Greyhound industry mourns the loss of Bob Belford

By Jordan Gerrans

Brad Belford says his family being inducted into the Queensland Greyhound Hall of Fame while his father Bob was still alive meant the world to his mother Beryl.

Regarded as a great trainer and personality within the greyhound code throughout his life, Bob passed away earlier this week after a long battle with illness.

He was 85 years of age.

The Belford Family were announced as Hall of Fame inductees at the annual Queensland Greyhound of the Year awards ceremony in Brisbane in late March.

The Belford racing dynasty in the Sunshine State goes back well before Bob, with his father Artie the president of the club at Lawnton in the old days while his family also had strong links to the harness code.

Bob raced his greyhounds at the Gabba, Lawnton, Beenleigh, Loganholme and Capalaba, while also being on the committee at Lawnton.

In the later years, he was a regular at Albion Park and Ipswich.

Bob battled with dementia in his last few years, but Brad says the famous racing clan’s Hall of Fame nod was a special occasion for all the Belfords. 

“My mother went and took the trophy up to him,” Brad said.

“It was nice actually that the family could go into the Hall of Fame before he did pass.”

While Bob was known for his training feats, he was also highly thought of in the industry as a punter with others coming to him for his advice around specific dogs. 

He was a regular at trial sessions or race meetings with a stopwatch in his hand so he could clock the times of every dog going around. 

Brad has numerous stories he could tell about his father’s punting exploits in his heyday. 

“He didn’t train a million winners but when he put his money on, they won,” he said.

"He had many great dogs and we went through highs and lows in the game."

Bob raced some top dogs such as Top Pontiac who won the Lord Mayor's Cup and a Zoom Top Trophy, while Allandale Girl claimed the Lawnton Cup in 1975 and Star Frost saluted in the Interstate Challenge at the Gabba.

At his peak, Bob raced about 20 dogs at a time through the 1960s and beyond.

“Bob became involved as a greyhound trainer in that Lawnton era,” highly respected former race caller and greyhound historian Paul Dolan said. 

“Bob was regarded as a trainer meticulous for detail and a very astute man at setting a greyhound for what was called a good old fashioned betting plunge.”

Bob had one specific career highlight that he was proud of achieving.

He trained a treble at the Gabba and was one of the first to do so after the introduction of the track. 

Bob had the photo on his wall at home to showcase the memory for the rest of his days. 

Brad has long called Townsville in North Queensland home and his mother and father relocated north for a period of around two years over the last decade.

They eventually headed back to South East Queensland before Bob's death. 

“He was always the one that people went to, to ask how their dogs went,” Brad said.

“He virtually timed every dog there at Lawnton, that is where it all comes from. That is all I knew growing up, dogs. That was all he ever did, trained dogs.

“He was a quiet man and didn’t say too much.”

After growing up around the industry and handling dogs for his father as a teenager at the Gabba, Brad has long been a leading trainer in NQ. 

Brad trained a winner on Tuesday night at Townsville with Powerful Whiskey, just days after his father's passing. 

Racing Queensland extends its condolences to the Belford family.