The 1983 UK & Ireland Greyhound Racing Year was the 58th year of greyhound racing in the United Kingdom and the 57th year of greyhound racing in Ireland.

Roll of honour Major Winners Award Name of Winner1983 English Greyhound Derby Im Slippy 1983 Irish Greyhound Derby Belvedere Bran 1983 Scottish Greyhound Derby On Spec Greyhound Trainer of the Year George CurtisGreyhound of the Year Yankee ExpressIrish Greyhound of the Year Im SlippyTrainers Championship Natalie Savva

Summary The National Greyhound Racing Club (NGRC) released the annual returns, with totalisator turnover slightly down at £61,932,148 and attendances also slightly down recorded at 4,245,995 from 5443 meetings. Track tote retention was 17.5%.

Im Slippy, a white and blue brindle dog was voted Irish Greyhound of the Year, he won the 1983 English Greyhound Derby at White City. Yankee Express, a brindle dog, trained by George Curtis was voted Greyhound of the Year after winning a second successive Scurry Gold Cup title at Slough, the October 1980 whelp had performed well in the Derby and also won the Pall Mall Stakes.

Tracks After failing to secure new premises at Oxleaze and Churchdown, the decision was made to close Gloucester & Cheltenham Stadium, the final meeting was held on 22 October. Many of the trainers and greyhounds were accommodated by the Swindon and Bristol Racing Manager's Bill Hiscock and Ken Whitrow respectively. Gloucester's leading trainer Janet Dickenson joined Bristol. Later in the year ADT (British Car Auctions) purchased Abbey Stadium and used its large car park as a base for their sales.

Ladbrokes sold Brough Park to Glassedin Greyhounds Ltd, headed by James Glass, father of female trainer Jane Glass. Cambridge had their NGRC licence cancelled and reverted once again to independent status leaving some top trainers looking for a new attachment. Joe Cobbold went private and would eventually put the Utopia kennels in the hands of son and daughter in law, Trevor and Pam. Linda Mullins took up a position at Crayford, Theo Mentzis and Natalie Savva both went to Milton Keynes and Paddy Hancox moved from Perry Barr to Hall Green. Ayr Greyhound Stadium opened on 6 August.

News White City trainer Randy Singleton retired and was replaced by Ray Peacock and Frank Baldwin. Walthamstow Racing Manager Ray Spalding left to be replaced by Tony Smith. Seeding for open races was controversially scrapped as a recommendation from the Greyhound Racing Association's chief racing manager Bob Rowe, there was an opinion that segregating wide runners and railers in trap draws favoured those seeded wide.

Five track records fell on the English Greyhound Derby final night, including that for the Derby distance when Hay Maker Mack became the first dog ever to break the 29-second barrier, posting 28.95 seconds. Hay Maker Mack had won a Derby heat before being knocked out and his racing career ended soon afterwards, when he sustained a broken hock during the Essex Vase at Romford.

Decoy Lassie finished runner up in the Cesarewitch at Belle Vue but took consolation from winning the Steward's Cup and Cearns Memorial.

Whisper Wishes, an August 1981 black dog, son of Sand Man bred in Ireland by Mrs G. Naylor out of her brood bitch, Micklem Drive was put with Maidstone's Charlie Coyle. After a year that consisted of only 15 races, winning six of them including the Courage Select Stakes at Wembley he came into the ownership of Irishman John Duffy. Duffy pencilled in the following year's Derby for his hound.

Ireland The Boyne Valley Greyhound Stadium in Navan is suspended by the Bord na gCon after they discovered that it owed more than £5,000 in unpaid prize money. Irish star Supreme Tiger trained by Matt O'Donnell broke a hock when preparing for the Anglo-Irish International and was retired

English Derby champion Im Slippy returned to Northern Ireland and won the Guinness National Sprint at Dunmore remaining undefeated throughout the event and winning the final by four lengths from Ring Beacon in 29.30 seconds. He became one of a select few to win a Classic event on both sides of the Irish Sea. After being retired he went on to prove himself one of the most influential stud greyhounds of modern times.

Belvedere Bran won the £25,000 Carroll's 1983 Irish Greyhound Derby. Litter sisters Kerogue Nella and Kerogue Sarah finished first and second during the running of the Irish TV Trophy.

Principal UK races

Daily Mirror Grand National, White City (April 2 500m h, £4,000) PosName of GreyhoundTrainerSP TimeTrap 1st Sir Winston George Curtis 5-1 31.09 52nd Master Bob Mark Sullivan 13-8f 31.13 23rd Wolseleys Scout Gunner Smith 7-1 31.29 14th Anner Duke Phil Rees Jr. 5-2 31.51 35th Bonnet Up Stan Gudgin 3-1 31.54 66th Black Steel 8-1 31.58 4

BBC TV Trophy, Walthamstow (Mar 3, 820m, £3,000)PosName of Greyhound TrainerSP Time Trap 1st Sandy Lane George Curtis 7-452.43 52nd Adamstown Miller 33-152.77 43rd Minnies Matador Paddy Milligan 5-4f52.87 24th Glenbrien Ranger 14-152.93 65th Jos Gamble Jerry Fisher 5-1 52.9736th Eastern Highway 10-153.15 1

Laurels, Wimbledon (May 6, 460m, £5,000)PosName of Greyhound TrainerSP Time Trap 1st Darkie Fli F Stevens 2-1f 27.87 52nd Raceway Mick Adam Jackson 5-1 27.99 33rd Deep Gold Paddy Milligan 8-1 28.02 24th Winning Line Chandler - MK 10-1 28.34 45th Big Ideas Terry Duggan 4-1 28.44 16th Aglish Poacher Jerry Fisher 5-2 28.47 6

Scurry Gold Cup, Slough (Jul 16, 442m, £5,000)PosName of Greyhound TrainerSP Time Trap 1st Yankee Express George Curtis 8-11f 26.84 42nd Squire Cass Terry Dartnall 9-1 27.18 23rd Thor John Cox 5-1 27.34 14th Sammy Bear George Curtis 10-1 27.42 65th Ebony Chieftain John Copplestone 6-1 27.43 36th Adventure Kit 12-1 27.69 5

Scottish Greyhound Derby, Shawfield (Aug 19, 500m, £4,000)PosName of Greyhound TrainerSP Time Trap 1st On Spec Harry Crapper 2-1 30.50 42nd Go Winston Ralph Smith 1-1f 30.58 33rd Kylehill Legart 6-1 30.92 54th Cooladine Jet Edna Armstrong 10-1 31.00 65th Knockhill Action 33-1 31.24 26th Hot Darkie 5-1 31.34 1

St Leger, Wembley (Sep 2, 655m, £7,500)PosName of Greyhound TrainerSP Time Trap 1st Easy And Slow Adam Jackson 5-2 40.3732nd Kings Merlin Arthur Hitch 5-2 40.38 23rd Bally Star Linda Mullins 9-4f 40.50 44th Tally Ho Bomber Arthur Hitch 6-1 40.54 65th Decoy Diamond 20-1 40.82 16th Gabriel Hilda 14-1 40.98 5

Gold Collar, Catford (Sep 24, 555m, £5,000)PosName of Greyhound TrainerSP Time Trap 1st Rathduff Tad Tony Dennis 7-1 35.13 52nd Easy And Slow Adam Jackson 1-1f 35.19 63rd Huberts Shade Adam Jackson 4-1 35.27 34th Rathkenny LassieMiss M Coleman 20-1 35.33 45th Wheelers Tory Peter Payne 5-1 35.36 26th Copper Beechers George Curtis 8-1 35.52 1

Cesarewitch, Belle Vue (Oct 1, 815m, £3,000)PosName of Greyhound TrainerSP Time Trap 1st Jos Gamble Jerry Fisher 5-2 50.90 12nd Decoy Lassie Joe Cobbold 5-1 51.14 53rd Gala Special Barney O'Connor 7-1 51.36 24th Sandy Lane George Curtis 7-4f 51.37 35th Send A Dream Brian Thompson 7-2 51.63 46th Forever Cruising Linda Mullins 8-1 52.17 6

The Grand Prix, Walthamstow (Oct 15, 640m, £5,000)PosName of Greyhound TrainerSP Time Trap 1st Flying Duke Paddy Coughlan 4-1 40.49 22nd Forever Cruising Linda Mullins 7-1 40.69 63rd Winning Line Chandler – MK 7-2 40.79 54th Split Image Rita Hayward 13-8f 40.87 15th Alleys Goldie George Curtis 6-1 41.01 46th Killury Sunset 25-1 41.33 3

Oaks, Harringay (Oct 28, 475m, £7,000)PosName of Greyhound TrainerSP Time Trap 1st Major Grove Eric Pateman 6-128.59 32nd Gals Girl Arthur Hitch 11-4 28.69 63rd Astrosyn Doll Ray Peacock 10-1 28.99 44th If So Sam Sykes 6-4f 29.00 25th Hollywood Molly Ted Griffin 8-1 29.01 56th Ferns Best Pete Beamount 6-1 29.07 1

Totalisator returns

The totalisator returns declared to the National Greyhound Racing Club for the year 1983 are listed below.

StadiumTurnover £London (White City) 7,189,442London (Walthamstow) 6,690,172London (Wimbledon) 4,641,423Romford 3,677,493London (Harringay) 3,453,476Brighton & Hove 3,264,841London (Catford) 2,686,946Slough 2,628,665London (Wembley) 2,391,662Manchester (Belle Vue) 2,152,987Birmingham (Hall Green) 2,060,096Edinburgh (Powderhall) 1,758,864Crayford & Bexleyheath 1,404,539Southend-on-Sea 1,329,850Glasgow (Shawfield) 1,272,656

StadiumTurnover £Sheffield (Owlerton) 1,218,412Ramsgate 945,028Wolverhampton (Monmore)875,571Newcastle (Brough Park) 866,041Yarmouth 861,687Portsmouth 734,353London (Hackney) 703,589Gloucester & Cheltenham 665,600Birmingham (Perry Barr, old)600,277Maidstone 587,750Derby567,487Bristol 535,712Oxford525,200Milton Keynes523,380Ipswich 426,693

StadiumTurnover £Newcastle (Gosforth)400,510Hull (Old Craven Park) 398,817Reading 377,441Rye House 357,687Nottingham 355,503Henlow (Bedfordshire) 352,251Cradley Heath 347,357Cambridge 344,841Poole334,152Middlesbrough 317,806Leicester 260,907Coventry 247,418Swindon 228,707Peterborough 188,959Norton Canes 180,000

References