Pelaw Grange Stadium Guide

Pelaw Grange Stadium opened in 1944 and is located in the county of Durham, between Gateshead and Chester-le-Street. If you're wondering where the stadium’s strange name comes from then wonder no more – it was named after a country house and farm that located nearby. The races that take place there are done so under the Greyhound Board of Great Britain rules, if you’re interested.

The family-run stadium promises a top night out, in no small part due to its restaurant and the several bars that are located around the place. There are regularly offers on to entice people into the venue, including things, such as a three-course meal in the Panorama Restaurant. There’s even a carvery on a Sunday, so you can get a slap up Sunday lunch and get to watch the dogs at the same time!

Map

Swap Start/End

Race Days & Times

Pelaw Grange Stadium has racing on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, as well as on Bank Holiday Mondays. In other words, it’s all about the weekend meetings when people want to head there and have fun. As well as the normal racing, there are also trials held before every standard meeting.

If you’re hoping to watch the racing on Friday or Saturday evenings then you’ll want to get there for the first race, which starts at 7.30pm. On both nights the trials begin at 6.30pm, should you fancy getting there for then. On Sundays, it’s a 12pm start for the racing proper and an 11am start for the trials. Bank Holiday Mondays also get underway at 12pm.

Visiting

  • Ticket Prices: Sundays are free, so that’s the day you’ll want to head along if you’re a bit unsure of what to expect and don’t want to spend any money on the experience. Even if you go on a Friday or Saturday, though, it’s not that expensive. It’s £6 for adults, free for senior citizens and kids under five and just £2.50 for those under 16.
  • Getting There: Almost equidistant from Newcastle-Upon-Tyne and Durham, the stadium can be found just off the A1M for those of you who are driving. If you’re more of a public transport sort of person then Chester-le-Street Track Station is where you’ll be heading on the train. That’s about a half an hour walk from the venue. Bus-wise you’ll get reasonably close if you take the 700, 701, 703, 726 and numerous others.
  • Parking There is a decent sized car park adjacent to the track, so you can park there if you’ve driven.

History

George Towers built the stadium in 1944 as a place for the local people to go for some fun and entertainment. He built it near to the railway track and the back straight runs parallel to the tracks even to this day. His decision to build it was based around the success of another track named Birtley that was reportedly to the North of Pelaw Grange. Greyhound racing was very popular in Durham with the predominantly working class sport appealing to the local mining communities.

In 1965, Joe and Joyce McKenna took over the running of the track and it has been in the hands of the McKenna family ever since. Their son Jeff McKenna was the promoter and eventually took on the joint roles of General Manager and Racing Manager of the independent racing track. In the 1980s, he oversaw the transition of the circuit to an all-sand affair and introduced two races named the Newcastle Rose Bowl & Whitfield Oaks.

After sixty years operating as an independent race track, Jeff McKenna, along with his wife Theresa, made the decision to begin operating under National Greyhound Racing Club rules in 2005. Their application was passed almost immediately upon being entered and the first racing under the NGRC rules took place on the 25th of August in 2005.

Not long after joining the National Greyhound Racing Club Graeme Henigan was installed as the Racing Manager. The track’s reputation improved markedly when a number of locally trained dogs won national events, including the Mick Hurst trained Clounlaheen who picked up the National Sprint title in 2005.

User reviews

There are no user reviews for this listing.