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Post by SALFORD GIRL on Nov 25, 2019 19:55:44 GMT
Leger fun shows the passion is still there.....BY JIM CREMIN OF THE RACING POSTTWO St Legers in a week for me, taking in Limerick on Saturday (550 yards) after Perry Barr’s (710m) the weekend before.
With both events going to north Kerry-based winners and staged before enthusiastic crowds with plenty of families in evidence, the words of Frank Nyhan, chairman of the Irish Greyhound Board in Saturday’s Limerick racecard are justified.
He wrote: “It has not been an easy time for us. However, events like this year’s Leger – driven by the wonderful support of the greyhound fraternity – show there are still green shoots to be positive and excited about for our industry . . . our challenge is to pass on the sport to future generations.”
With next Saturday’s Night of Stars at Shelbourne building up to a real crescendo, November is proving a month to remember.
The Christmas Party season is already in full swing in Ireland – Limerick looked the part on Saturday, beautifully decorated and with festive songs, mulled wine, turkey and Christmas pudding all being enjoyed.
However, one likely Scrooge ahead will be Indecon, due to finalise its economic report next month and then present it to the IGB before Christmas. It is expected to make for uncomfortable reading with several tracks believed to be under close scrutiny.
However, among those who believe that greyhound racing still has real appeal is Sandra Gilmartin (Paddy Power, Coventry), the new Racing Post/SIS Betting Shop Manager of the Year. She made the Birmingham Leger presentation on behalf of RPGTV.
Her view is that the sport has taken a markedly higher profile in her shop since the restrictions were imposed on gaming machines. “It’s attractive because it’s quick and easy. Perry Barr has been wonderful, an Irish winner, a great buzz and really good to see so many young people.”
She said she had read up on the sport and was impressed by the work the Greyhound Board was doing around rehoming and reducing the costs in this area. “It’s important to make that as easy as possible for all involved,” she said.
Similarly Brendan Maunsell, trainer of Redzer Ardfert, the Perry Barr champion and Night of Stars-bound, would prefer if his local track Tralee operated its own retirement branch with kennels that the nearby community could visit. However, the Irish Greyhound Board will, initially at least, seek a more centralised option.
Maunsell’s own kennels, in Abbeydorney, Kerry, are also part of a busy dairy farm. He has a couple of litters, both of nine-week-old pups – learning about life alongside his select team of racers. Those include Cash Is King, fourth in Saturday’s Irish Leger – incidentally a litter brother to Dave Mullins’ Troy Bella.
Thinking of Maunsell’s point about getting people visiting kennels, one imagines a scheme that involves local schoolkids. Anyone who sees pups would be fascinated. Greyhounds in general make great adverts in themselves, being such gentle, happy and empathic creatures in their home environment. It’s a hidden secret.
I remember once as a youngster, going to an open day at the old Northaw Kennels near Potters Bar. It was magical; you never forget it.
Liam Dowling, ‘down the road’ from Maunsell, landed the Friends Of Limerick Leger with Ballymac Anton and longer-term plans are to bring him to Nottingham’s Derby next year – along with Ballymac Tas, runner-up there this year. She herself has a three-week-old litter of six, three dogs and three bitches, to Farloe Blitz.
Dowling explained Tas is a brilliant mum and there’s sure to be great interest in her pups.
I don’t think I’ve seen ever seen him quite so excited. Winning the Leger meant so much to him.
Indeed Maunsell had earlier talked of making evening racing special again and fears SIS racing is something of a distraction. “Ensuring competitive fields for betting shop racing seems to have superseded staging quality racing on normal weekend nights – and that’s the core of what the sport is in Ireland, families often with their own greyhounds going racing and dreaming of a big event,” he said.
It’s the pups that people like Dowling and Maunsell produce which are our rocket fuel.
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Post by BVADMIN on Dec 2, 2019 0:09:00 GMT
There should be a big crowd at Romford on Friday for the Essex Vase finalLive RPGTV schedule for the week ahead...All 6pm startMonday 2nd: Nottingham & Yarmouth In the studio: Phil Donaldson, Jonathan Hobbs & Nottingham trainer Anna Thompson
Tuesday 3rd: Poole & Sheffield In the studio: Darrell Williams, Kaan Hughes & syndicate manager/greyhound trader Jack Murrell
Wednesday 4th: Peterborough & Sunderland In the studio: Julie Collier, Rose Draper & broadcaster John Gwynne
Thursday 5th: Newcastle & Yarmouth In the studio: Tanya Stevenson, Jonathan Kay & former bookmaker Steve Allen
Friday 6th: Nottingham & Romford In the studio: Ian Meek & Richard Harkness, Tony Bullen at Romford for the Essex Vase final
Saturday 7th: Crayford & Sheffield In the studio: Julie Collier, Ali Brown & James Pryce
Sunday 8th: Central Park & Poole In the studio: Ian Meek, Dave Clark & former trainer Tony Johnston......
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Post by SALFORD GIRL on Dec 2, 2019 14:44:54 GMT
MONDAY 2nd DECEMBER 2019::::By Mr Jonathan Kay... A wish list that could cheer up a Christmas Grinch.....EVEN as a confirmed Grinch, it has to be conceded that early December means Christmas is on the horizon so how about a wish list for the GBGB to action in 2020 and beyond?
Let me first stress that I think the GBGB is doing a cracking job dealing with all the external pressures the sport faces by being proactive rather than reactive like so often in the past, but there is a case for thinking that the eye may have been taken off the ball a little regarding some racing practices that have been allowed to creep in.
The way the sport is increasingly watched – in the main online or on television rather than at the track – is not adequately reflected in the rules and regulations.
So hereby are five requests for my Christmas stocking:
1 Automatic retrial for a greyhound beaten a distance
Quite how this has to be requested and is not already a rule in such a welfare-conscious era would be hard to fathom but for the expediency that pressures on kennel strengths have brought and the desire to cut down on the number of trials.
However, it just does not sit right for judgements to have to be made about a greyhound’s well-being when the last piece of public evidence was a fall. And the thought of such a greyhound then racing again and suffering an injury, connected or not, should send shudders through everyone charged with defending the good name of the sport.
Greyhounds interfered with by an errant rival does create one potential grey area and perhaps could be covered with an exemption so connections are not effectively punished twice, but even getting them in a ‘catch all’ would be preferable to no rule at all.
2 Weight sheets to be published online
Now it wouldn’t bother me whether I never saw a greyhound weight again, especially in open-racing where external factors such as different scales at different tracks can render comparisons meaningless.
It is, though, for some a vital part of information and one which has traditionally been available at tracks by the displaying of a weight sheet.
In this day and age it may be that less than one per cent of people betting at a meeting have access to them, so publication online, via websites and social media, is surely a no-brainer – and kudos to those tracks which already do.
Greyhound racing’s funding is based on bookmaker turnover and anything that encourages that should be actively pursued.
3 Non-runners to be immediately announced
Nothing annoys punters more than a non-runner scuppering an early price taken on another contender, especially when the change may have occurred before the bet was actually struck.
Rather than wait to the start of a meeting to announce changes, tracks should be compelled to inform the Press Association – keeper of the database – immediately.
4 Centralised photo-finish resource
Punters are entitled to see where their money went and even those tracks which make photo-finishes available to that such as RPGTV see the quality of those images degraded in transmission.
The British Horseracing Authority solves that issue by publishing relevant photo-finishes on its website and there is no logical reason why greyhound stadia should not be instructed to do likewise on the GBGB website.
As an aside, the quality of photo-finishes seems to vary greatly track by track and, just as circuits are occasionally subject to recalibration to check that the advertised distances are correct, then so should photo-finish equipment to ensure it meets industry standards and is fit for purpose.
5 Competition draws to be made in public at the track
Perhaps not for the first round where guarding is in play, but there is no excuse for the growing number of tracks who pass the buck to the GBGB round-by-round. Doing a draw may be more complicated than it once was due to the equal distribution of seeds but it’s not rocket science.
While much of this missive has focused on the off-course nature of greyhound racing, there should still be privileges of actually being present at a track and a trap draw offers such potential theatre.
And as for tracks that even get the GBGB to do finals the next day . . .
Merry Christmas!
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Post by BVADMIN on Dec 2, 2019 15:40:24 GMT
Good read in today's Racing Post by Mr Kay.
I think he has just about covered everything...
WELL DONE 'JK
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Post by BVADMIN on Dec 4, 2019 19:02:20 GMT
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Post by BVADMIN on Dec 8, 2019 22:45:11 GMT
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Post by BVADMIN on Dec 9, 2019 0:11:47 GMT
Errol Blyth hosts the Sunday night action for RPGTV
Live RPGTV schedule for the week ahead....all 6pm start except Saturday 7pmMonday 9th: Nottingham & Yarmouth In the studio: Darrell Williams, Tony Bullen & Brett Williams
Tuesday 10th: Poole & Sheffield In the studio: Tanya Stevenson & Ali Brown, Julie Collier at Sheffield for the BGBF British Bred Derby final
Wednesday 11th: Peterborough & Sunderland In the studio: Errol Blyth, Jonathan Hobbs & Dani Jackson
Thursday 12th: Newcastle & Yarmouth In the studio: Jason Barrasford, Rose Draper & owner Paul Jarvis
Friday 13th: Nottingham & Romford In the studio: Julie Collier, Dave Clark & Teresa Cahill, assistant to trainer husband Seamus
Saturday 14th: Crayford & Swindon In the studio: Jason Barrasford & Richard Harkness, Dave Clark at Swindon for the English Oaks final
Sunday 15th: Central Park & Poole In the studio: Errol Blyth, Kaan Hughes & Pat Cooney....
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Post by BVADMIN on Dec 14, 2019 0:41:22 GMT
👀 Viewers can contact the RACING POST GREYHOUND TV show 👀 by emailing rpgtv@racingpost.com or tweeting @rpgreyhounds.
👀 Want to keep up with the action on RPGTV on the move? 👀
We have it covered with our Greyhound Bet app now featuring live streaming of all the races covered on the channel.
What's more with our slick two-click betting, it’s never been easier to place a wager and watch the action as it happens.
Download at bit.ly/1ENhFOc
:::::::: Check out RPGTV's Youtube channel :::::::: Bringing you all the features from RPGTV, as well as key interviews along with some of the more amusing moments on the channel.
Visit bit.ly/2yHFXh1
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Post by BVADMIN on Dec 16, 2019 6:24:37 GMT
Tanya Stevenson hosts Saturday's show with live Crayford and Sheffield actionLive RPGTV schedule for the week ahead.....all 6pm start Monday 16th: Nottingham & Yarmouth In the studio: Jason Barrasford & Ali Brown
Tuesday 17th: Poole & Sheffield In the studio: Darrell Williams & Rose Draper
Wednesday 18th: Peterborough & Sunderland In the studio: Rachel Casey & Dave Clark
Thursday 19th: Newcastle & Yarmouth In the studio: Phil Donaldson & Tony Bullen, Errol Blyth at Newcastle for the Northern Puppy Derby and Laurels finals
Friday 20th: Nottingham & Romford In the studio: Ian Meek, Richard Harkness & former trainer Barry Silkman
Saturday 21st: Crayford & Sheffield In the studio: Tanya Stevenson, Jonathan Hobbs & former trainer Micky Douglass
Sunday 22nd: Central Park & Poole In the studio: Errol Blyth & Kaan Hughes...
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Post by BVADMIN on Dec 16, 2019 22:53:28 GMT
Reasons to be cheerful for 2020.....BY MARK WALLIS G.B.G.B. TRAINERTHE 2019 season is fast drawing to an end and it has been another good one for the kennel and without doubt a much better year for the sport.
Personally, I’m delighted to have retained our Trainer of the Year title, largely helped by two big one-twos in the TV Trophy and Kent St Leger, and we look set to achieve over 220 open-race winners and over 1,100 points, which is considerably more than we had when winning in 2018.
For those who suggested our kennel was on the slide early on this year, well I’m afraid the figures prove otherwise. We are around 70 winners short of turning out 4,000 open-race victories since I took over the reins in 2005. That is my next target and we’ll celebrate that landmark with a healthy donation to retired greyhounds when it arrives.
Indeed, when I was kennelhand and assistant trainer to my former boss and mother-in-law Linda Jones, we achieved around 1,800 open-race winners, so Imperial Kennels itself has sent out nearly 6,000 open winners since it opened in 1989 – remarkable to say the least!
I’m proud of the 62 Category One victories (nine Classics) I have won as a trainer – and adding the 13 titles Linda won we are on the 75 mark. The question is can we get to 100 of these major titles before I retire? At our average rate of 3.7 per year it will take around seven more years to achieve and around ten more to do so in my own right.
My enthusiasm is still there and, with the backing of my fantastic family, staff and owners, who knows?
Aspirations, goals and sometimes fear of failure has to be in the mindset as we begin each year and I’m looking forward to getting stuck into 2020 and will try to get off to a fast start.
I feel we have plenty of ammunition to attack the big races and we might have some real hidden talents that will come shining through over the next few months. Derby prospects will be much sought after and, with an early 2020 Derby, time is of the essence.
However, it will be nice to finish this season on a high and Aayamza Breeze will run in the Boxing Day marathon at Crayford while the under-rated Avastorm will go for the Ballyregan Bob Memorial.
Antigua Fire, Bumblebee Bullet and Antigua Breeze are our big guns for 2020 and have been put away for the year.
So the sport overall has to be pleased with 2019. We have touched upon the good things happening in previous columns and I see no reason why 2020 should not continue the progress.
The prospect of Towcester and maybe even Oxford returning is a massive plus, higher welfare standards have been achieved as the fantastic Greyhound Commitment set out by the GBGB takes the industry in the right direction, and trainers and owners have plenty of financial help via grants such as the brilliant Injury Recovery Scheme among many new initiatives.
In the words of rock legend Ian Dury, ‘Reasons To Be Cheerful – part 3’ has to be the well-backed British breeding programme with some excellent competitions throughout the year, and we have actively tried to seek and source British-bred newcomers to join in the fun.
Antigua Breeze and Passing Stranger are in that mould and could well add to the success for the kennel of former stars like Adageo Bob, Calco Flyer and Jazz Apollo, to name but a few. BGRB chair Liz Mort and her team deserve huge praise.
Our kennel is always trying to improve and on the social media side I’m delighted at the reaction to our new weekly podcast (a first for trainers I believe). And though it’s in its infancy, my 15-year-old daughter Emily deserves a lot of credit – youngsters like her are an absolute must for a bright future for the industry.
There are three things on my wish list for 2020, firstly an end to the ridiculous media rights battle between Arc and SIS, while secondly can we not form a committee comprising top people from the GBGB, promoters, trainers and owners to source outside sponsors into the sport?
Thirdly, please put the Oaks in a sensible summer slot (just after the Derby) and stage it at one of our top tracks like Monmore or Towcester and make it a competition for the sport to be proud of.
Merry Christmas and a very prosperous new year to you all.
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