Harold's Cross Stadium
| Location | 6 Harold's Cross Road, Dublin 6W, County Dublin City, Ireland |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 53°19'26.1"N 6°16'36.1"W |
| Operated by | Irish Greyhound Board |
| Date opened | 1928 |
| Race type | greyhound racing |
| Official website | |
Harold's Cross Stadium is a greyhound racing stadium in the south Dublin city district of Harold's Cross, owned and operated by the Irish Greyhound Board.
Racing takes place every Tuesday and Friday evening and the facilities include a grandstand restaurant, carvery, a number of bars, totalisator betting and ample seating.
Race distances are 325, 525, 550, 570, and 750 yards and the feature competitions at the track are the Corn Cuchulainn, the Puppy Derby and the Grand National.
On 13 February 1928 a new Irish company was registered called the Dublin Greyhound and Sports Association Ltd. The nominal capital was £25,000 in shares of £1 and the directors were J.B Fraser a timber merchant, John J Flood (retired public official), Walter Butler (architect), Edward Teehan (gentleman) and John McEntagart (motor engineer). Together they would introduce the second greyhound racing track to Dublin in the form of Harolds Cross close to the centre of Dublin (the first was Shelbourne Park).
It became the third greyhound racing venue in Ireland following Shelbourne Park and Celtic Park in Belfast. The opening night was on 10 April 1928 with the first race scheduled for 8pm. The Irish Times advertised the fact that there was accommodation for 40,000 people and car parking for 1,000 cars. The Riordan family formed the first management with John superseded by his son John F.
In 1928 Harolds Cross introduced a competition that would become the modern day Irish Greyhound Derby, the race was unofficial because Harolds Cross decided to run this 'National Derby' without consulting the Irish racing fraternity. This was a practice they would continue to do until the formation of classic races in 1932.
In 1929 Mick the Miller won the Spring Cup competition here over 525 yards and then finished runner up in the Stayers Cup over 600 yards. The Irish Coursing Club issued a new list of classic races in 1932 and controversy followed because Harolds Cross was given the Oaks and not the Derby. Shelbourne had been given the premier event which did not go down well based on the fact that they had introduced the event. One year later and Harolds Cross were furious that Shelbourne were issued the race again. In a meeting Mr Tynan representing the track, had pointed out that the previous year Paddy O’Donoghue had promised that they could hold the event in 1933. I.C.C chairman John Bruton explained that they could not cancel a ruling by the club already made. Tynan stormed out and Harolds Cross refused to run any classics or their qualifying races and threatened to run their own Irish Championship. Finally in 1934 they were granted permission to run the Derby as long as they contributed a minimum of £100 towards the event. The ICC added a further £50 and it was also agreed that Shelbourne and Harolds Cross would run the competition in alternate years.
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