Greyhound racing at Wolverhampton Racecourse is edging ever closer following the local council’s announcement of the project’s latest development.
Wolverhampton Council revealed it had made the application to vary a premises license under the Gambling Act 2005, adding a greyhound track to the venue.
The application, submitted recently to the Licensing Authority, will see the track open in the autumn if successful almost two years after planning permission was approved.
The best betting sites in the UK enjoy an annual turnover of over £800 million every year on greyhound racing despite attendances declining significantly in recent years.
Greyhound Track To Sit Inside Horse Racing Venue At Wolverhampton
The new facility will sit within the horse racing track at Wolverhampton with up to 25,000 spectators able to watch races from the main grandstand.
The construction of kennels at the Dunstall Park site is believed to be close to completion with work on the track expected to commence shortly.
Fixtures currently held at Perry Barr Greyhound stadium in Birmingham will transfer over to Wolverhampton once it opens in the autumn and all staff have been offered jobs at the new location.
Wolverhampton is set to host classic events such as the St Leger and the Oaks, two of the most popular races on the calendar that will attract significant interest on sports betting apps.
Arena Racing Company Hope Wolverhampton Becomes Landmark Dog Track
The plans, headed by owners Arena Racing Company (ARC), intend to make Wolverhampton a landmark venue for greyhound racing in the United Kingdom.
There are likely to be four greyhound meetings per week, two staged in the evenings and two in the daytime.
ARC is the largest horse and greyhound racing group in the UK, controlling 16 racecourses and five greyhound stadia across the land.
The venue hosts an on-site Holiday Inn hotel and it takes just three hours to get there from Holyhead port by car, meaning the English Derby could be staged at Wolverhampton in the near future.
Towcester’s deal to host the Classic is set to end in 2026 and ARC’s managing director Mark Spincer confirmed the track is ready to host the top fixtures when they become available.
Trials at Wolverhampton will begin in August with the racing distances set at 270m, 480m, 660m, 710m and 925m.
Joe Lyons is a betting industry writer for GamblingIndustryNews with years of experience on reputable gambling websites. Joe specialises in long form content in the world of sports betting and gambling. Joe is recognised as an expert in sports fields such as horse racing, soccer, NFL and NBA.
