Attention: Please take a moment to consider our terms and conditions before posting.
Crayford Dogs to close
Comments
-
Probably a mixture of both.AFKABartram said:
I don’t think it’s changing attitudes so much, more times evolving. A lot of our social spend now goes on things that were either not the norms or in relation to phones and other tech / entertainment subscriptions, didn’t even existRob7Lee said:
I'm sure that's the case of dogs v pubs, even if they have dropped down to about 40,000 now (down from something like 70,000 in the 80's).killerandflash said:
The decline in pub going is much smaller than the decline in interest in sports like greyhound racing though.Rob7Lee said:
In a nutshell, that’s the attraction, but like you I’ve not been for a long while.Carter said:The description of it being like going to an old school bookies at a league 2 ground is perfect and exactly what I liked about it.
That is a shame to hear its closing however I don't think I'd been there for the best part of 15 years
charltonbob said:
same in the late 80’s. I started locally in Sidcup for 4 years, we were in the Alma every lunchtime. Then into the city and same again but for more than an hour. I worked at one place that closed Wednesday PM, no guesses where we all were.
When I started work in 1970 for an insurance broker it was perfectly normal to go to the pub at lunchtime everyday.Rob7Lee said:
Thinks horse racing is a dress up day out, often followed by entertainment (that's the one's my daughter goes to anyway).AFKABartram said:
Not sure why, darts and horse racing have reinvented themselves a bit in the last 10-15 years and are now much more appealing to a younger audience. Not sure why dogs should be any different.Rob7Lee said:Dog racing has been in decline for years, so no surprise.
I think it's a sign we are getting old to be honest, times move on and things change, much like pubs closing.
Darts has become more like football with the spectator interaction.
Dog racing I find it more like a cross between going to an old bookies and a poor 1970's lower league football ground, which is probably why I quite like it! It hasn't;t moved on in 40+ years
I think the 'youth' of today just see that as zero appeal, much like going out drinking. Amazes me how many of the under 30's at work rarely drink, certainly never at lunch and rarely after work - that was a daily occurrence for me. I was out 4 nights a week at their age.
now I know very few people who bar a ‘meeting’ go to the pub, certainly more go to gym than anything else during lunch times.
times change as do habits. Drinking, going to dogs etc is now very much a once in a while thing. Just look how many people have said on here they used to love going, but haven’t for sometimes decades.
i suspect if we have this conversation in 25 years they’ll be barely any pubs left as we know them and likely no greyhound racing.
Greyhound racing was the poor man's betting. Do the pools, and stick a couple of quid on the dogs. I'm not sure many people went there because they loved watching dogs running around a track, which isn't the same for other minority sports like non league football or county championship cricket.
Yes there was a social side, but that can be replicated elsewhere
But it just highlights changing attitudes and times.
I think when it comes to drinking there's certainly a huge shift in changing attitudes and culture compared to when I was young 30 years ago. In part the reason why so many pubs (and clubs) have shut over recent years.
People just don't go out drinking like they used to, whether that's the Friday/Saturday night or the after work crowd or the lunchtime crowd. I don't think it's a bad thing in general.3 -
There has been a bit of a shift, but statistics like pub number are a bit misleading, as a lot of the pubs that have closed are compact, backstreet locals, whereas many of the new pubs that have opened (Wetherspoons, Yates, Brewdog etc) are all massive. One typical Wetherspoons is comparable to 5-10 backstreet locals.Rob7Lee said:
Probably a mixture of both.AFKABartram said:
I don’t think it’s changing attitudes so much, more times evolving. A lot of our social spend now goes on things that were either not the norms or in relation to phones and other tech / entertainment subscriptions, didn’t even existRob7Lee said:
I'm sure that's the case of dogs v pubs, even if they have dropped down to about 40,000 now (down from something like 70,000 in the 80's).killerandflash said:
The decline in pub going is much smaller than the decline in interest in sports like greyhound racing though.Rob7Lee said:
In a nutshell, that’s the attraction, but like you I’ve not been for a long while.Carter said:The description of it being like going to an old school bookies at a league 2 ground is perfect and exactly what I liked about it.
That is a shame to hear its closing however I don't think I'd been there for the best part of 15 years
charltonbob said:
same in the late 80’s. I started locally in Sidcup for 4 years, we were in the Alma every lunchtime. Then into the city and same again but for more than an hour. I worked at one place that closed Wednesday PM, no guesses where we all were.
When I started work in 1970 for an insurance broker it was perfectly normal to go to the pub at lunchtime everyday.Rob7Lee said:
Thinks horse racing is a dress up day out, often followed by entertainment (that's the one's my daughter goes to anyway).AFKABartram said:
Not sure why, darts and horse racing have reinvented themselves a bit in the last 10-15 years and are now much more appealing to a younger audience. Not sure why dogs should be any different.Rob7Lee said:Dog racing has been in decline for years, so no surprise.
I think it's a sign we are getting old to be honest, times move on and things change, much like pubs closing.
Darts has become more like football with the spectator interaction.
Dog racing I find it more like a cross between going to an old bookies and a poor 1970's lower league football ground, which is probably why I quite like it! It hasn't;t moved on in 40+ years
I think the 'youth' of today just see that as zero appeal, much like going out drinking. Amazes me how many of the under 30's at work rarely drink, certainly never at lunch and rarely after work - that was a daily occurrence for me. I was out 4 nights a week at their age.
now I know very few people who bar a ‘meeting’ go to the pub, certainly more go to gym than anything else during lunch times.
times change as do habits. Drinking, going to dogs etc is now very much a once in a while thing. Just look how many people have said on here they used to love going, but haven’t for sometimes decades.
i suspect if we have this conversation in 25 years they’ll be barely any pubs left as we know them and likely no greyhound racing.
Greyhound racing was the poor man's betting. Do the pools, and stick a couple of quid on the dogs. I'm not sure many people went there because they loved watching dogs running around a track, which isn't the same for other minority sports like non league football or county championship cricket.
Yes there was a social side, but that can be replicated elsewhere
But it just highlights changing attitudes and times.
I think when it comes to drinking there's certainly a huge shift in changing attitudes and culture compared to when I was young 30 years ago. In part the reason why so many pubs (and clubs) have shut over recent years.
People just don't go out drinking like they used to, whether that's the Friday/Saturday night or the after work crowd or the lunchtime crowd. I don't think it's a bad thing in general.
Pubs in the centre are still doing fine (albeit with massive pressures from cost of energy and taxation) whereas the pubs in the suburbs or the countryside are struggling, unless they are food orientated.1 -
I'm sure that's true, but in my experience (two daughters in their early twenties, their friends and also many under 25's at work), the younger generation do not drink like we used to. Even on the rare occasion that mine and others do go out for a night of drinking, they all do this 'pre-drinking' or even sneak in their own drinks! It seems to be a once a month, every 6 weeks thing rather than an every Friday and Saturday night (or in my case that slipped to Thursdays and sometimes Wednesdays!)killerandflash said:
There has been a bit of a shift, but statistics like pub number are a bit misleading, as a lot of the pubs that have closed are compact, backstreet locals, whereas many of the new pubs that have opened (Wetherspoons, Yates, Brewdog etc) are all massive. One typical Wetherspoons is comparable to 5-10 backstreet locals.Rob7Lee said:
Probably a mixture of both.AFKABartram said:
I don’t think it’s changing attitudes so much, more times evolving. A lot of our social spend now goes on things that were either not the norms or in relation to phones and other tech / entertainment subscriptions, didn’t even existRob7Lee said:
I'm sure that's the case of dogs v pubs, even if they have dropped down to about 40,000 now (down from something like 70,000 in the 80's).killerandflash said:
The decline in pub going is much smaller than the decline in interest in sports like greyhound racing though.Rob7Lee said:
In a nutshell, that’s the attraction, but like you I’ve not been for a long while.Carter said:The description of it being like going to an old school bookies at a league 2 ground is perfect and exactly what I liked about it.
That is a shame to hear its closing however I don't think I'd been there for the best part of 15 years
charltonbob said:
same in the late 80’s. I started locally in Sidcup for 4 years, we were in the Alma every lunchtime. Then into the city and same again but for more than an hour. I worked at one place that closed Wednesday PM, no guesses where we all were.
When I started work in 1970 for an insurance broker it was perfectly normal to go to the pub at lunchtime everyday.Rob7Lee said:
Thinks horse racing is a dress up day out, often followed by entertainment (that's the one's my daughter goes to anyway).AFKABartram said:
Not sure why, darts and horse racing have reinvented themselves a bit in the last 10-15 years and are now much more appealing to a younger audience. Not sure why dogs should be any different.Rob7Lee said:Dog racing has been in decline for years, so no surprise.
I think it's a sign we are getting old to be honest, times move on and things change, much like pubs closing.
Darts has become more like football with the spectator interaction.
Dog racing I find it more like a cross between going to an old bookies and a poor 1970's lower league football ground, which is probably why I quite like it! It hasn't;t moved on in 40+ years
I think the 'youth' of today just see that as zero appeal, much like going out drinking. Amazes me how many of the under 30's at work rarely drink, certainly never at lunch and rarely after work - that was a daily occurrence for me. I was out 4 nights a week at their age.
now I know very few people who bar a ‘meeting’ go to the pub, certainly more go to gym than anything else during lunch times.
times change as do habits. Drinking, going to dogs etc is now very much a once in a while thing. Just look how many people have said on here they used to love going, but haven’t for sometimes decades.
i suspect if we have this conversation in 25 years they’ll be barely any pubs left as we know them and likely no greyhound racing.
Greyhound racing was the poor man's betting. Do the pools, and stick a couple of quid on the dogs. I'm not sure many people went there because they loved watching dogs running around a track, which isn't the same for other minority sports like non league football or county championship cricket.
Yes there was a social side, but that can be replicated elsewhere
But it just highlights changing attitudes and times.
I think when it comes to drinking there's certainly a huge shift in changing attitudes and culture compared to when I was young 30 years ago. In part the reason why so many pubs (and clubs) have shut over recent years.
People just don't go out drinking like they used to, whether that's the Friday/Saturday night or the after work crowd or the lunchtime crowd. I don't think it's a bad thing in general.
Pubs in the centre are still doing fine (albeit with massive pressures from cost of energy and taxation) whereas the pubs in the suburbs or the countryside are struggling, unless they are food orientated.4 -
Yeah, I agree with you. Daughter is almost 19, her group of friends range 19-23 and we've got 4 family friends in their early-mid 20s and the pub is maybe a once a month thing at most.Rob7Lee said:I'm sure that's true, but in my experience (two daughters in their early twenties, their friends and also many under 25's at work), the younger generation do not drink like we used to. Even on the rare occasion that mine and others do go out for a night of drinking, they all do this 'pre-drinking' or even sneak in their own drinks! It seems to be a once a month, every 6 weeks thing rather than an every Friday and Saturday night (or in my case that slipped to Thursdays and sometimes Wednesdays!)
My wife & I sit here shocked when the eldest says she's spent most of her weekend in the Gym, met friends for coffee, gone out for lunch/dinner, everything other than drinking booze. Very unlike us in our twenties.
4 -
Same here. We used to pick the home game before Christmas. Train to Crayford dogs. Then finish the night in The Bear & Ragged same for last home game of the seasonBobK said:My two passions, Charlton and greyhounds. Link between both from Crayford 2005
1 -
Seems young adults these days are a lot smarter than when we were young.JohnBoyUK said:
Yeah, I agree with you. Daughter is almost 19, her group of friends range 19-23 and we've got 4 family friends in their early-mid 20s and the pub is maybe a once a month thing at most.Rob7Lee said:I'm sure that's true, but in my experience (two daughters in their early twenties, their friends and also many under 25's at work), the younger generation do not drink like we used to. Even on the rare occasion that mine and others do go out for a night of drinking, they all do this 'pre-drinking' or even sneak in their own drinks! It seems to be a once a month, every 6 weeks thing rather than an every Friday and Saturday night (or in my case that slipped to Thursdays and sometimes Wednesdays!)
My wife & I sit here shocked when the eldest says she's spent most of her weekend in the Gym, met friends for coffee, gone out for lunch/dinner, everything other than drinking booze. Very unlike us in our twenties.
The price of a pint and smoking ban to a lesser extent has played a large part to it.5 -
You’ve only gotta look at pubs/bars/clubs in Bexleyheath and Dartford.
Friday and Saturday nights used to be heaving, now the only place I know that’s regularly open and busy on a Saturday night is the Lord Hill, and that’s full of 30+.0 -
the dog racing industry has gone to the dogs….Sorry I’ve resisted posting that for days but my resolve finally broke at the end of a stressful week.0
-
Bruv worked there for years when his kids were young & he needed extra cash.
I was working in Homebase then whilst in 6th form & we'd go regularly. We'd play 5 a side there too.
Happy carefree days.
Very sad.1 -
These days I tend to go the yacht in long lane ( only night it’s busy is the Sunday for the quiz ) and the Prince Albert as a 2 min walk from home and the owner is Charlton but v rarely is it busyValleyGary said:You’ve only gotta look at pubs/bars/clubs in Bexleyheath and Dartford.
Friday and Saturday nights used to be heaving, now the only place I know that’s regularly open and busy on a Saturday night is the Lord Hill, and that’s full of 30+.0 - Sponsored links:
-
Don't worry. I bet on the hare once and still lost.AFKABartram said:I still couldn’t pick a winner!0 -
Remember going when there was banger racing there, was the capacity around 25-30,000 back in the day?0
-
I found this list of closed dog racing tracks in London. I never realised there were so many.
- Battersea Greyhound Track: 1933 - 1936
- Brixton Greyhound Stadium: 1932 - before outbreak of WW2
- Catford Stadium: 1932 - 2003
- Charlton Stadium: 1930 - 1971
- Clapton Stadium: 1928 - 1974
- Dagenham Greyhound Stadium: 1939 - 1965
- Edmonton Stadium: 1930's - 1947
- Greenford Park: 1927 - 1928
- Hackney Wick Stadium: 1932 - 1997
- Harringay Stadium: 1927 - 1987
- Hendon Greyhound Stadium: 1935 - 1972
- Mitcham Stadium: 1936 - 1937
- New Cross Stadium: 1900s - 1969
- Park Royal Stadium: 1931 - 1969
- Perry Hill Stadium: Early 1930s - 1935
- Southall Greyhound Stadium: 1931 -1976
- Stamford Bridge Stadium: 1937 - 1968
- Temple Mills Stadium: 1933- 1949
- Vicarage Road: 1928 - 1978
- Walthamstow Stadium: 1933 - 2008
- Wandsworth Stadium: 1933 - 1966
- Wembley Stadium (Old): 1927 - 1998
- West Ham Stadium: 1928 - 1972
- White City Stadium: 1927 - 1984
- Wimbledon Stadium: 1928 - 2018
3 -
Only went to Catford and Wimbledon, would love to have gone to a few of the others.thai malaysia addick said:I found this list of closed dog racing tracks in London. I never realised there were so many.- Battersea Greyhound Track: 1933 - 1936
- Brixton Greyhound Stadium: 1932 - before outbreak of WW2
- Catford Stadium: 1932 - 2003
- Charlton Stadium: 1930 - 1971
- Clapton Stadium: 1928 - 1974
- Dagenham Greyhound Stadium: 1939 - 1965
- Edmonton Stadium: 1930's - 1947
- Greenford Park: 1927 - 1928
- Hackney Wick Stadium: 1932 - 1997
- Harringay Stadium: 1927 - 1987
- Hendon Greyhound Stadium: 1935 - 1972
- Mitcham Stadium: 1936 - 1937
- New Cross Stadium: 1900s - 1969
- Park Royal Stadium: 1931 - 1969
- Perry Hill Stadium: Early 1930s - 1935
- Southall Greyhound Stadium: 1931 -1976
- Stamford Bridge Stadium: 1937 - 1968
- Temple Mills Stadium: 1933- 1949
- Vicarage Road: 1928 - 1978
- Walthamstow Stadium: 1933 - 2008
- Wandsworth Stadium: 1933 - 1966
- Wembley Stadium (Old): 1927 - 1998
- West Ham Stadium: 1928 - 1972
- White City Stadium: 1927 - 1984
- Wimbledon Stadium: 1928 - 2018
0 -
Removed a few posts. Anyone want to start a thread about animals in sport, you’re more than welcome but please do so in a seperate thread. Any further off topic posts will similarly be removed, thanks5
-
On topic. Very selective. Thanks for the clarification.AFKABartram said:Removed a few posts. Anyone want to start a thread about animals in sport, you’re more than welcome but please do so in a seperate thread. Any further off topic posts will similarly be removed, thanks0 -
Went to14 of those tracks. The tracks that shut before the war I didn't even know about.cafcforever said:
Only went to Catford and Wimbledon, would love to have gone to a few of the others.thai malaysia addick said:I found this list of closed dog racing tracks in London. I never realised there were so many.- Battersea Greyhound Track: 1933 - 1936
- Brixton Greyhound Stadium: 1932 - before outbreak of WW2
- Catford Stadium: 1932 - 2003
- Charlton Stadium: 1930 - 1971
- Clapton Stadium: 1928 - 1974
- Dagenham Greyhound Stadium: 1939 - 1965
- Edmonton Stadium: 1930's - 1947
- Greenford Park: 1927 - 1928
- Hackney Wick Stadium: 1932 - 1997
- Harringay Stadium: 1927 - 1987
- Hendon Greyhound Stadium: 1935 - 1972
- Mitcham Stadium: 1936 - 1937
- New Cross Stadium: 1900s - 1969
- Park Royal Stadium: 1931 - 1969
- Perry Hill Stadium: Early 1930s - 1935
- Southall Greyhound Stadium: 1931 -1976
- Stamford Bridge Stadium: 1937 - 1968
- Temple Mills Stadium: 1933- 1949
- Vicarage Road: 1928 - 1978
- Walthamstow Stadium: 1933 - 2008
- Wandsworth Stadium: 1933 - 1966
- Wembley Stadium (Old): 1927 - 1998
- West Ham Stadium: 1928 - 1972
- White City Stadium: 1927 - 1984
- Wimbledon Stadium: 1928 - 2018
1 -
I used to go to every meeting at Catford and finally worked out a way to make a profit. When it closed it took a huge part out of my life. Still miss it to this day.3
-
PhilFor54 said:I used to go to every meeting at Catford and finally worked out a way to make a profit. When it closed it took a huge part out of my life. Still miss it to this day.What was the formula?0
-
He became a bookie18
- Sponsored links:
-
Sad to see this closure, my son goes a few times a year, and has a booking this Christmas, the young children love it!. Used to take my football team there 10 years ago, it was a good night out. I also remember the stock car racing from years ago.
Ironically I drove past it yesterday going to the new Sainsbury's. I thought Crayford looked quite busy mid day on a Wednesday.
Personally, I did not have a clue about what the hell I was betting on, so used to do a double reverse 1 and 2 on a random number !....... mug punterI guess.
0 -
thai malaysia addick said:I found this list of closed dog racing tracks in London. I never realised there were so many.
- Battersea Greyhound Track: 1933 - 1936
- Brixton Greyhound Stadium: 1932 - before outbreak of WW2
- Catford Stadium: 1932 - 2003
- Charlton Stadium: 1930 - 1971
- Clapton Stadium: 1928 - 1974
- Dagenham Greyhound Stadium: 1939 - 1965
- Edmonton Stadium: 1930's - 1947
- Greenford Park: 1927 - 1928
- Hackney Wick Stadium: 1932 - 1997
- Harringay Stadium: 1927 - 1987
- Hendon Greyhound Stadium: 1935 - 1972
- Mitcham Stadium: 1936 - 1937
- New Cross Stadium: 1900s - 1969
- Park Royal Stadium: 1931 - 1969
- Perry Hill Stadium: Early 1930s - 1935
- Southall Greyhound Stadium: 1931 -1976
- Stamford Bridge Stadium: 1937 - 1968
- Temple Mills Stadium: 1933- 1949
- Vicarage Road: 1928 - 1978
- Walthamstow Stadium: 1933 - 2008
- Wandsworth Stadium: 1933 - 1966
- Wembley Stadium (Old): 1927 - 1998
- West Ham Stadium: 1928 - 1972
- White City Stadium: 1927 - 1984
- Wimbledon Stadium: 1928 - 2018
The White City 'roar' as the hare starting running for The Greyhound Derby was something to behold.Catford was a great track - a mate and I always went to Epsom for The Derby and in 1985 after watching the great Slip Anchor win (and we backed him heavily) we somehow (I was very, very drunk) got back to Catford to see the mighty Scurlogue Champ break the track record in front of one of the biggest crowds I'd ever seen at Catford. Those were the days when Scurlogue Champ and Balleyregan Bob were front page news - what a time to be alive. Here's the race:
2 -
Fantastic website with the history of the tracks, and former tracks
https://greyhoundracingtimes.co.uk/
0 -
Dogs at the old Wembley was a laugh, about 200 people rattling around that cavernous stadium. I think it partly used the Royal Dining Area or something, I have vague memories of a big old room full of oak paneling.0
-
I've been to Wembley and had a meal there, bit spooky the size of the place.
One race was about 3/4 round the track, at Catford it would have probably been 1 1/2 laps.0 -
Did you back the heaviest dogs in forecasts when it was wet?PhilFor54 said:I used to go to every meeting at Catford and finally worked out a way to make a profit. When it closed it took a huge part out of my life. Still miss it to this day.0 -
Strangely you could even sit in the Royal Box for the dog racing at the old Wembley. The main bar was a big old barn of a place.BrentfordAddick said:Dogs at the old Wembley was a laugh, about 200 people rattling around that cavernous stadium. I think it partly used the Royal Dining Area or something, I have vague memories of a big old room full of oak paneling.
1 -
50p trio all ways 1-4-6
and a fiver on the 5 dog in the last race.0 -
My brother-in-law took my niece and nephew this afternoon. He just messaged me this:"So they have 3 staff (bar, tote, kitchen). 4 security guards. 6 people who walk the dogs to the traps. 2 people driving tractors. The guy who waves the flag. The two people who operate the trap. Then four people sat in uniform in the bar area ( not sure what they are doing)That's at least 22 staff. And there are 20 customers.No wonder it is closing."0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_5G_xaDMsw
