Lifford Greyhound Stadium

Lifford Greyhound Stadium was a greyhound racing track located in Lifford, County Donegal, Ireland.[1]

Lifford Greyhound Stadium
LocationBallyduff Road, Lifford, County Donegal, Ireland
Coordinates54°50'05.7"N 7°29'04.3"W
Operated byLifford Greyhound Racing Company Limited
Date opened1959
Date closed17 August 2019
Race typegreyhound racing
Official website

Racing took place every Saturday evening and the facilities included the Champion Stakes Restaurant, fast food facilities, a number of bars, totalisator betting and seating.[2]

Race distances were 350, 525, 550, 575, 750 and 820 yards.[3]

History

The Lifford Greyhound Stadium was built in 1959 when cattle dealer James Magee decided to convert some more of his grazing land from a schooling track into a professional 495 yard circumference circuit. Magee died in 1971 and his sons Cathal and Seamus took over the track as the Racing and General Managers around the same time that a new stand was erected at the venue.[4]

The main event originally held at the track was the Irwin Cup but it did not feature highly on the Irish racing calendar and during the late 1970s an event called the Abraham David Trophy was contested featuring significant prize money. Many top greyhounds have appeared here including Yellow Printer who began his career at Lifford as a puppy.[5]

After 32 years association the track was put up for sale by the Magee family in 1991 and was eventually bought by new owners in 2001 when Willie, Hugh and Patrick Duffy formed the Lifford Greyhound Racing Company.[6] On 11 September 2003 the track re-opened after undergoing a €12m refit with a new grandstand, two restaurants and improved facilities.[7]

Closure

During 2018, the stadium was put up for sale at a price of 1.9 million euros. The following year it was announced that the last race meeting would be on Saturday 17 August 2019 before the stadium was permanently closed. Racing Manager Matthew Duffy blamed the lack of support from the Irish Greyhound Board.[8][9]

Track records

Final track records

[10] [11] [12][13]

Yards Greyhound Time Date Notes
325Jamellas Phantom17.3826.01.2003
350Mustangsteviegee [14]18.3001.06.2008
525Rough Laura28.2513.09.2008
550College Causeway29.3126.10.2008
575Line Of Fire31.0507.10.2007
600Always A Rumble32.5021.09.2003
750Droopys Quiff41.3805.10.2008
820Recovery Mission45.7411.09.2003
525 hurdlesSefanta29.4808.08.2004
550 hurdlesLemon Rambo30.8128.11.2004

Former track records

References
  1. "Lifford Greyhound Stadium". irishtourist.com.
  2. "Lifford Greyhound Stadium". Irish Greyhound Board.
  3. "Lifford". Greyhound Data.
  4. Genders, Roy (1981). The Encyclopedia of Greyhound Racing. Pelham Books Ltd. ISBN 07207-1106-1.
  5. Genders, Roy (1981). The Encyclopedia of Greyhound Racing. Pelham Books Ltd. ISBN 07207-1106-1.
  6. "Lifford Greyhound Stadium for sale". Donegal News.
  7. "Lifford greyhound stadium opens". Health Club Management.
  8. "End of an era as Lifford Greyhound Stadium set to close". Donegal Daily. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
  9. "Lifford Greyhound Stadium is set to close next week". Highland Radio. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
  10. "Track records". Greyhound Data.
  11. "Track records". Greyhound Star.
  12. "Lifford Track records". Greyhound Star.
  13. "Lifford track records". Greyhound Data.
  14. "THE Hugh Duffy Memorial Open 350 Round 1 Heat 2". Irish Greyhound Board.

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