Remember When - 8 July 2025

Sprinter supreme Jimmy Lollie makes his farewell appearance for the Sky cameras, leading the parade with Teresa Cahill for the Coral Sprint final on Sussex Cup night. Hove 31st July 2012 pic Steve Nash 

Remember When

1992 Sheffield drop the £10,000 Tennents Ten Thousand and replace it with the Stones Bitter Five Thousand. 

1980 Sunderland Stadium, the North East independent track which closed the previous month following the lapse of its betting licence, is now in the hands of estate agents, who have priced the six acre site at a little over £200,000. 

2001 A clever Muttley in Racing Post picks up the fact that the two leading female trainers, Linda’s Jones and Mullins, have birthdays one day apart. Muttley scans the horoscopes for the two ‘Leos’ and advises Mrs J “whether you wanted to or not, get out and celebrate” and the occasionally outspoken Mrs Mullins, is advised she “spends too much time worrying what others think about you.” 

1974 July 6 Is the final of the Irish Television Trophy over 750 yards at Shelbourne Park, Matt Bruton's Waverley Supreme (Supreme Fun-Octum, Feb'72) trained by Ger McKenna, knocks 21 spots off the track record when beating Top Notcher in 42.39. The two-length runner-up was also inside Ritas Choice's 42.60 set the previous July. Supreme, a litter brother to British puppy star Laurdella Fun, will go on to become Ireland’s greatest ever stud export to Australia. 

2010 William Hill’s high profile PR executive David Hood leaves the company, stating that he is seeking new challenges. 

1947 Baker’s roundsman Horace Chapman finds himself in court after collecting £31 on his rounds (index linked to £1,750), writing to his employers to say he was off sick, and then squandering the money at Crayford stadium. He receives six months in prison for embezzlement. 

2018 Ride London 2018 volunteers raise more than £8,000 for retired greyhounds. 

1999 Toms The Best sires his first ever winner in a graded race at Poole – the 15 month old Hes Nobodys Fool who wins an A6. Deborah Walker’s blue dog eventually goes on to win the Produce Stakes at Hall Green 

1964 Poor Linda is sold at Shelbourne sales for 500 guineas. Before the year is out, she had quadrupled that in prize money having won six of her 12 races for new trainer Waterman at Wimbledon. They include the Pall Mall and Cloth of Gold finals and a new 525 track record at Manchester White City. She will later become a top brood and is the great grand dam of Whisper Wishes. 

1981 Cradley Heath are forced to offer free admission for seven meetings following their failure to re-new their betting license, thus preventing the striking of all bets. 

2009 Seven months into operation and morale is so low at the GBGB offices that several former NGRC staff have joined the GMB union.  

1993 GRA aim to save £100,000 per year by dispensing with the services of the paid paraders at their track.  But at Wimbledon, the trainers agree to continue with the payments.

1959 Racing journalists question whether July 4 set a record for records with no less than six track records broken on the same night on four different tracks. The most notable was Mile Bush Pride’s 11-length win in the Welsh Derby where he took 40 spots off the 525 yard clock with a 28.80 run. 

1999 Derby winning trainer Ken Linzell (62) announces his retirement from the sport. A former owner trainer at Ipswich, Linzell handled a string of top hounds including Derby winner Slippy Blue, top British pup Glatton Grange, Scottish Derby winner Smokey Pete and the brilliant Ballintubber One. After an acrimonious departure from Walthamstow – the kennel were known to enjoy a punt – Linzell ended up with significantly the strongest range at Romford. He owned the vast majority of his 100 plus kennel strength. Among former staff taught the ropes by Linzell were Brian Clemenson and long time head lad Paul Young. 

2004 Nine winners shared a huge £81,000 jackpot at Hove. One syndicate, which tried to 'buy the pool' by investing over £46,000 were thwarted by a series of winning favourites and collected only £9,000 in returns. 

1947 Pouleen Boy is reckoned to be the smallest dog ever to win an Irish Classic. The Kerry bred landed the Irish St.Leger at Limerick having weighed in at a mere 52 pounds (23.5kg). 

1998 Leading Irish open racer Mr Pickwick was suspended for fighting in the semi-finals of the Champion Stakes. 

2010 Spiritina lands a hefty gamble at a Sheffield BAGS meeting for trainer Malcolm Daniels. The bitch is backed from 4-1 to 4-7f and won in 30.52 for the 500 metres. She found 10 lengths on her most recent performance but had gone quicker five races earlier when beaten. There is no stewards enquiry though the trainer is suspended by the track. A GBGB inquiry subsequently clears the trainer. 

1975 The semi-finals of the Irish Derby are postponed following an order from the Irish High Court. Mrs Cora Jones applied for the injunction following the disqualification for fighting of her bitch Clopook Ivy, who had crossed the line in front in her quarter-final. The Shelbourne executive eventually had the injunction overturned only for Mrs Jones to appeal to the Supreme Court where she lost. The semis eventually took place and included Macbeth, who had finished fourth in his heat but was promoted to the semis following the disqualification. 

1995 Two men were killed on the Stainforth car park after a fight broke out after racing. 

2016 William Hill announce that they will not sponsor the 2017 Greyhound Derby but Wimbledon leaseholder Clive Feltham expects the event to still take place at Wimbledon. He says: “As far as I am concerned, the Derby will go ahead at Wimbledon next year and thankfully the early announcement gives us plenty of time to plan ahead. Obviously, if Galliards came along tomorrow and called in the lease, we would have to be gone by January.” Wrong on all counts. The track closes in March 2017. 

1955 Two High Court judgements determine that where greyhounds are disqualified for fighting, their new owners are entitled to compensation under the 1893 Sales Of Goods Act.  

1986 With SIS about to broadcast its first BAGS meeting, the NGRC announce a new £500 broadcast fee. This is in addition to the £290 BAGS licence fee. 

2018 Litter brothers Zenas Zeus and Shoot The Bolt finish 1-2 in the 72nd British Breeders Two-Year-Old Produce Stakes at Swindon. The last time littermates finished 1-2 in the event was 12 years earlier when Westmead Joe beat sister Westmead Olivia – who is, incidentally, Zeus’s and Bolt’s great grand dam. 

1962 The latest applicant to receive his open race trainer’s licence advertises for runners. His name is Geoff De Mulder and he is operating from Mistley Kennels near Manningtree, later the base for Pat and Linda Mullins.