Limerick bids farewell to a Great Friend! Final Night of Racing at Limerick's Market Field Greyhound Stadium

Limerick bids farewell to a Great Friend! Final Night of Racing at Limerick's Market Field Greyhound Stadium

26 July 2010

Saturday 18th July is the final night of greyhound racing at the Market Field's Greyhound Stadium in Limerick.  The occasion will be marked with a very special evening of nostalgia and Inter County greyhound racing, as Limerick and racing followers from all over Ireland bid farewell to this historic stadium.  The Stadium,  which has been in operation since 1933 has seen some great sporting occasions down through the years including hosting the Irish Derby in 1939 and in 2007 Catunda Harry became the first dog in Ireland to break the 28 sec barrier for the 525 yard distance at the track.The stadium is being replaced by a world class Stadium, in Greenpark, Limerick which is currently nearing completion and will open its doors on Friday 8th October 2010.Orla Strumble, Head of Marketing for the Irish Greyhound Board stated "Limerick has such a strong tradition of Greyhound Racing and is home to the headquarters of the Irish Greyhound Board, so it was only fitting that the closing night in the old stadium became a celebration of Greyhound Racing in Ireland.""Tonight we have invited the last 50 winners of the Leger to be with us on this special occasion to share their memories of the stadium as we say goodbye.  We are also finishing with a very special final race – an Inter County Challenge with some of the best greyhounds in the country participating."Also present to carry out his duties for the very last time at the old stadium was Racing Manager Liam Kennedy "Of course it is a little sad to be saying goodbye to our historic location, which has been the venue for great occasions and many happy memories, but we are all very excited about the new facilities that the new stadium will offer. We now can begin work on bedding in the new track in plenty of time for the October opening and together with the additional kennel capacity will lead to improved facilities for owners and their greyhounds."On the new facilities, Orla added "The state of the art viewing facilities as well as new catering and corporate entertainment facilities will be vast improvements for the thousands of fans of the sport who will be flocking to the new stadium come October and we have already been inundated with bookings and enquiries for fundraisers and corporate events in the new facility."Until the new stadium is open, the Irish Greyhound Board is putting on an additional seven nights racing at Thurles Stadium, between 27th July and 31st August, to accommodate the legion of greyhound fans as well as owners and trainers who would normally race at Limerick. There are also numerous trail sessions each week at Thurles which will facilitate Limerick greyhounds if required and as a gesture of appreciation to owners and trainers for their patience, free unrecorded trials will be offered to the Limerick dogs for the first two week s at the new Limerick Stadium.The new Limerick Greyhound Stadium will open its doors for trials in six weeks time and to the general public five weeks after this on the 8th October 2010.For up to date information on the new Limerick Greyhound Stadium, visit www.igb.ie