ONE of the worst kept secrets of the greyhound industry over the last few months was uncovered today when the Greyhound Racing Association took over at Oxford Stadium.

The acquisition of the Sandy Lane track will give the GRA seven tracks, but with Wembley closing on December 18, they will revert to six. GRA said they were delighted to announce the completion of the acquisition of Oxford Stadium.

GRA's managing director Clive Feltham said: "It's the company's intention to maintain current momentum at Oxford for the present with racing fixtures being unchanged.

"In the longer term however, the GRA will introduce a package of major improvements to enhance Oxford Stadium in line with other tracks within the group." Operations director Michael Raper said: "It's a track that we feel has been a little under achieved. It needs the awareness factor along with marketing and sponsorship and I can't wait to get cracking. We hope to get a good return on our investment and for our shareholders in particular "Obviously we need to have a chance to assess the situation at Cowley, and as for the current Wembley trainers I certainly expect one to join us in the short term. We do not envisage any change in personnel at the present time."

Oxford has had a chequered history over the last 20 years. Long-time incumbents Bristol sold out to the local council in the mid seventies which led to the Stadium being closed for a time. It led to protests from both speedway and greyhound fans before Don Joyce had his first taste of running dogs at Cowley. He, together with Midlands businessman Peter Franklyn, leased the track from the council.

Later, Northern Sports moved in to put the circuit back on the map, investing almost £2m and bringing the prestigious Pall Mall to Sandy Lane.

Sadly, however, it all went wrong for David Hawkins and his company and the receivers were called in in 1995.

Boom time took off at Oxford under Northern Sports with record attendances and tote takings, but as elsewhere in the sport in the early nineties, it began to tail off.

Don Joyce, a millionaire businessman from the Isle of Man and Oxford through and through, took over in January 1996. He invested heavily, in the Stadium bringing about many changes, mostly cosmetic, but they had the desired effect in bringing the good times back to Cowley.

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