An early look at the English Greyhound Derby
The sport of greyhound racing is one that slips under the radar to most sports fans. While it used to serve as a popular pastime amongst the working class in the 20th century, appeal has certainly dwindled in recent times, and the financial difficulties caused by less attendances have meant most of the biggest racecourses around the country have been forced to shut their doors and either close permanently or be repurposed as multi-use venues. Even so, there is a still a small, but dedicated set of spectators that follow the sport and regularly visit greyhound betting sites to predict a champion.
For those fans, they have the English Greyhound Derby to look forward to — perhaps the most prestigious race on the whole of the greyhound racing calendar. After the recent Kent St Leger at Crayford, the Derby is the next Category One race on the British Board of Greyhounds’ list, as anticipation starts to build for an entertaining showpiece in June. Read on, as we go through everything you need to know about the English Greyhound Derby.
What to know?
There’s only a matter of weeks left until the final of the Derby, which takes place at the Towcester racecourse in Northamptonshire. With initial qualifiers already taking part, the best greyhounds and trainers will be competing for a place in the latter rounds, before that there are quarter- and semi-finals to determine who will be in the final race.
The Derby has been running since 1927 and was held at White City until the 1980s before moving around a variety of locations including Wimbledon, Nottingham, and Towcester. The race is 500 metres, so the dogs will need to be at their quickest while still maintaining their stamina in order to win the whopping £175,000 the winner receives.
Last year’s race
With the coronavirus pandemic forcing the last two years behind closed doors, there will be a sense of normality about the next edition of the Derby. Last year was the first time since 2018 that Towcester held the final due to construction works keeping the track up to date. And after months of build up the race certainly lived up to the billing.
In the end, it was Thorn Falcon, trained by Patrick Janssens, who reigned supreme. The Belgian, who had been named the Greyhound Trainer of the Year in 2020, was continuing his meteoric rise through the ranks and cemented his name in the history books with a win for his kennel. Thorn Falcon finished with a time of 29.06 seconds, closely followed by kennelmate Kilara Lion, before Pat Buckley’s Deerjet Sydney came third.
The favourites this year
It’s hard to look past team Janssens this year, with seven Category One victories in the 2020 season giving any number of his small crop of dogs a chance. The pick of the bunch looks like Lautaro, who has won five of his 13 career outings so far, whilst Thorn Falcon has tailed off since last year’s win. Buckley won’t make it easy though, as the Irish trainer looks for ante-post favourite Ballinabola Ed to live up to the billing — both of his wins so far this season coming at Towcester.
But it’s also impossible to write off anything Mark Wallis does. With 12 Trainer of the Year wins, the most in history, he has the pedigree to upset the greyhound betting tips, even with the likes of Coolavanny Shado and Part Blake looking like stronger competitors.
