Tributes paid on deaths of Wilton and Burton

MONDAY proved to be an extremely sad day for greyhound racing as news broke of the deaths of popular and respected trainers Colin Wilton and Harry Burton.

Wilton, who gave up a career as a salesman in 2011 to pursue his dream of training greyhounds, famously steered kennel star Sambar Kian to the 2024 PGR Eclipse final at his Nottingham base.

A firm believer in ensuring every greyhound in his care enjoyed a good retirement after racing, in recent times he had split his kennel operation to create a homing kennel run by his daughter, something of which he was very proud.

His death, which came after a short illness, was keenly felt at the track on Monday night and yesterday Nottingham general manager David Evans said: “Everyone at Nottingham Greyhound Stadium will miss Colin, who was part of our lives for a long time. 

“We offer our condolences to his family, as well as our support. Although he had some health concerns this was unexpected and his family have asked for privacy during what is understandably a very upsetting time.”

The sad news followed on from that which came earlier on Monday with the death of veteran north-east trainer Burton.

The former Pelaw and Newcastle-based handler, who won the 2023 Classic at Sunderland with Jonny Whiskers, had relinquished his licence soon after that emotional first Category One success due to poor health.

Newcastle GM Ian Walton led the tributes as he told Greyhound Racing UK: “All of us at Newcastle are sad to hear of Harry’s passing. He was a fantastic trainer and a true dog man. 

“On a personal note, Harry was one of the good guys in the sport. He not only loved his dogs, family and football, he also liked a laugh.”

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