End of an era for Albion Park greyhounds

By Andrew Smith

It has been over three decades since Albion Park was crowned the new home of greyhound racing in Brisbane.

But with The Q now having officially taken over that title, the time has come for the boxes and lure at the famous old venue to be packed down.

The greyhound meeting this Sunday, July 6 will be the last to be held on the Albion Park track.

The venue hosted its final Thursday night feature meeting in early May, but has continued running meetings on Sundays and Wednesdays for the last two months while the transition to The Q has taken place.

With all tracks now operational at the new world-class facility in Purga, the curtain will come down on Albion Park as the full-time move to the new home of the Queensland Greyhound Racing Club is completed.

The QGRC was formed via an amalgamation of the Brisbane Greyhound Racing Club and Ipswich Greyhound Racing Club last year.

One man who was there from the very start of the BGRC is Bob Lambert.

The Queensland Greyhound Racing Hall of Fame inductee took on many roles throughout the club’s history, including CEO, committee member, owner, breeder, steward and club administrator.

Ahead of racing wrapping up at Albion, the 77-year-old reflected on making the move there from the Gabba in February 1993.

The transition from the Gabba, where dogs had raced since 1972, came about quickly after a few weeks of trials at the new track.

“We were racing one night a week at the Gabba on Thursday nights, but when we came to Albion, we raced Thursdays and Mondays, so the workload sort of doubled,” Lambert recalls.

“But it was very successful - the track was a lot better than what the Gabba track was and the initial move was very well-received.

“The crowds were not as good as the Gabba but things have changed with betting off-course and online.

“We were very profitable at the Gabba because we used to cater for the cricket as well, and so we lost that income stream here, so we did struggle for a while.

“But we eventually got the catering rights here, which helped.”

Tokyo De Ville had the honour of taking out the first race at Albion that opening night on February 11,1993, in front of an enthusiastic crowd of around 6,500 people.

While crowds did not reach the height of the Gabba glory days, a core group of industry participants and punters would remain as mainstays at the track over the years, turning out in big numbers for feature race nights.

Lambert said the experience for fans and greyhounds had changed significantly since those early halcyon days of the 1990s.

“Things have moved along a hell of a lot - bookmakers are virtually non-existent anymore, and at the Gabba we had 46 bookies, but we had very few when we came here, and they didn't last too long,” Lambert said.

“With all the betting online, things have changed and we've got overseas contracts with Sky Racing which I actually signed when I was here in the CEO’s job, and that generates quite good income.

“The whole format of racing has changed and there’s a lot more emphasis on safety for the dogs with the tracks which is good.”

Lambert singled out the success of the legendary Flying Amy as one of his lasting memories of Albion Park.

The majority of the 1994 and 1995 Queensland Greyhound of the Year’s 42 wins came at the venue, with the champion holding the 520m track record for several years until it was equalled in early 2004 by Surf Lorian.

Lambert also ranked the club hosting the National Championships in the early days of racing at Albion as another highlight, with the best racers from all over the country converging on the track.

But some of the venue’s most talked-about moments stemmed from hosting New South Wales cult racer Nads near the turn of the century.

“We put a charity race on in 1997 where it was Nads against Queensland Reds and Wallabies player Ben Tune - Ben started from over near the 600m boxes and the lure was out of the 700m boxes,” Lambert said with a laugh.

“It was virtually nearly a dead heat with just a nose in it.

“Another time we put Nads around against a harness horse, but it won quite easy.

“We did a couple of nights where we gave cars away as prizes, and we promoted quite a bit, and got pretty good crowds most of the time.”

Another person who has been on hand for some of Albion Park’s biggest moments is John “Bunny” Brasch.

Brisbane’s premier greyhound caller took the binoculars at the venue in 2018 following the retirement of legendary broadcaster Paul ‘Dogsy’ Dolan.

He can still remember the move from Woolloongabba across town to the new track in 1993.

“Back in the Gabba days, there was no late-night shopping and not really much entertainment at night, so the greyhounds were the place to go back in the 1970s, 80s and 90s,” Brasch said.

“As things have just come on and progressed, the crowds have got smaller, but the dedicated people are still there.

“And then over the years, some tracks closed and it's been unique in the last few years that Albion Park had the five different distances (the 331m, 395m, 520m, 600m and 710m) to cater for all dogs and for tracks that we've lost in the past.”

Brasch singles out performances from champion racers like Flying Amy, Winged Runner and two-time Queensland Greyhound of the Year Dashing Corsair winning the 2011 National Distance Championship as ones to savour.

In more recent years, there have been runs from former 710m record holder Tornado Tears, Sennachie, Cyndie’s Magic, and Jay Is Jay that rank amongst his favourite memories.

But it was a quiet Thursday night in March 2017 that Brasch recalls as one of the biggest “goosebumps” moments he has experienced at the historical venue.

“Trainer Peter Ruetschi was tragically killed in a motor vehicle accident on the way home from Ipswich on the Tuesday night, and two nights later, he had a runner here at Albion Park called My Awesome Magic,” Brasch recalls.

“The stewards and Racing Queensland gave permission for My Awesome Magic to race in Peter's name, as a mark of respect for the last dog that would ever go around in his name.

“The greyhound came from an impossible position mid-race midfield and got up to win the race, and there was not a dry eye in the place after that.

“I've never seen the industry so silent in my entire life - that was just a surreal moment that I had never seen in greyhound racing or on a greyhound track before.”

Brasch admitted there would be some sadness saying goodbye to Albion Park for the last time.

But with the state-of-the-art The Q now officially opened, the future of greyhound racing in Queensland is set to go to a whole new level.

“Having a one-turn track, after 17 years of missing that, that's been a godsend to a lot of the trainers,” Brasch said.

“Even to call on the one-turn tracks has been really, really good and I'm now really enjoying the two-turn track - you're basically right on top of them and you can read a race, and it’s much better than being a long way away.

“It's bigger, brighter and better than ever what we're onto now and it’s just unbelievable to think that we've got a complex that houses three tracks at the one spot, I don't think it's ever been heard of in the world before

“All the people that are coming from interstate, they've just raved about it.

“It's going to be the best complex in the world.”

Lambert too admitted it would be sad to farewell a place which holds so much history and so many fond memories for the greyhound code in Queensland.

But just like the move from the Gabba to Albion in the early 90s, he is excited about what the future holds for the sport at The Q.

“It's phenomenal…they spared no expense doing what they're doing there,” Lambert said.

“The prize money now is fabulous compared to what it was back in the day…if you pay the big prize money, you will always get the southern visitors.

“As far as getting people on track with the new complex, there’s a licensed club there as well so hopefully you can get families along for a feed or a drink with a lot of new houses through there.

“It’s very positive, I think we have just got to promote it and we should be there for many decades.”