The traps spring open and the dogs sprint out onto the flood-lit track, muscles rippling beneath their skin.
The scene is one thousands have watched, packed into the stands of a greyhound race track.
Crayford Stadium in Bexley, one of London’s last greyhound racing stadiums, will close this month after 90 years of racing events.
Embedded within the community since the 1930s, the closure comes after stadium owner Ladbrokes cited waning attendance numbers and a shortage of trainers.
Originally built in 1932 and named the Crayford & Bexleyheath Stadium, Crayford Stadium was sold to betting company Ladbrokes in 1984.
Mr C Parnell Mr E Owen, Mayor and Mayoress, with Mr and Mrs G J Buckingham, Mr P Adams and trainer Mr H Parsons at Crayford greyhound stadium, 1938 (Picture: Smith Archive / Alamy Stock Photo)
After 15 of the ground’s 20 acres were sold to the supermarket Sainsbury’s, a new venue was built on the remaining five acres which opened in 1986.
The all-sand circuit was small – 334 metres in circumference – with an outside Sumner hare.
Kitted out with private suites, a restaurant for 138 covers, two bars and a twin-tier glass-fronted covered stand, the track quickly garnered a strong following.
‘Fog Light’ emerged as the track’s first ever winner following its first greyhound meet on July 10 1937.
That same year, the track took possession of a major competition, the Golden Jacket, which had struggled to find a new home since the demise of Harringay stadium.
Crayford also provided a new matinee meeting for their Ladbrokes betting shops and another new competition called the Crayford Rosebowl was inaugurated.
In 1988 Dinky Luckhurst trained Breeks Rocket to Grand National success on Crayford’s ground.
Two of the greyhounds racing at the Crayford dog track, 1937 (Picture: Smith Archive / Alamy Stock Photo)
The sport reigned over the next two decades, with greyhound racing becoming the second biggest UK spectator sport, second only to football.
South London became a focal point of the sport for a number of years with tracks in Crayford, Wimbledon, lower Charlton and Catford drawing crowds in from across the capital.
But the 2000s saw a turn in fortunes for the future of greyhound racing in London.
Streaming and changes in online gambling have played their part in the decline of the sport.
Greyhound racing has also become increasingly controversial in recent years.
Most recently the sport was discussed in Parliament in 2022, due to pressure from animal welfare charities and campaigners.
The meeting resulted in the Greyhound Board of Great Britain (GBGB) being required to publish annual data of greyhounds injured, rehomed and euthanised for humane or economic reasons.
With Catford’s track closing overnight without warning in 2003, and Wimbledon’s closure in 2017, very few greyhound racing stadiums remain in and around London.
Only Romford, Harlow in Essex and Sittingbourne in Kent still hold racing events.
Crayford Greyhound Stadium in Bexley, 2008 (Picture: Wikimedia Commons/ Nigel Cox)
The announcement of Crayford’s closure means that the current fixture schedule will be passed over to tracks in Romford, Hove and Monmore, according to the club’s closing statement.
A spokesperson from Ladbrokes said: “We have been exploring various avenues to avoid this decision for some time, but ultimately, it is no longer viable for us to continue operating the site.
“The decision has not been taken lightly.”
The spokesperson also said that Ladbrokes is in the process of supporting stadium staff with their next steps.
Ladbrokes has also expressed its commitment to the welfare of the greyhounds, which will be looked after through a rehoming scheme, and hopes that the affected dogs will be able to keep racing at other UK venues.
Plans for hundreds of homes surrounding the dog track at the former Electrobase site off Maxim Road have already been given the go-ahead.
The scheme is for a site covering a former Sainsbury’s car park and an area of open wood or scrub-land known as Crayford Rough.
Pictured top: Greyhounds rounding the last bend at the Crayford Greyhound Stadium, 1990 (Picture: RJRoweCollection/ Wikimedia Commons)