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Belle Vue Stadium
Belle Vue Stadium was a greyhound racing track in Belle Vue, Manchester, England, where the first race around an oval track in Britain was held on 24 July 1926. It has also been used for motorcycle speedway, as the home ground of the team Belle Vue Aces in 1928 and from 1988 until 2015, and from 1999 until 2019 for stock car racing and banger racing.
The track was owned (1926–2014) and operated (1926–2019) by the Greyhound Racing Association. The Crown Oil Pension Fund bought the stadium in 2014. The stadium had luxury glass-fronted grandstands, restaurants, hospitality boxes and bars. Greyhound racing took place during three evenings including Saturday and some afternoons on the Bookmakers Afternoon Greyhound Service (BAGS).
Speedway was first held at the stadium during 1928 but was not held again until 1 April 1988, when the Belle Vue Aces returned to the stadium. The team departed Kirkmanshulme Lane at the end of the 2015 season, prior to moving to the new National Speedway Stadium for the 2016 campaign. The shale speedway track was 285 metres (312 yards) in length.
In 1925, Charles A. Munn, an American businessman, made a deal with Smith and Sawyer for the rights to promote greyhound racing in Britain. Although the earlier attempt to introduce mechanical racing at Hendon had almost been forgotten, the pastime of coursing was still strong in Britain. The first person Munn contacted was Major L. Lyne Dixson. The Major was a leading figure in British field sports and was quickly won over to the idea presented to him by the American entrepreneur.
Finding other supporters proved to rather difficult however. With the General Strike of 1926 looming, the two men scoured the country in an attempt to find others who would join them. Eventually they met Brigadier-General Alfred Critchley, who in turn introduced them to Sir William Gentle JP. Between them they raised £22,000 and formed the Greyhound Racing Association Ltd. When deciding where to situate their new stadium, Manchester was considered to be the ideal place because of its sporting and gambling links. Close to the city centre, the consortium erected the first custom-built greyhound stadium and called it Belle Vue. The name of the stadium came from the nearby Belle Vue Zoological Gardens that had been built in 1836 and the land on which the stadium was to stand had been an area of farmland known as Higher Catsknowl and Lower Catsknowl.
The very first race around an oval track in Britain was held on 24 July 1926. More than 1,700 people were attracted to the meeting where they watched a greyhound called Mistley win over 440 yards (402 m).
Six races with seven dogs in each race were held in the first meeting. Fifty years later a stand was named after Mistley, the winner of the first race at 6-1 from trap one. Running the quarter-mile flat course in 25 seconds, Mistley romped home eight lengths clear at 6–1.
The first Director of racing was Major-General T Anderson and the first Racing Manager was L.V.Browne. The first trainers included Tom Fear, Bill Brinkley, Jack Harvey, Jack Buck and H Wilson. After the end of that first meeting, the GRA were horrified to find they had made a loss of £50 but as it turned out they clearly had made a good decision because 16,000 turned up the following week. The first three-month racing season saw more than 11,000 racegoers, 37 meetings and 221 races The consortium repaid a £10,000 bank loan and shares in the new company rose from their initial value of one shilling to £37–10–00 (the equivalent of £37.50 for an outlay of 5p).
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Belle Vue Stadium
Belle Vue Stadium was a greyhound racing track in Belle Vue, Manchester, England, where the first race around an oval track in Britain was held on 24 July 1926. It has also been used for motorcycle speedway, as the home ground of the team Belle Vue Aces in 1928 and from 1988 until 2015, and from 1999 until 2019 for stock car racing and banger racing.
The track was owned (1926–2014) and operated (1926–2019) by the Greyhound Racing Association. The Crown Oil Pension Fund bought the stadium in 2014. The stadium had luxury glass-fronted grandstands, restaurants, hospitality boxes and bars. Greyhound racing took place during three evenings including Saturday and some afternoons on the Bookmakers Afternoon Greyhound Service (BAGS).
Speedway was first held at the stadium during 1928 but was not held again until 1 April 1988, when the Belle Vue Aces returned to the stadium. The team departed Kirkmanshulme Lane at the end of the 2015 season, prior to moving to the new National Speedway Stadium for the 2016 campaign. The shale speedway track was 285 metres (312 yards) in length.
In 1925, Charles A. Munn, an American businessman, made a deal with Smith and Sawyer for the rights to promote greyhound racing in Britain. Although the earlier attempt to introduce mechanical racing at Hendon had almost been forgotten, the pastime of coursing was still strong in Britain. The first person Munn contacted was Major L. Lyne Dixson. The Major was a leading figure in British field sports and was quickly won over to the idea presented to him by the American entrepreneur.
Finding other supporters proved to rather difficult however. With the General Strike of 1926 looming, the two men scoured the country in an attempt to find others who would join them. Eventually they met Brigadier-General Alfred Critchley, who in turn introduced them to Sir William Gentle JP. Between them they raised £22,000 and formed the Greyhound Racing Association Ltd. When deciding where to situate their new stadium, Manchester was considered to be the ideal place because of its sporting and gambling links. Close to the city centre, the consortium erected the first custom-built greyhound stadium and called it Belle Vue. The name of the stadium came from the nearby Belle Vue Zoological Gardens that had been built in 1836 and the land on which the stadium was to stand had been an area of farmland known as Higher Catsknowl and Lower Catsknowl.
The very first race around an oval track in Britain was held on 24 July 1926. More than 1,700 people were attracted to the meeting where they watched a greyhound called Mistley win over 440 yards (402 m).
Six races with seven dogs in each race were held in the first meeting. Fifty years later a stand was named after Mistley, the winner of the first race at 6-1 from trap one. Running the quarter-mile flat course in 25 seconds, Mistley romped home eight lengths clear at 6–1.
The first Director of racing was Major-General T Anderson and the first Racing Manager was L.V.Browne. The first trainers included Tom Fear, Bill Brinkley, Jack Harvey, Jack Buck and H Wilson. After the end of that first meeting, the GRA were horrified to find they had made a loss of £50 but as it turned out they clearly had made a good decision because 16,000 turned up the following week. The first three-month racing season saw more than 11,000 racegoers, 37 meetings and 221 races The consortium repaid a £10,000 bank loan and shares in the new company rose from their initial value of one shilling to £37–10–00 (the equivalent of £37.50 for an outlay of 5p).
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