Portsmouth Greyhound Stadium
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Recommendation added: 09/04/2006 21:36
By: BAW123 (YSUK rating +47)BAW123 has been thanked 8 times for this contribution
"When driving into the city of Portsmouth along the main route (the M275), it's hard not to notice Portsmouth Greyhound Staduim on your left hand side. Situated on the waterfront at Tipner, the stadium is just a couple of minutes drive from the motorway.
On Tuesday, Friday and Saturday nights, the stadium comes to life with the barking of dogs and the roar of crowds.
There is a small car park at the site, for which a charge applies. I'd recommend parking at the nearby "Mountbatten Centre", a multi-purpose site that has free parking, and is just a two minute walk to the Greyhound Stadium.
Admission will set you back around £4.00, and a race card (a "programme" with the evenings races and form guide) an additional £2.00.
Once you've entered the ground, you might like to visit one of the three bars that serve a wide range of drinks. The bar prices are actually quite reasonable compared to local pubs - a pint of lager will cost around £2.30, whilst a Jack Daniels and Coke costs £2.80 - very good value, considering they now serve 35ml measures of spirits.
For children, there are two "tuck shop" type bars that sell soft drinks, a range of sweets and hot drinks.
Should you feel hungry, there is a choice of a seated resturant or a "takeaway" style burger bar. I have not tried the resturant, however the takeaway food is very tasty and very reasonable. One observation that I did make within the resturant is that is was very smokey - this would discourage me from eating there. This should hopefully change with the new laws being introduced by the government.
Of course, the main reason for visiting the stadium would be for the dog racing. On a normal race night, there will be twelve races which start at 7.36pm.
The advantage of dog racing over horse racing is that it is very fast paced. A race will typically last about thirty seconds, with only about fifteen minutes between races.
The excitement is enhanced by placing bets upon the outcomes of races, and Portsmouth Greyhound Stadium offers two methods of wagering - you can either place a bet at one of the bookmakers stands, or at the Tote booths located around the stadium.
There are also a number of different bets that can be places, which may intimidate newcomers. The race card which you purchase when you come in has some very helpful information, however to summarise there are four main types of bet that you can place... "Win" - your dog needs to win the race, "Place" - your dog can come first or second, "Forcast" - you need to predict the first two dogs in the correct order, and "Trio" - you need to get the first three dogs in the correct order. Again, there are variations to this, but again the race card explains these, or any of the staff will be more than happy to help.
Overall, a visit to Porstmouth Greyhound Stadium is an excellent night out. The stadium itself may not be the best and most up to date in the country, but it does not spoil the atmosphere and enjoyment of the night out. The night can also be as cheap, or expensive, as you want it to be - who knows, you might also come out with more money than you went with !
Should you be considering a trip, I would recommend buying the local Portsmouth newspaper, "The News", as this has a copy of the racecard, and often has vouchers for free admission to the stadium and free drinks at the bars too."
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