March Date for the UK’s First Horse/Greyhound Combined Meeting

by Roy Brindley, 9 February 2026

Wolverhampton Racecourse and Dunstall Park Greyhound Stadium combine for a UK sporting first – a day of mixed racing.

It is a win-win for racing fans with the UK’s first greyhound/horse racing double-header taking place in early March. © Getty Images

Key Facts:

• Wolverhampton will host a UK first horse/greyhound combined meeting.
• Part of the seven-race afternoon horse racing card will be broadcast live by ITV Racing.
• A 12-race greyhound card will follow horse racing in the evening.
• Engaging people with greyhound racing has always been a key part of the track’s strategy.

Arena Racing Company is claiming a UK sporting first with its announcement of a combined day of horse and greyhound racing. Scheduled for Saturday, March 7th, the unique meeting will take place at Wolverhampton Racecourse and Dunstall Park Greyhound Stadium, housed within its grounds.

Dunstall Park Greyhound Stadium opened in September 2025, taking over the operations from Parry Barr, which closed in August following 26 years of racing. It was the UK’s first brand-new greyhound racing venue since Towcester opened in 2014.

The greyhound circuit currently races three times a week: Thursday afternoons, Wednesday and Saturday evenings. During the winter months, horse racing takes place under floodlights at the venue on Mondays, Fridays and some Tuesdays.

The ‘combined meeting’ will be Wolverhampton Racecourse’s first daytime and first Saturday meeting of the year. And while the term ‘combined’ suggests that races between both codes will alternate, they will not.

Mixed Card on Track’s Biggest Horse Racing Day

Arena Racing says: “Seven thoroughbred horse races, including the £60,000 BetMGM Lady Wulfruna Stakes, which will be broadcast live by ITV Racing, will headline the afternoon’s entertainment before hoofs turn to paws in the evening with a 12-race greyhound card starting at 6.20 pm.”

“The day will offer horse racing and greyhound racing fans the chance to get up close and personal to the stars of the sand only weeks before Dunstall Park launches its second major greyhound racing competition, the £12,500 Arena Racing Company Laurels – which climaxes on Saturday, April 11th.”

Detractors will argue that the ‘combined day’ is two separate meetings. Bridging a gap, Arena Racing says the “much-loved Irish folk band Radio Murphy will keep the tunes flowing between racing [the conclusion of horse racing fixture and the start of greyhound racing] in The Ringside Suite to celebrate the occasion.”

GM Black Ready to Welcome New Faces

Chris Black, General Manager at Dunstall Park Greyhound Stadium, said: “Tapping into Wolverhampton Racecourse’s existing customer base and engaging more people with greyhound racing has always been a key part of our strategy.”

“Just like racehorses, greyhounds adore their racing. The sport facilitates an opportunity for them to fulfil their primary instinct, before resting their paws on the sofa in retirement, which we’re proud to support in partnership with our homing partners.”

“We’ll be showcasing this and more on the day, and we look forward to welcoming plenty of new faces trackside to our Saturday evening fixtures,” Black, formerly at Perry Barr and Hall Green greyhound stadiums, declared.

New Ready to Welcome New Faces

The British Horseracing Authority’s fixture list shows Wolverhampton Racecourse is scheduled to stage 87 meetings in 2026. However, just four more daytime Saturday horse racing meetings are planned after March 7th’s ‘combined meeting’ – April 4th, December 12, 19 and 26.

Part of the March 7th double-header, Wolverhampton’s richest horse race is the Lady Wulfruna Stakes. Major greyhound competitions staged at Dunstall Park include The Oaks and St. Leger, but on the night, a £750 ‘open race’ is its biggest advertised contest.

Dual racing fixtures are commonplace in Ireland, where Dundalk, Ireland’s only all-weather dual racecourse, stages double-headers at weekends. Callaghan Park – Rockhampton, in Queensland, Australia, also has a horse and greyhound track, as did The Woodlands in Kansas. Neither race nor raced under both codes at the same meeting.