White City Greyhounds
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| Location | London |
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| Coordinates | 51°30'48.6"N 0°13'38.5"W |
| Opened | 1927 |
| Closed | 1984 |
White City Greyhounds was the greyhound racing operation held at White City Stadium in London.
After the 1908 Summer Olympics the White City area was used for further exhibitions but the stadium began to be underused. By 1922 attempts had been made to sell it and it is reputed to have been in a very poor state by 1926. During the February's of 1926 and 1927 the stadium was used for the British Industries Fair before the public announcement that the Greyhound Racing Association (GRA) had purchased the stadium following on from the success experienced by the company at the nation's first greyhound meetings in Manchester at Belle Vue Stadium.
It would be the GRA’s second stadium and the old running and cycle tracks were grassed over. A new restaurant was built and covered terracing was constructed. The Metropolitan Railway reopened their Wood Lane station in preparation for the race nights.
The first greyhounds moved into the kennels on 20 May and the first private trial was planned for 30 May with racing starting on 1 June but delays ensued. The first meeting finally took place on Monday 20 June 1927 with the first race won by a greyhound called Charlie Cranston. Entry Badge, the 1927 English Greyhound Derby winner, also ran on the opening night. There was a capacity of 93,000 and club house accommodation for 1,000 people more than the original seating capacity in 1908.
The track had a large 498 circumference with long straights of 120 yards described as good sweeping turns suitable for strong galloping type dogs. The hare system was an outside trolley type and the GRA’s finances were helped with the use of an automatic totalisator.
The GRA moved its headquarters to White City from Belle Vue and early visitors included the Prince of Wales later King Edward VIII and Prince George, later King George VI.
The English Greyhound Derby was inagurated in 1927 followed by the Champion Hurdle (renamed the Grand National) the following year. The Oaks (for bitches only) would complete a trio of classic races. The GRA purchased the Hook estate at Northaw some 13 miles from the centre of London. They saw it as the ideal place for GRA trainers to train greyhounds for White City and Harringay Stadium which was their third track to open, and later other London tracks. The 140 acres of park and grassland became famous within the industry.
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