It’s all change for the Irish Greyhound Derby, one of the sport’s most prestigious races.
The field will, as ever, be battling it out for the huge prize fund, which is expected to top €300,000 in 2024.
However, this year’s edition will move to its latest ever time slot. The qualification campaign will begin on October 18, with all eyes on the final – the Irish Greyhound Derby itself – on November 23.
Dublin’s Shelbourne Park will once again be on hosting duties.
Shine Bright Like a Diamond
Those with a passion for dog racing will be able to place their bets on the Irish Greyhound Derby – both with bookmakers in advance of the race, via their ‘ante post’ odds, or with the on-track bookies at Shelbourne Park on race day.
Much of the interest for those betting on greyhound racing has come for Bockos Diamond, who is – at the time of writing – the 6/1 favourite with the bookmakers.
An odds calculator confirms that a €10 wager on Bockos Diamond would return €60 in profit should he win for Graham Holland, the trainer who has won the Irish Greyhound Derby on three occasions already.
Bockos Diamond has enjoyed an outstanding 2024 campaign, winning 13 of the 15 races into which he has been entered at the time of writing. Victories in the David Fitzgibbon Memorial Open and the Champion Open at Kilkenny have been particularly memorable, with connections banking more than €22,000 in prize money from their dog’s endeavours.
The likes of Callaway Knegare (7/1), English Greyhound Derby winner De Lahdedah (10/1) and March On Freddie (12/1) have also interested punters, but it’s the pedigree of Holland – who has won the Derby on both sides of the Irish Sea – and the class of Bockos Diamond that seems most likely to prevail.
Stunning Shelbourne
In 2027, Shelbourne Park will celebrate its centenary year as a greyhound racing venue.
It was originally opened in the Ringsend area of the city as an answer to Celtic Park in Belfast, which looked set to become the home of greyhound racing in Ireland.
The iconic Mick the Miller ran at Shelbourne Park, attracting a huge crowd in 1928 as he tied the world record for the 500-yard dash.
The Irish Greyhound Derby and the Irish Oaks have been annual fixtures at the track, with the closure of Celtic Park in 1983 ensuring that Shelbourne Park took the helm as the most prestigious greyhound venue in Ireland.
To highlight the popularity of greyhound racing in Ireland, Shelbourne Park has recently undergone an impressive renovation project costing approximately €2.3 million.
The works, which took the best part of six months to complete, have seen hospitality facilities given an overhaul, while a new museum and exhibition space will offer visitors a chance to get a glimpse of greyhound racing history first hand.
There’s also an ambitious plan to bring back Thursday night race meetings to the venue, so while the sport continues to struggle across the Irish Sea, at Shelbourne Park the prognosis is rather more positive.
