Frederick George Curtis known as George Curtis (21 September 1923 – 17 April 2020) was an English greyhound trainer. He was a three times UK champion Greyhound Trainer of the Year.

Profile

Curtis started as a kennelhand at

Portsmouth Stadium Portsmouth Greyhound Stadium was a greyhound racing stadium in Tipner north west of Portsmouth, England. Origins The stadium was constructed in 1930 east of Tipner Lane on the site of the Stamshaw Chemical Works. The stadium would be accessed ...

with trainer Bill Peters in 1937 at the age of 14, and received his first

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 ...

trainer's licence in 1944. The first classic race success of his career came with Fawn Mack during the 1950

St Leger The St Leger Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Doncaster over ...

, whilst attached to Park Royal Stadium. A move to Brighton Stadium from Portsmouth in 1967 catapulted Curtis into continued success, his position at Portsmouth was taken by his brother Charlie. He trained a greyhound in two Derby finals, Hard Held in the 1969 English Greyhound Derby and Sirius in the 1970 English Greyhound Derby. He was propelled to industry fame after training Yankee Express and then national fame as the trainer of world record holder

Ballyregan Bob Ballyregan Bob (12 May 1983 to 3 April 1994) was a racing greyhound who, along with Mick the Miller and Scurlogue Champ, is one of the most revered racing hounds in British greyhound racing. Ballyregan Bob was a brindle dog and was whelped in ...

. Curtis retired in 1987 handing the kennels and licence to Bill Masters. Curtis died on 17 April 2020, at the age of 96.

Awards

Curtis won the Greyhound Trainer of the Year three times; in 1983, 1984 and 1986 and the Trainers Championship in 1984. He had the nickname 'Gentleman George' and in 2017 he was given the honour of being named in the

Trafalgar Cup The Trafalgar Cup was a greyhound racing competition for puppies under the age of two. It is the oldest puppy competition in the racing calendar. It was first contested at Wembley Stadium from 1929 until 1998, but when the Wembley Greyhounds e ...

title.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Curtis, George 1923 births 2020 deaths British greyhound racing trainers Sportspeople from Portsmouth