White City Stadium (Manchester)
| Location | Old Trafford area, Manchester |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 53°27'43.6"N 2°17'00.8"W |
| Opened | 1927 |
| Closed | 1982 |
White City Stadium (Manchester) was a greyhound racing and speedway stadium in Manchester.
Manchester is synonymous with greyhound racing because Belle Vue Stadium became the first greyhound track in the United Kingdom and Ireland to hold oval course racing in 1926. One year later on 1 November 1927 the remaining eleven acres out of a sixteen-acre plot of land belonging to the Royal Botanical Gardens was sold to Canine Sports Ltd and a stadium was speedily constructed. The stadium in the Old Trafford area was south of the Chester Road tramway and north of Talbot Road.
The first meeting took place on 28 May 1928 followed by speedway on 16 June 1928. The circuit circumference was listed as 448⅔ yards with distances of 500, 525, 700 and 725 yards behind an 'Inside Sumner' hare system. The circuit was described as having wide well banked turns.
One of the first track trainers was J. Madden who trained Loose Card to victory in the 1929 Scurry Gold Cup and just one year later the Greyhound Racing Association (GRA) purchased the stadium. The GRA owned multiple tracks including Belle Vue.
White City struggled to match the popularity of Belle Vue and another rival track the Audenshaw Greyhound Racing and Sports Ground started in racing in 1932. In June of the same year a greyhound called Wild Woolley was propelled to national fame when winning the English Greyhound Derby for White City trainer Jack Rimmer and owner Sam Johnson. Wild Woolley defeated the legendary Mick the Miller and Future Cutlet by a neck in the final. The following year Future Cutlet became the Derby champion and Wild Woolley finished third place despite being the favourite on this occasion.
The principal pre-war event was the Wilkinson Memorial Challenge Cup and amenities at the track included a home straight Grand Enclosure that offered catering and licensed bar facilities in the Members club. Starting from the back straight was the Popular Enclosure which continued around the third and fourth bends. The kennel facilities were at sister track Belle Vue and contained 320 electrically heated kennels situated well behind the first and second bends of the Belle Vue circuit. The fact that the greyhounds were housed at Belle Vue meant that the trainers at the time were attached both to Belle Vue and White City.
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