9 replies to this topic

[StHelensGreyhounds]

Hi all,

Just wondered if anyone had any old pics or vids from the old dog track they could share with us, along with any stories,tales or info.
I was a regular at the track from the late 80s til the sad day the track closed.
I was only young, me and a friend would get the number 10 bus up from Liverpool every tuesday and friday.
The track wasnt much to look at, but was busy and always had a buzz about the place.
Would be great if anyone had any memories to share.
There was also racing at Hoghton Road (St Helens Town FC) after the closure of park Road, but it wasnt the same for me and I have never been to the dogs since and got the same feeling I used to get when going to Park Road. Sadly missed by me and Im sure hundreds of others.

[gilly]

Welcome to the site.I've got a trophy that my dad's dog "Black Butcher" won in 1933,i used to enjoy going myself and had a couple of good dogs,with a few friends,can you remember exactly when Park rd closed?

[StHelensGreyhounds]

Im terrible with dates and I never went to the final night,was it Feb 93.?
From what I remember it came out of the blue.
I used to go to Westhoughton too, and around the time it closed the dogs we had were better suited to that track.
Only ever had 1 winner as an owner there myself. Shotgun he was called,he was injured when the track closed and we were hoping when he came back he would land a punt for us there. Sadly never to be.
Never had any runners at the Hoghton Road track as trainer was opposed to running there.

[joe90]

I used to go there every week on the bus,and walk it home back to Haydock skint,the amount of tips you got off different people which never won,some times you would get two and three tips in the same race,my dad used to run dogs there and one of them broke the track record,i think the dogs name was tippum or some thing like that,i was there the same night President Kennedy got assaninated.the people who ran the dog track used to live in Haydock and he died not long back,cant think of his name just yet,

[Handsome Johnny]

went a few times and i always saw emlyn hughes there, he was a greyhound fanatic.

[tessmop]

i went there a few times in the 60's I wish they could rivive it somewhere local.

[StHelensGreyhounds]

Joe- Gerald Standish. Sadly died around the time you say.
Am I right in thinking its an old folks home now on the site?

[gilly]

Yeah there is a care home on part of the site

[vinty]

Didnt Joe Pickervance own Park Road Dog Track for a time?

[joe90]

Where Gerald Standish used to live in Haydock down Folds Road there was a dog track there for a couple of weeks,the people who ran it used cars on each bend to light up the track so the dogs could see the hare at night time.