Clonmel Greyhound Stadium
| Location | Davis Road, Clonmel, County Tipperary, Ireland |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 52°21'11.8"N 7°41'29.5"W |
| Date opened | 1931 |
| Race type | greyhound racing |
| Official website | |
Clonmel Greyhound Stadium is a greyhound racing track located in Clonmel, County Tipperary, Ireland.
Racing takes place every Friday and Saturday evening and the facilities include a grandstand restaurant, fast food facilities, a number of bars, totalisator betting and seating.
Race distances are 300, 525, 550, 575, 790 and 1,015 yards and the feature competition at the track is the National Produce Stakes.
current and former
The first race held at Clonmel took place on 20 March 1931. The track is situated on the Old Waterford Road just off Davis Road and is also the headquarters of the Irish Coursing Club (ICC). The ICC moved into the town of Clonmel in 1921 and the secretary Tom Morris became the first managing director of the greyhound racecourse. In 1931 the Horse Show Society agreed with the Greyhound Racing Club of Clonmel to lease the grounds for £250 per year. The Racing Manager was Tim Rice and the circuit was 480 yards in circumference running the standard main distance of 525 yards.
The Oaks was held here in 1932 and the Clonmel public were lucky to see the magnificent bitch Queen of the Suir win the race. The following year the track was selected to host both the Oaks and St Leger. The running of the Irish St Leger was the one and only time at the track and resulted in a victory for the legendary Brilliant Bob. The May 1931 whelp was introduced to track racing in 1933 and after finishing runner-up in the Easter Cup won the St Leger over 550 yards in 31.53.
The premier racing event to be held at Clonmel would be the National Sapling Stakes (which would become the National Breeders Produce Stakes). The first running was in 1939 and was claimed by Sporting Fancy. A year later in 1940 Tanist became the first greyhound to break 30 seconds at Clonmel recording 29.85 over 525 yards. The track renamed the National Sapling Stakes to the National Puppy Cup before it became the National Breeders Produce Stakes in 1947.
The next milestone came in 1946 when in the second round of the National Puppy Cup a greyhound called Quare Times clocked an amazing 29.75sec to set a new track record. In 1947 the ICC moved into new headquarters so that they could administer the sport in addition to housing 'The Sporting Press' a newspaper owned by the ICC. The struggling racecourse known as Powerstown Park had also been acquired by the ICC which used the venue for coursing inside the horse racing circuit. They retained some horse racing meetings maintaining the Park as a going concern.
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