Castleford (Whitwood) Greyhound Track

In April 1939 William Burrows and John Cain applied for a betting licence for greyhound racing (see article below). The stadium situated north of Altofts Lane, Whitwood would be known locally as Whitwood but clearly the plan to accommodate £2,500 spectators had been a little hopeful because in 1947 the stadium was described as only being able to hold 1,000.

In the sixties the social club was popular being able to seat 400 people which resulted in shows being set up on non-race days for the public. A circumference of 400 yards meant that distances of 394 and 504 yards were used on the race days of Tuesday and Saturday.

The stadium remained independent for 31 years and also hosted whippets before closing in 1970. It reopened however and from June 1979 to June 1980 speedway was also held at the track, the team was called the Castleford Kings.

In 1980 the track was described as an all sand, D shaped circuit running mainly handicaps, distances were 280, 370, 485 and 660 metres. Facilities included two bars and a tea room; eleven bookmakers were on site betting on Wednesday and Friday evenings at 7.30pm. Trials were on Sundays and the hare was an inside Sumner.

Whitwood joined the National Greyhound Racing Club (NGRC) on 7th October 1985 but would only stay affiliated to them for a short period of time. Generally when independent tracks joined the NGRC costs would increase forcing some to revert to their former status.

One moment to savour whilst operating as a fully licenced track was the appearance of the one and only Scurlogue Champ on November 22nd 1985. He smashed the track record over 830 metres, winning by 18 lengths in 54.45sec and priced 1-4.

During 1986 trainer Moffat won the Western Two Year Old Produce Stakes with Fulwood Star ensuring the name Whitwood would forever remain in the history of licenced records.

Independent again by 1987 owners John and Carol Hyde changed the track dimensions to 275, 460, 650 and 835 metres with a circumference of 400 metres. The main competitions held at the track were the Whitwood Derby, Whitwood St Leger and Whitwood Rose bowl.

The last meeting was held in February 2001 ending a 62 year association with greyhound racing. The site today forms a small part of the New Wheatsheaf and was to be found stretching to part of the Whitwood golf course.

More information about this track is available in the downloadable PDF