Charles Richard Lister

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(born 1940) is a former English greyhound trainer. He is a four times winner of the Greyhound Trainer of the Year and is regarded as one of the leading trainers of all time. He also holds the record for

English Greyhound Derby The English Greyhound Derby is the most prestigious race on the British Greyhound racing in the United Kingdom, greyhound racing calendar, with a history stretching back to 1927. It was first held at White City Stadium, but moved to Wimbledon ...

wins with seven.

Early life

He was born in

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

and used to attend

coursing Coursing by humans is the pursuit of game or other animals by dogs—chiefly greyhounds and other sighthounds—catching their prey by speed, running by sight, but not by scent. Coursing was a common hunting technique, practised by the nobility, ...

with his father. He then owned some greyhounds with a trainer called Joe Booth who ran on the independent circuit, known as flapping (unregulated racing).

Career

After learning his trade on independent tracks he applied for a

National Greyhound Racing Club The National Greyhound Racing Club was an organisation that governed Greyhound racing in the United Kingdom Greyhound racing is a sport in the United Kingdom. The industry uses a parimutuel betting tote system with on-course and off-course be ...

C-licence. He was then gained a professional trainers licence and was awarded a contract at

Leicester Stadium Leicester Stadium also known as the Blackbird Road Stadium, was a sports stadium on Parker Drive in Leicester. The stadium was initially used for Greyhound racing in the United Kingdom, greyhound racing with motorcycle speedway starting there fi ...

by Mick Wheble. His first breakthroughs were with Swift Band, who won the 1981

East Anglian Derby The East Anglian derby is a term used to describe football matches held between Norwich City and Ipswich Town, the only fully professional football clubs in the neighbouring East Anglian counties of Norfolk and Suffolk respectively. In recent ...

and Glamour Hobo who finished runner up in the 1985

Scottish Greyhound Derby The Scottish Greyhound Derby was an original classic greyhound competition held from 1928 to 2019, at Carntyne Stadium and then Shawfield Stadium. History The competition was introduced at Carntyne Stadium in 1928. It was held until 1968 at ...

. The first Classic race success came in the 1993

Cesarewitch Cesarewitch may refer to: *Cesarewitch Handicap The Cesarewitch Handicap is a flat handicap horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Newmarket over ...

with Killenagh Dream at

Belle Vue Stadium Belle Vue Stadium was a Greyhound racing in the United Kingdom, greyhound racing track in Belle Vue, Manchester, England, where the first race around an oval track in Britain was held on 24 July 1926. It has also been used for motorcycle speedw ...

and a first Derby final appearance came one year later in the 1994 English Greyhound Derby. By 1996 Lister had become a leading trainer on the open race circuit and regularly won classic and major races. Training out of kennels in Newark in

Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated ''Notts.'') is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. The county is bordered by South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. Th ...

, he steered Some Picture to victory in the final of the 1997 English Greyhound Derby and 1997 Scottish Derby. Lister became one of the most successful trainers in the sport after two more Derby wins with Rapid Ranger in the 2000 English Greyhound Derby and 2001 English Greyhound Derby. Farloe Verdict won the 2003 English Greyhound Derby and in 2010 Bandicoot Tipoki won the 2010 English Greyhound Derby to equal the record held by Leslie Reynolds. The following year

Taylors Sky Taylors Sky (born 1 March 2009) is a white and blue male Greyhound. He is owned by Steve and Becky Taylor and was trained by Charlie Lister. He won the English Greyhound Derby in 2011 English Greyhound Derby, 2011, and was named Britain's Greyhou ...

was crowned champion and in the 2013 Sidaz Jack extended Lister's record to seven wins.

Retirement

Lister retired in September 2018, handing the kennels and licence to head man Chris Akers.

Awards

He has won the Greyhound Trainer of the Year four times, won the Trainers Championship six times. In 2011 he received an

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

for services to Greyhound Racing.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lister, Charlie Sportspeople from Yorkshire 1940 births Living people British greyhound racing trainers Officers of the Order of the British Empire