By BEN WALKER

ONE of the great driving forces behind greyhound racing in Dubbo, Herbert Leslie 'Les' Dawson, will be farewelled next Wednesday after he passed away on Christmas Eve at the age of 86.

The Dubbo Greyhound Racing Club track is named after the man who helped pioneer the sport in the city, and fittingly his wake will be held at the venue.

Les sold the land where Dawson Park stands to the club for a token fee and was well-regarded as an owner, trainer and breeder of greyhounds. Yesterday at the venue he helped establish a minute's silence was held to recognise his contribution to the sport.

As well as being involved with the dogs, Les also established Dawson's Plasterworks, but according to his son Matthew his heart was always with the greyhounds.

"I think dad got his first greyhound when he was about 14 years old and from then he was hooked," Dawson junior said.

"In the 1990s we were breeding a lot of dogs and had a lot of winners at Wentworth Park. It was nothing for us to have anywhere from 60-100 dogs at home.

"But he got just as much of a thrill over winning at Dubbo as he did winning in town, it was never about money for dad.

"All along he wanted to see the club get TAB status and he was so proud when they had their first TAB meeting there a few years ago."

While countless greyhounds came through the property Les shared with wife Norma and their seven children, Just Jedda was arguably the best.

"She won the Ladies Bracelet down in Sydney and also a big maiden race down there," Matthew Dawson said.

"We'd been breeding for a while without a really top dog so dad looked around and bought a bitch. She probably won a handful of races but every litter she had would have a couple of city winners and Just Jedda was the best of them by far."

While Les had been living in a nursing home for the past five years as he battled dementia, the family kept some greyhounds going in his name until just a couple of years ago.

Unfortunately just a couple of weeks after Norma passed away, Les had a seizure over the weekend which eventually took his life on Wednesday.

The couple leaves behind their children Cathy, Mark, Michael, Elizabeth, Suzanne, Matthew and Tim and their respective families, including 20 grandchildren and as many great grandchildren.

Les Dawson's funeral will be held at St Brigid's Catholic Church in Dubbo at 11am on Wednesday with the wake to be held at Dawson Park afterwards.