on the home straight with ballroom attached, covered stand and clubs on the fourth bend, a covered stand on the back straight, with the racing kennels and paddock on the first bend. There was also accommodation for 170 greyhounds adjoining the stadium which acted as the resident kennels. It was a 380 yards circumference track with an 'Inside Sumner' hare and distances of 348, 450 & 600 yards.

The stadium first joined the NGRC set up after the war but withdrew in 1951 (believed to be on 26 February). The reason for the change was a system called 'Combine' which allowed tracks to run under rules similar to the latter day permit rules. Sunderland wanted owner-trainers that included many from the mining community to be able to race on separate race nights but the NGRC refused this request. With Sunderland also reliant on these forms of income the decision was made to leave.

The next forty years would see independent racing only, with racing held mainly every Thursday and Saturday evening; prize money was very good for a 'flapper' (term given to unlicensed tracks) offering a substantial £75 winners prize for some race in the mid-sixties which eclipsed many NGRC tracks. It was still an all-grass track, but there was now a 650 yard distance. Annual events included the Vaux Trophy and Milburn Trophy.

During the late seventies, the track turned to an all-sand surface and raced mainly handicaps over 420 metres but underwent changes as the Sunderland Greyhound Racing Co pulled out. The betting licence was renewed but the ageing stadium closed in June 1980, awaiting either an offer for the stadium or a lease agreement. John Young eventually stepped in to become the owner and acting as General Manager and Racing Manager and they also introduced whippet racing. Distances in the mid-eighties were 243, 420, 600, 777, and 957 metres.

Renovation & re-opening

At the end of 1988, businessmen and race horse owner Terry Robson and former Brough Park trainer Harry Williams took over the control of Sunderland. A new track was designed and over £1 million was spent rebuilding the facilities. There was a new restaurant, private boxes, and an application to the NGRC thrown in. A £20,000 sponsorship deal from the Mailcom business owned by Eddie Shotton was secured before the opening night to boost open race competitions; Shotton was a well-known greyhound owner. The all-sand track had an 'Outside McGee' and racing was overseen by former Middlesbrough Racing Manager Ross Searle on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday evenings. Ten contracted trainers were brought in, Michael Brunnock, Graham Calvert, Kevin Donnelly, George Elliott, Terry Hart, Shirley Linley, Eddie McDermott, Ken Thwaites, Malcolm Woods, and Dawn Milligan.

NGRC racing returned over forty years after the last affiliation with a bumper 12 race card on Wednesday 6 June 1990. The track was unrecognizable to the one that had existed just two years previous and ten days later open racing took place and attracted Ravage Again who was in the middle of his 29 consecutive winning streak. David Mullins and Ted Soppitt arrived as trainers in 1991 and the first ever Sunday greyhound racing fixture was held during 1992.

Recent History

The ownership has changed hands several times; first Lloyd Milligan ran the track and then Dodds and Stephenson came into part ownership with Williams before Kevin Wilde became the latest owner in 1994. Wilde had been involved in the takeover of Brough Park, where Williams now returned to take up training again. Jimmy Nunn arrived as the new Racing Manager from Sheffield.

Sunderland gained a lucrative BAGS contract before William Hill made it clear they were looking to invest into the greyhound industry influenced by the 'New Deal'. Following negotiations with Wilde, they agreed the purchase Sunderland for £9.4 million in September 2002. Wilde remained as the Director of greyhound stadia following the William Hill purchase of Brough Park one year later.

The annual UK William Hill festival of racing remains the principal event at the track, the meeting includes the William Hill Grand Prix and Classic and is shown live on Sky Sports.

Achievements

Speedway

Speedway races were held at the track from 1964 to 1974, with home teams including The Saints and The Gladiators.