Nottingham Stadium attracted a bumper Monday evening crowd to start National Greyhound Week, with stars of the track past and present wowing hundreds of racegoers.
The Colwick Park venue opened its doors for free to launch a nationwide week of celebration of licensed racing, with guests enjoying 12 live races and a showcase of retired greyhounds.
Joining over 900 racegoers trackside were champion racers Mickys Barrett and Blue Trooper, both of whom are now retired and enjoying life on the sofa locally.
Seaside Greyhounds - one of Nottingham’s homing partners – also attended the celebratory fixture and educated first-time visitors about how greyhounds make great pets in retirement and their key care requirements.
On the track, two of the sport’s biggest races worth £12,500 each to the winner – the Jenningsbet Puppy Classic and Jenningsbet Select Stakes – were won respectively by David Mullins’ March On Freddie and Pat Buckley’s Unanimouspanther who made the trip over from Ireland.
David Evans, General Manager of Nottingham Stadium, thanked those trackside for helping his team launch National Greyhound Week in style.
“It was a bumper evening,” said David. “Hundreds of first-time racegoers who had never seen a greyhound race live before joined us to mark the beginning of National Greyhound Week.
“This is our opportunity to celebrate licensed greyhound racing from our canine superstars to those who work across the industry, plus our racegoers and partners.
“We saw some exceptional performances on track, but it was equally pleasing to point people to our homing partners and demonstrate how friendly and affectionate greyhounds are in retirement.
“Our thanks go to Jenningsbet for sponsoring the card and showing so much commitment to engaging new audiences with our great sport by organising several coaches for its staff and customers.”
Adding to the occasion were Nottingham couple Jon Peck and Janice Needham, owner of 2022 English Greyhound Derby finalist and 2022 Premier Greyhound Racing All England Cup champion Mickys Barrett.
The four-year-old hound was purchased by 67 friends to remember their late friend Mick Barrett after he died of cancer.
He surpassed all expectations on the track, winning some of the UK’s most prestigious races to enable the Micky Barrett Syndicate to purchase two more greyhounds – Mickys Legacy and Mickys Tribute.
Mickys Legacy even met his namesake on the night after he triumphed in the Jenningsbet Dash Maiden Trophy.
Jon said: “We loved bringing Micky back to where his racing career started.
“Janice and I were part of the syndicate during his racing days, and we’ve owned him in retirement since.
“My granddaughter loves him - she was frightened of dogs at the beginning of the year after a bad experience. But Micky has turned that around because he’s so kind and gentle which is so typical of greyhounds.
“Micky was a champion on the track, and now he’s the apple of our eye off it.”
National Greyhound Week continues at Nottingham Stadium on Friday evening with another 12-race card starting at 6.14pm. Tickets, trackside packages and restaurant availability can be booked by clicking here.
