Romford Greyhound Stadium facts for kids

Romford Greyhound Stadium, also known as Coral Romford Greyhound Stadium, is a special place in Romford, east London. It's a track where greyhound racing happens. This stadium is owned and run by the Ladbrokes Coral group. It can hold more than 1,700 people!

The stadium has won awards, like the 'Racecourse of the Year' in 1998 and 2003. After Wimbledon Stadium closed in 2017, Romford became one of only two greyhound stadiums left in London. The other one is Crayford Stadium.

Racing at Romford

The track at Romford is 350 metres long around its edge. Greyhounds race over different distances here, including 225, 400, 575, 750, and 925 metres.

There are six race meetings every week. You can watch races on Friday and Saturday evenings, Wednesday and Saturday mornings, and Monday and Thursday afternoons. In December, there are also races on Tuesday evenings.

You can place bets on the races at the Tote or with the bookmakers who are at the track.

Romford Stadium also hosts several big racing events each year. These include the Cesarewitch, the Champion Stakes, the Essex Vase, the Romford Puppy Cup, the Golden Sprint, and the Coronation Cup. These are very important races in the greyhound world.

Stadium Facilities

The main building at the stadium is called the Coral grandstand. It's right by the finish line and has two floors. Inside, you'll find two public bars, The Champions Bar and La Roc Bar. There's also the Trap 7 Snack Bar for food and places to place your bets.

The grandstand also has the Paddock Restaurant, which can seat 200 people. This Coral grandstand was opened on September 6, 2019, after a huge £10 million upgrade!

There's another restaurant called The Pavilion, located on the third bend of the track. It can serve 100 diners. Plus, there's a special Marquee tent on the fourth bend with its own bar, snack bar, and betting areas.

Main Competitions

Here are the big races held at Romford Greyhound Stadium:

• Cesarewitch
• Essex Vase
• Champion Stakes
• Golden Sprint
• Romford Puppy Cup
• Coronation Cup

History of the Stadium

Early Days and New Tracks

The story of Romford Greyhound Stadium began in 1929. Two men, Archer Leggett and his brother-in-law, rented some land. They spent £400 to set up a greyhound track. On June 21, they opened for business. They used an old Ford car engine to pull the "hare" that the dogs chased!

This first track only lasted a year because the rent became too expensive. So, in 1931, Leggett raised £600 to build a new track. This new track was next to the railway line. It had a hand-operated scoreboard and an electric hare. The first race meeting at this new site was on September 20, 1931. Over 1,000 people came to watch each race!

In 1935, new people joined the company, bringing £17,000 more money. This allowed the track to become a proper stadium with more stands and kennels for the dogs.

Cheetah Racing Experiment

In the 1930s, greyhound racing was very popular. Archer Leggett had a wild idea: he wanted to try cheetah racing in the UK! In December 1936, twelve cheetahs arrived from Kenya.

After six months of getting used to their new home, the cheetahs raced for the first time on December 11, 1937, at Romford. It was an interesting experiment, but it didn't work out. Even though cheetahs are super fast, they lost interest in chasing the lure when racing against each other. So, the cheetah racing stopped after just two races.

In 1939, a new important race called the Essex Vase was started at Romford. The stadium had a main grandstand and another stand on the back straight. The track was 380 yards around.

After the War

After World War II, Romford Stadium continued to be a popular place. In 1976, a big change happened: the stadium was sold to Corals, a well-known betting company.

Corals invested a lot of money into the stadium. They built a new grandstand with a modern restaurant that had glass windows. They also updated the betting and hare systems. These improvements made the track even more popular with both the public and the racing industry.

A famous greyhound named Lauries Panther, trained at Romford, won the 1982 English Greyhound Derby. This was a huge moment for the stadium! Other famous dogs like Ballyregan Bob and Scurlogue Champ also raced here. Ballyregan Bob won the Essex Vase in 1985 without losing a race.

More major races were added over the years, including the Coronation Cup in 1986, the Golden Sprint in 1987, and the Champion Stakes in 1988.

21st Century Changes

In 2006, the main restaurant in the grandstand got a £400,000 makeover. In 2018, the stadium made a deal to have races almost every day of the week.

A huge renovation happened in 2019. The old main stand was taken down to make more space for parking. The reception and offices were updated, and a brand new grandstand was built. Even the track itself was relaid! The stadium stayed open during most of this work. The official re-opening was on September 6, 2019.

In 2020, the Cesarewitch competition, a very old and important race, was brought back to Romford after being absent for eight years. It's now a top-level race sponsored by the stadium owners, Ladbrokes Coral.

Images for kids

• 

  Romford Greyhound Stadium around 1980