The first speedway races in Bradford started in 1945.
For the first four years of its existence, the city’s speedway team was known as the Bradford Boomerangs.
From 1950 to 1957 they were known as the Bradford Tudors and the name changed again in 1960 to the Bradford Panthers.
The club folded in 1962, only for it to re-form eight years on under the name Bradford Northern.
Between 1974 and 1976 the club was reinvented as the Bradford Barons but it folded again.
It was announced that the Speedway World Finals would be held at Odsal Stadium in 1985.
A number of race meetings were arranged prior to the event and more than £1 million was spent on the stadium including a new shale track.
The Halifax Dukes needed a new home and moved to Odsal in 1986 with the team changing its name to the Bradford Dukes.
Before the club became defunct in 1997, the Dukes were crowned the Elite League Champions.
The team had won eight Championships, and a world title for star rider Gary Havelock in 1992, before it folded for the third and final time.
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