Annan Road, Gretna, Dumfrieshire, Scotland.
POSTCODE———————————-DG16 5DQ
LOCATED————————————About half a mile west oF Gretna town centre just off the B721.
ORIGINAL SITE—————————–Farm grazing land.
DATE CONSTRUCTED——————–1985-86
DATE VENUE OPENED——————-April 1986.
Meaning other sports may have taken place prior to the arrival of Greyhound Racing.
FIRST MEETING—————————-April 4th 1986.
Greyhound Racing only.
LICENSED OR INDEPENDENT———-Independent
All venues covered would have to be licensed with the government, licensed suggested in this section would refer to tracks operating under NGRC Rules.
INSIDE OR OUTSIDE HARE TYPE——Outside
Please note that the Electric Hare suggested is only a guidance and would have been in operation for a certain amount of time at this venue. Although it is not necessarily guaranteed that it was operational all the time, as other types of lure may have been used and updated as time progressed.
DISTANCES———————————–120, 280, 470 and 665 metres.
Please note that most racing venues distances had become varied throughout the years, the ones given above were at once point set and offers only a guidance to the track size.
CIRCUMFERENCE—————————Don’t know
Please note that alterations at most racing venues throughout its existence would see that the circumference of the track would vary, the one shown above offers only a guidance to the track size.
BIG RACE NAMES—————————The Gretna Derby, The Sprint Classic and odd occasions The King of the Flaps.
STADIUM SHARED WITH——————Nothing
LAST MEETING——————————-March 24th 2017.
Greyhound Racing only.
STADIUM CLOSURE DATE—————-March 2017.
Meaning other sports may have taken place after Greyhound Racing had ceased.
STADIUM DEMOLITION——————–2017-18
BUILT ON SITE——————————–Construction of new housing already taking place.
In some cases, structure’s that originally covered the venue after the stadium had been demolished, may have been themselves demolished too, so the one described is more likely to be the one which now presently covers the site.
EVIDENCE LEFT TODAY——————–Not visited the site yet but may be just the entrance to the car park.
FURTHER COMMENTS———————None
Halcrow Stadium in Gretna became the last but one flapping track to close north of the border, even though its future had lain in the balance for a number of years previously. The border town of Gretna has become more known for its marital gatherings rather than Greyhound Racing, but it can proudly boast that it has hosted Greyhound Racing at two different venues in the town.
Halcrow Greyhound Stadium was located on the B721 Annan Road, half a mile west of Gretna’s town centre, and only half a mile north of the towns football ground, Raydale Park, were incidentally Greyhound Racing had taken place for the first time. It was the closure of the Raydale Park track in 1985 that encouraged a group of enthusiast to look elsewhere to keep Greyhound Racing in the town. They found their answer on a section of farmland close to the busy A75 Gretna-Dumfries Bypass, with the project being funded by a family who ran a local transport business.
Once built the new venue was ready to stage its opening meeting on the 4th of April 1986, starting life as an independent track, and that is how it would stay throughout its thirty plus years of existence. Its excellent all sanded running surface helped to contribute a glorious setting whether under lights or not, although its viewing of races from the terraces seemed restricted, especially near the start and finish straight, due to the terracing set lower than the level of the track.
The build up to its closure had seen Halcrow just stage one meeting per week for a number of years previous, simply down to the fewer entrants available in the area. Races consisted of six dogs, who once chased an outside Swaffham type hare, over distances of 120, 280, 470 and 665 metres. One of Halcrow’s big race attractions, was The Gretna Derby, mainly run in October over a distance of 470 metres. They also staged “The King of the Flaps” and also an event called “The Sprint Classic” run normally during September.
Halcrow staged its final meeting on the 24th of March 2017, with a hound called Roman’s Boy winning the last race over 470 metres. Sadly, the temptation of a big money offer easily outbid the need of Greyhound Racing in the area, and soon like many other tracks, The Halcrow Stadium will disappear beneath the foundations of new housing.
A programme, photograph or even memorabilia for this track is required for this page, if you can help please contact me.
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