BoyleSports Irish Greyhound Derby Dates, Prize Money & History

The BoyleSports Irish Greyhound Derby begins on July 28th where roughly 156 dogs will fight it out to win one of the sport’s biggest prizes.

BoyleSports Irish Greyhound Derby Dates

Round 1: Friday, 28th & Saturday, 29th of July

Round 2: Friday, 4th & 5th of August

Round 3: Saturday, 12th of August

Round 4: Saturday, 19th of August

Semi-Finals: Saturday, 26th of August

Final: Saturday, 2nd of September

BoyleSports Irish Greyhound Derby Prize Money

The greyhounds competing at this year’s event will be fighting it out for a total prize pot of €300,000 with the winner getting €125,000 of that fund.

History of The BoyleSports Irish Greyhound Derby

The first event was held in Harold’s Cross in 1928 it was unofficial into 1932 and was called the National Derby. Tipperary Hill won the first-ever event in a time of 30.56 sec at a starting price of EVS favourite.

The Derby switched to Shelbourne Park in 1932 where it used to alternate years with Harold’s Cross until 1967. Elsewhere the competition was held in the defunct Markets Field stadium in Limerick once in 1939 alongside the former Cork Western Road stadium in 1942 with the last competition taking place outside Shelbourne Park in 1969 in Harolds Cross. Since 1970 it has been held in Shelbourne Park.

The competition was first held over the 525-yard distance until 1985 but since 1986 has been held over the 550-yard distance.

Who is the most successful dog?

The most successful dog in the competition’s history is Spanish Battleship who won the event three times in 1953, 1954 and 1955.

Who is the most successful trainer?

Gay McKenna and Tom Lynch have both trained the winner of the event on four occasions while, Ger McKenna, Matt O’Donnell, Seamus Graham and Graham Holland have all won the event three times.

How many times has a bitch won the Irish Greyhound Derby?

Remarkably, from the 95 editions of the competition, a bitch has only won the event on nine occasions.

Those wins came in:

1933 – Monologue

1937 – Muinessa

1941 – Brave Damsel

1972 – Catsrock Daisy

1979 – Penny County

1990 – The Other Toss

1996 – Tina Marina

1999 – Spring Time

2021 – Susie Sapphire

Click Below For All Our 2023 BoyleSports Irish Greyhound Derby Odds

*Prices subject to fluctuation

Remember, always gamble responsibly. Here’s our Safer Gambling Guide.