It is a Greyhound Owner newspaper cutting dated May 4th 1961 that confirms the existence of this venue at Tirphill near New Tredegar, Glamorganshire.
The South Wales mining town of New Tredegar must not be confused with another town called Tredegar located four miles to the north, which incidentally became host to two other greyhound racing venues at The Rec and Jesmond Dene. The caption below gives no indication on how greyhound racing at Tirphill operated or even when it began, but it is thought to have started in 1960.
The caption also gives no indication of its location, although a 1960 OS map reveals a venue known as Grove Park Stadium. Yet the discovery of a programme dated June 1964 BELOW confirms all the evidence needed to show that this greyhound racing venue existed.
The programme offers further evidence showing distances of 300 yards and 525 yards, proving that this venue was not just a drag straight but a complete circuit. The venue offered handicapped six dog racing with two evening meetings a week staged. Due to the time of races on show, it seemed as though there was no track lighting, with no clear evidence on what type of hare system it used.
It still remains unclear on when greyhound racing ceased at Grove Park, but my assumption would say that it faded away during the mid 1960’s. Presently, the site of Grove Park still exists operating as a sports field to the locals and is located less than a mile north of New Tredegar town centre. The chance of finding any evidence of Greyhound Racing ever having taken place there would be very remote indeed.
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