Anthony Charles Meek (born 1961), in

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( , ; abbreviated Glos.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Herefordshire to the north-west, Worcestershire to the north, Warwickshire to the north-east, Oxfordshire ...

, is a former English greyhound trainer. He is twice

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 ...

winning trainer.

Profile

Meek learnt the trade working for the legendary

Geoff De Mulder Geoffrey De Mulder (1930 – 11 December 2009) was an English greyhound trainer. He was a two times champion trainer of Great Britain and was regarded as the leading trainer during the 1970s and 1980s. De Mulder won the Greyhound Trainer of th ...

before moving to Ireland to work with Paddy Keane. He then established his own kennel during the early 1980s, after being granted a professional trainer's licence. The kennels were based in

English Bicknor English Bicknor is a village and civil parish in the Forest of Dean district of west Gloucestershire, England. The 2011 Census recorded the population as 408. The village is near the county boundary with Herefordshire, opposite which is the v ...

and attracted some of the sport's leading owners. The first significant achievement was making the

Grand Prix ( , meaning ''Grand Prize''; plural ''Grands Prix'') most commonly refers to: * Grand Prix motor racing, a form of motorsport competition ** List of Formula One Grands Prix, an auto-racing championship *** Monaco Grand Prix, the most prestigious ...

final with Keem Rocket in 1984. Gino represented Meek in the 1987 Irish Greyhound Derby final before the white and brindle joined John McGee. He moved his attachment from

Swindon Stadium Swindon Stadium, also known as the Abbey Stadium, is a Greyhound Board of Great Britain regulated Greyhound racing in the United Kingdom, greyhound racing track and former Motorcycle speedway, speedway track in Blunsdon, Swindon, England. Grey ...

Oxford Stadium Oxford Stadium is a Greyhound racing in the United Kingdom, greyhound racing and Motorcycle speedway, speedway venue in Oxford, located in Sandy Lane, Cowley, Oxford, Cowley. As of 2024, Greyhound races are held on Monday, Friday and Saturday ...

in 1988, which catapulted the kennels to major success. In 1990 he trained Fires of War, who reached the 1990 English Greyhound Derby final. The following year Coalbrook Suzie reached the final of the Oaks and Grand Prix before Deanpark Atom won the

Pall Mall Stakes The Pall Mall Stakes is a prestigious Greyhound racing in the United Kingdom, greyhound racing competition held at Oxford Stadium. The event is classified as a category one race. History The competition was run at Harringay Stadium from 193 ...

in 1992. He also recorded two Puppy Derby successes with Murlens Support and Lughill Slippy. The greatest achievements came in 1993 and 1994; first with Ringa Hustle, a black dog with seeding issues but who proved imperious when winning the 1993 English Greyhound Derby, a final in which he was also represented by Lassa Java, who would go on to win the 1994 Pall Mall. The second achievement in 1994 arrived after Meek switched from Oxford to

Hall Green Stadium Hall Green Stadium was a greyhound racing stadium located in the Birmingham suburb of Hall Green, which existed from 1927 until 2017. The track itself was a 412-metre long oval track with a sand covered surface. The capacity of the stadium was ...

and crowd favourite Moral Standards completed an unbeaten run through the 1994 English Greyhound Derby. He became only the second trainer to defend a Derby title after

Leslie Reynolds Leslie Reynolds (1906–1961) was a leading English greyhound trainer. He was a five times winner of the English Greyhound Derby which constituted a record until beaten by Charlie Lister in 2011. Early life Reynolds was born during 1906 in ...

. Tony continued to train and after spells at Monmore and

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retired and handed the kennels over to his partner Jayne. He also acted as the Chairman of the Greyhound Trainers Association.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Meek, Tony 1961 births Living people British greyhound racing trainers