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That is why its loss will be felt acutely by the dog men, whose secluded world has been struck as if by a meteorite. Punters and “faces” who have spent a lifetime at the Stow say they won’t know what to do with themselves – like old Cyril, forever glued into the corner of the Paddock Bar, or the trackside shrewdie who says his wife is even more upset because she worries he will be at home all the time. There are bookies who have stood here for generations, none longer than the legendary Dougie Tyler, just turned 90, who says the end will be “like a knife in the stomach”. Trainers and kennel staff, some of whom have worked here for years while others have just taken out licences and mortgages, talk of feeling “absolutely gutted”.

Yet others are celebrating the closure of the Stow, such as the animal “rescue” zealots who have pestered punters outside with leaflets claiming “Greyhounds are dying to entertain you.” Lord Donoughue’s 2007 report into the sport emphasised the increasing public pressure on greyhound racing over animal welfare issues, such as the fate of puppies that don’t make the grade, and dogs that can no longer race.

In fact, greyhound racing has poured millions into welfare. The tireless efforts of people such as Barrie Clegg and Johanna Beumer MBE in finding homes for retired greyhounds have made Walthamstow’s rehoming scheme second to none. But it will never be enough for those who want to hound out dog racing. Some of these antis remind me of what Thomas Macaulay said about the Puritans hating bear-baiting, “not because it gave pain to the bear, but because it gave pleasure to the spectators”.

Other animals are bred, used and disposed of humanely without hue and cry. Yet in our canine-centric British culture, many would make an exception for the dog. These dogs would not exist but for the bloodless sport of greyhound racing. Many have good lives after racing, as their owners’ pets. For the rest, as the Donoughue report put it, “some euthanasia may be inevitable”. So long as it is humane, that need not be a problem for those of us who still believe that humans are well ahead in the species stakes.

The 150-plus Walthamstow dogs likely to be left behind will be well looked after. There has been rather less fuss about the people losing their jobs. Apart from the trainers and bookies and their people, there are 52 full-time staff and more than 400 part-timers at the Stow, from teenage boys who collect glasses, as David Beckham once did, to Madge Goward, 94 and sharp as a pin-sticker’s pin behind the Tote window. “I really thought the stadium would’ve seen me out,” she told the local paper, “not the other way round.”

What’s the future after the Stow? Jonathan Hobbs of the Racing Post, and the articulate public face of the dogs on Sky Sports, is adamant that the sale was not caused by a crisis in the industry: “The Chandlers have taken a local business decision; the younger generation of the family has no interest in the sport, the older directors who love the dogs are considering retirement.” Within a decade Hobbs hopes to see a new “premier league” of top-class big city tracks with modern multi-purpose facilities, and dreams of the sort of government support that has transformed greyhound racing in Ireland. Lord Lipsey, chairman of the British Greyhound Racing Board, cites the way that football and now cricket have been revived by fresh investment and ideas. He believes the industry can turn itself around if the new Greyhound Board of Great Britain “stops the squabbling” and attracts “the younger leisure crowd” rather than just dog men.

There is life in the old dogs yet, as shown by the crowds queuing to get into the final few meetings at the Stow. However greyhound racing may look in the future, all agree that there is no going back to the glory days of the mass working-class sport that Walthamstow, the track that never really moved with the times, symbolises so magnificently. Nevertheless, its loss will leave a huge hole in the heart of the sport – and the local area. Its neon-lit Art Deco frontage is listed by English Heritage, but will be a mere memorial once the living stadium goes. Walthamstow without the Stow, say campaigners against closure, will be like Blackpool without the tower. Worse, we could be stuck with a rotting hulk while the developers try to negotiate the planning laws, credit crunch and housing slump.

Who knows what it will be like on the emotional last night? People can be overcome with the energy of it at the best of times. I have a dog-owning friend who ran a 475m race around the track to mark his 21st birthday, and a 640m on his stag night. Two others have pledged to race around on that last night. They will not be alone.

Our first house in Walthamstow was half a mile from the track, and we would often catch a gasp of cheers and jeers on the breeze as the dogs went past the finishing post. It sounded like the ghost of Saturday nights past, and the spirit of anybody who ever wanted to run round the track for a bet, or a birthday, or because it was there. Only it won’t be. But I suspect that I may not be the only one who will hear them still.

For tonight, one last time, as Mark Antony almost said: “Cry, Havoc! And let slip the dogs of Walthamstow!”