Pat Dalton could arguably be called the most famous greyhound personality in the world. He was the first and most successful Irishman in American racing. He has won three World Classics, three Grady Sprints, four Irish Americans and the American Derby. Since his first visit to America in 1961, Dalton has handled some of the world’s fastest dogs including Downing, Rocking Ship and K’s Broadway. He is the biggest breeder of greyhounds in Europe with 300 pups, saplings and dams spread between two breeding kennels. In short, Pat Dalton does things in a big way. The Dalton set-up is based in Golden, near Cashel, Co.Tipperary. The main rearing farm is based at Clonoulty and is designed on American lines. The main building contains a cookhouse, plus a dozen whelping kennels, each with its own concrete paddock and ‘catflap’. Also in the building are a batch of American-style cages. Each day a different sapling is kennelled in one of these cages for a few hours with a marrow bone. In addition to keeping the pup’s teeth clean, the session gets it used to the cage. Outside, the rearing paddocks are situated along either side of a long concrete path. Each paddock is around 15 yards wide by around 120 yards long. At the far end of each paddock is a gate giving direct access to a much larger paddock where each group takes a turn during the day. The whole set-up is typically American and labour-saving. (Mick Hogan, who runs the place, even has a bike for those long journeys between the house at the bottom of the concrete path and the main building at the top. In the paddocks each pup wears a collar and is chained up for feeding at his own bowl. This also serves a double purpose. Firstly it is easier to keep track on who is not eating well. Secondly, it gets the pups used to wearing collars. Despite the two dozen paddocks, it still only takes around 25 minutes to feed the pups. By the time the current group of pups are ready for schooling, Dalton should have completed one of his most ambitious projects - an American style schooling track. Based about half a mile from the Dalton home base, the schooling track is already well underway. From a distance it looks almost square, but in true Dalton fashion nothing is left to chance. The track is identical in every detail to Multnomah Kennel Club at Portland. The foundation would do credit to a motorway and despite the nearby flooded fields, the surface was absolutely bone dry. The control tower was described by one of the visitors as ‘like a bloody house, you could live in it’. The inside railand the sprinklers are still to be fitted, and the sand has not been laid. But when it is complete, it will be the perfect introduction to American racing for Dalton’s pups. He said "The track is a perfect quarter mile with shots for the five-sixteenths and three-eighths traps. I will also have other traps fitted to give me four different distance. "I found the exact specifications for Multnomah which is a good average for the tracks my dogs run on. The track is 18 feet wide with banking of 22 inches and there will be an American inside lure." When it is completed the entire facility will not see a lot of change out of £80,000. The centre of the European leg of the Dalton empire is the main house and kennel. There are around another 20 whelping kennels here, plus rearing paddocks and kennels which are the American-caged type. This complex is under the care of the experienced Jackie Corcoran. The stars of the kennel are the recent arrivals from America: Mr John Dee and Whisper Wit. Dalton describes Mr John Dee as "without doubt the fastest greyhound ever imported into Ireland." Some build-up but when you know his record it’s easy enough to see why. The son of top American sire Joey Jones, Mr John Dee raced against the absolute elite in America. In his first (rookie) year he reached the finals of the $175,000 Wonderland Derby, the $60,000 American Derby and the $180,000 Flagler International.
He was voted Rookie of the Year at Wondernd where he equaled K's Flak's three-eighths track record.
Dalton said "He was a great dog because he was top class over the middle and the long distances. He produced his first seven litters in America in 1988 and they are due on the track shortly.
"I don't know whether he will be a great dog at stud but his race record would take some beating. He is not the sort of dog you can buy, I have him on lease. If he doesn't get used he will go back to America."
For Whisper Wit it was a journey home. By Whisper Wishes out of Westmead Kim (All Wit - Westmead Satin) he won the $30,000 American Juvenile Championship at Rayhnham, with a litter brother two places back. By coincidence, Wit arrived back at Golden within a few days of his dam producing one bitch pup from a repeat mating with Whisper Wishes.
So after 30 years of studying American racing and breeding, how does Irish breeding compare with the dogs produced in America?
Dalton said "I would say the American dogs are a furlong faster. Years ago any decent Irish dog would do well over there. they have improved so much. The other night I had Rhymer who won the National Unraced Stake in Ireland, lead and get caught in 'C'Grade at Wonderland.
The racing is basically so different. The dogs are so hardy and they race in deep sand so the tracks suit a rangey dog. I would say though, there would be an awful lot of the dogs who aren't getting on with their job."
Dalton has two of the most sought-after contracts in America - Wonderland and Lincoln Rhode Island. He won more than $860,000 last year, yet reckons profits are small. How does he see the future?
He said "The future looks bleak. i am very concerned about the introduction of these new betting parlours in America. They are not widespread at present but the big bookmaking companies could use them to bring greyhound racing to its knees.
"Instead of going racing you could spend an evening in these plush establishments where you could buy a meal and watch the racing on a huge screen.
"You would be able to bet on any race or even go to a different screen and watch a different sport. There would be no need for all the tracks, you would just need one in each time zone.
"If it happens in America, it will only be a matter of time before the same thing happens in Ireland and possibly Britain.
"There is so much money at stake, I don't think anything can stop them. Instead of gambling it would all come under the guise of leisure."
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