Slough Stadium
| Location | Uxbridge Road, Slough, Berkshire |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 51°30'29.5"N 0°34'46.2"W |
| Opened | 1928 |
| Closed | 1987 |
Slough Stadium originally known as the Dolphin Stadium was a greyhound racing stadium in Uxbridge Road, Slough, Berkshire.
George Bennett Sr. a resident and entrepreneur of Slough bought and sold a cinema in Chalvey before purchasing the Dolphin Hotel in Slough in May 1914. The hotel was next door to the Dolphin ground which had hosted cricket, bowls and football in the nineteenth century. Slough Town AFC took over the ground in 1890 and Bennett became their owner.
Bennett decided that the ground required more activity and after watching the new sport of greyhound racing he made the decision to construct a greyhound track around the pitch. Work got underway in 1928 with the stadium taking shape on the east side of the Uxbridge Road and south of the Dolphin Hotel. The south part of the stadium would reach as far as the houses on Dolphin Road.
The opening night was on 26 May 1928 the first ever race at the track.
In 1929 a greyhound called Idle Chief won 16 consecutive races and Bennett continued with his enterprises by introducing a training camp for boxers at his Dolphin hotel which included Tommy Farr, Ben Ford, Jack Doyle, Primo Carnera, Marcel Thil and Midget Wogan.
In 1936 Bennett sold the Dolphin Stadium to Clapton Stadium Company Limited who already controlled Clapton, South Shields and Warrington. H.Garland Wells who was joint vice president of the National Greyhound Racing Society and Clapton Stadium Ltd was instrumental in the company’s decision to purchase the track which they renamed Slough Greyhound Stadium.
The track circumference was 400 yards and the course was described as a handy little track with bends that favour railers (greyhounds nearest the inside rail), a good run-up to the first bend means trap draw has little advantage. seeding did not exist which explains why trap draw had little advantage on a track favouring railers.
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