A look back at the English Greyhound Derby

The sport of greyhound racing has undergone a dramatic facelift in recent years. Once a popular pastime for the working class, its numbers dwindled, ultimately forcing the majority of stadia to either repurpose or close their doors on a permanent basis. The pandemic inflicted even greater damage, with the presence of passionate spectators something you simply can’t recreate in races behind closed doors.

However, with life getting to get back to normal, those eager to place a greyhound bet on Betdaq had the English Greyhound Derby to look forward to, and it’s safe to say the showpiece event lived up to expectations. Widely regarded as the most prestigious event on the entire greyhound racing calendar, the 500-metre race garners the biggest prize pool in the sport, with the winner receiving a whopping £175,000 as well as writing their name in the history books.

The race is held at Towcester Greyhound Stadium, and while a restricted capacity were on hand to watch the first event back at the new ground after reopening with state-of-the-art facilities, this was the year a full crowd could appreciate the track with free reign.

The Midlands has become something of a spiritual home for greyhound racing, with the majority of Category One races, once emanating from the capital, moving slightly up north. The closest you’d get to greyhound action in London now is Romford’s track, and with Wimbledon giving up the derby in 2016, Nottingham was on hand to cover for the Northamptonshire Town throughout 2019 and 2020.

Last year saw Patrick Janssens at the double, with the Belgian, who is now easily recognised as one of the best trainers in the sport, won with Thorn Falcon whilst kennelmate Kilara Lion pipped Pat Buckley’s Deerjet Sydney to second place.

Just under a year on and plenty had changed in the Betdaq greyhound tips. Thorn Falcon’s drop off in form allowed Graham Holland-trained Romeo Magic to conjure up a victory with an impressive finishing time of 28.95 seconds — the fastest since Dorotas Wildcat in 2018.

The two-year-old had won his last two races and was familiar with the Northamptonshire track, seeing off Kildare and Mickys Barrett to secure the win. The former looked to be in the driver’s seat initially but showed superb pace to finish strongly, and earn praise from Holland, who wins his first Derby on his sixth attempt, adding to the list of winning Irish-trained champions in the process.

“We’ve been coming for a long time, got close to winning it, and now we have and it’s really special and fantastic to have won it, especially the way he won it,” he said.

“This is special for the family. They’ve worked so hard for this. Nicky, Rachel and Timmy have been over – but Christopher has also gone racing tonight for us at home. He’s holding the fort there. It’s a team effort and everyone’s involved and I thank them all.”

With Monmore’s Summer Stayers Classic and the Towcester Marathon still to come in Category One before the end of summer, there is plenty to get excited about in the coming months. And while there is still some time before the qualifiers for 2023 get underway in the spring, there is plenty of entertainment on offer in one of the country’s most under appreciated sports.