English Greyhound Derby less than one month later. The original trainers were Kennedy, Jennings, William Spoor, Harry Buck and Reginald Grey. Track lighting was seen as a first-time experience by most (football did not have floodlights for another 30 years). Pre war history In 1927 the GRA set up the Hook estate at Northaw for GRA trainers to train out off for White City Stadium and Harringay. The 140 acres of park and grassland was used for greyhounds over nine months old and could house 600 dogs. The pups under nine months were reared under the supervision of William Skerratt on farms in and around Blythe Bridge near Stoke-on-Trent before graduating to Northaw. Bendeemer trained by Jack Kennedy finished fourth in the 1928 English Greyhound Derby final before the Mick the Miller appeared at Harringay for the only time in 1929. He defeated the Billy Chandler (grandfather of Victor Chandler) owned Bishops Dream in a match race on 11 December. Two further Greyhound Derby final appearances in 1931 and 1932 by Brunswick Bill and Fret Not respectively were followed by the arrival of two trainers called Leslie Reynolds and Jack Harvey; the latter would provide Harringay with their first Derby champion in Davesland in the 1934 English Greyhound Derby. The track was the first to race a steeplechase in 1934, which featured a hurdle, a water jump, a collapsible dummy brick wall and a brushwood hedge. The steeplechase failed to become a permanent fixture in the industry. The prestigious Pall Mall Stakes was set up in 1935 and became Harringay's feature competition. Shove Halfpenny, the first winner of the Pall Mall, switched kennels to Jack Harvey in 1937, finishing runner-up in the Derby final, and Eddie Wright steered Carmel Ash to second place in the 1939 Derby final. With the advent of war, major competitions were badly hit, with many postponed until 1945; the 1940 Greyhound Derby was affected after White City cancelled the event despite the fact that it had already started on 15 June. The race was moved to Harringay, a move that did not go down well with many within the industry, and the press described it as being the forgotten Derby. Racing was restricted during the next four years, with Saturday matinee meetings being the only fixtures. Postwar history In 1948 the popular totalisator board underwent extensive improvements, with the small stand next to the board