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Post by BVADMIN on May 8, 2023 22:53:17 GMT
Nice posting 'GRUNDY'
I see where your coming from re next January.
But in the long run the long awaited 10/12 Super Tracks seems to be getting nearer and nearer.
Like you say 'TIME WILL TELL' it always does in the Greyhound Game.
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Post by topcat on May 10, 2023 9:47:10 GMT
Exciting times ahead for sure for the tracks under the control of 'ARC' and Premier Greyhound Racing in 2024.
The word on the street is that Perry Barr will be going under in the near future but people are talking about a new track situated at the Wolverhampton {All Weather ARC owned] racecourse?
'IF' this does come about then i'm confident all the mistakes that have been made at Towcester will not be repeated at Wolverhampton.
Roll on 2024.
PS. I may even become a greyhound owner again!
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Post by BVADMIN on May 21, 2023 22:23:32 GMT
  MONDAY 22-5-23There will be huge sighs of relief across the industry as Premier Greyhound Racing unveil their 2024 fixture lis.....
From the moment it was announced that the Entain had signed a long term deal with Arena Racing Company (ARC) to provide racing content from January 2024, long suffering UK greyhound racing supporters have been braced for bad news.
Would the newly formed partnership – PGR – be able to integrate content from the four Entain tracks (Crayford, Hove, Monmore, Romford) into the ARC portfolio?
Assuming ARC also protected their own tracks (Central Park, Newcastle, Nottingham, Perry Barr and Sunderland) would the new organisation dispense with the services of their BAGS contracted venues (Kinsley, Pelaw Grange, Sheffield, Swindon and Yarmouth)?
The answer is a resounding, ‘NO’.
With the increased revenue from the Entain betting shops, Premier Greyhound Racing have increased the original ARC fixture list from 37 to 59 meetings per week.
Not a single meeting has been lost.
Nor does there appear to be any immediate threat to any of the tracks.
Many favourite fixtures are retained. For example, the SIS Romford Friday night simply switches to PGR.
And no doubt, when the full fixture list is digested, there will be perceived pluses and minuses.
For example, Swindon racegoers will see the return of two evening fixtures.
Yarmouth have only had two fixtures thus far with their Saturday evening meeting being on the less lucrative ‘digital’ service.
Under the new deal, they gain a full Sunday morning BAGS fixture. But will they have enough hounds to continue to stage a Saturday evening card?
Or will the extra revenue enable them to increase prize money to attract more runners to fill that Saturday fixture, particularly during the summer season?
Sheffield have also gained a full contract for their regular Friday evening fixture.
Is it a plus or minus for Pelaw regulars to get a Sunday evening fixture, given some of the locals love their Sunday lunchtimes?
Given it is impossible to please all the people all the time, even PGR critics must acknowledge the skilled efforts that have gone into producing the new schedule.
Commenting on it, Lord Lipsey, Premier Greyhound Racing Chair, said: “This schedule is Premier Greyhound Racing’s plan for the future. For bookmakers, it will offer a race every few minutes for their retail and online customers. For fans it will bring the best of greyhound racing action direct across a range of platforms, not to mention top quality entertainment at their local track. We will be delivering a bigger, bolder and sustainable vision for our sport.”
Mark Kingston, Director of Media & Technology, Arena Racing Company, said: “We are pleased to announce this schedule which meets the needs of the sport’s stakeholders. This includes retail bookmakers, all of which are contracted to take PGR from 1 January 2024, alongside additional fixtures to support our digital and international partners. We look forward to continue working closely with Entain, given our mutual commitment to maintaining high standards of welfare across our venues.”
🌟 ** UPDATES TO FOLLOW ** 🌟 |
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Post by BVADMIN on May 31, 2023 7:33:52 GMT
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Post by GRUNDY on Jun 8, 2023 8:46:13 GMT
ROLL ON JANUARY 2024...
AT LONG LAST THING'S ARE STARTING TO HAPPEN.
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Post by SALFORD GIRL on Jun 21, 2023 14:27:48 GMT
Lord David Lipsey, chair, at PGR, said: “PGR is devoted in its continuous strive to drive up standards throughout the sport and I am very pleased to see our joint efforts have contributed to improved welfare for our greyhounds up and down the country. PGR will ensure it works with the GBGB for a joined-up approach for the betterment of the industry.”
Clarissa Baldwin, non-executive director at PGR, said: “The GBGB figures for rehoming and injuries are immensely encouraging. Despite the problems caused by Covid, all the main indicators of welfare standards are as good or better than last year. PGR has put welfare at the heart of its ambitions as a company. These figures are encouraging, but we will only be satisfied when they are even better.”
In her position at PGR, Baldwin focuses on welfare having held numerous positions across the animal welfare industry. This includes 25 years as CEO of the Dogs Trust and more than 20 years as chair of the Greyhound Forum. She was awarded a CBE in 2015 for her outstanding contribution to animal welfare. |
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Post by SALFORD GIRL on Jun 21, 2023 21:32:08 GMT
Taken From The Racing Post
Thursday 22-6-23...
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Post by SALFORD GIRL on Jul 21, 2023 5:00:37 GMT
Wednesday, 19th July, 2023  Lord David Lipsey Blog....... Greyhound racing is not going to be banned – at least in England it’s not. It’s not going to be banned in my lifetime and neither is it going to be banned in the lifetime of the young kennelhands starting work in the sport to give these wonderful creatures the love and care they deserve.
I say “at least in England” because Wales and Scotland just might get rid of the sport. This is because neither has a regulated track since Shawfield in Scotland closed. There were two other tracks – Valley in Wales and Thornton in Scotland – but you wouldn’t say the future of either of them is exactly assured. So for Welsh and Scots politicians banning costs them nothing.
This is not true in England where there are 20 licensed tracks. In England both big parties have enough sense not to touch a ban. Their spokesman both said so at a recent debate in the House of Commons, though both also said that they expected further improvements in welfare. On that we stand hand in glove with the politicians.
Why does no one of significance want a ban? Well there is the economic value of greyhound racing. Some 7,000 people are employed in the sport. It creates £2.6 billion every year and the Exchequer reaps at least £37 million from it. Neither party is minded to waste revenue by banning greyhound racing when they haven’t enough for welfare or education or our beloved NHS.
Then there is the politics of the matter – not just the 7,000 voters but the sheer horrors a ban would set loose. Many at Westminster remember Tony Blair’s ban on fox hunting – he certainly does because he has publicly repented of it. But at least in the case of hunting his MPs could paint it as a toff’s sport. Greyhound racing has its roots as a working class sport – precisely the people Labour originally existed to stand for. It remains Britain’s fifth biggest spectator sport. Labour politicians (and I am one, in the House of Lords!) have no wish whatsoever to alienate their natural voters.
So why is it even talked about? Well because three charities – the RSPCA, Dog’s Trust and Blue Cross – called for a ban earlier this year. Their plea – devoid as it was of any evidence since they refused to publish the study they claimed lay behind it – fell on deaf ears. Indeed initial coverage amounted to a single paragraph in the Racing Post. MPs report it does not figure in their postbag. From all accounts a recent visit from the three to the relevant ministry did not impress them – much anger, little argument.
Meanwhile other canine charities including that fine institution Battersea, held out. And with their help more and more retired greyhounds are being successfully rehomed. Now 19 in 20 retired greyhounds find a family. When I was last involved in the sport as chair of the then British Greyhound Racing Board in the early 2000s it was more like one in six.
Greyhound racing keeps making its case. My company Premier Greyhound Racing, which in January will own the media rights in at least 14 of the tracks, and the Greyhound Board of Great Britain speak with one voice. It’s right we should do so so there is not a crack which the banners – naïve but ignorant – can wriggle through. In a way we owe them something, for their feeble efforts help us in getting over the facts about the modern sport and the progress we have made, are making and will make on welfare. So thanks to the three charities for that – though don’t expect them to be on my charity donation list and or that of greyhound lovers as a result.
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Post by SALFORD GIRL on Jul 21, 2023 21:38:44 GMT
Entain and ARC's Premier Greyhound Racing signs rights deal
with major UK retail betting operators Media rights company Premier Greyhound Racing has announced a slate of rights deals with a number of major retail betting operators in the UK. The business, a joint venture between Entain and Arena Racing Company, will supply “the very best” of greyhound racing to Entain’s Ladbrokes and Coral, William Hill, Paddy Power and Betfred from 2024 onwards.
The landmark commercial deals encompass the UK's four biggest retail betting operators. The new partnerships will see Premier Greyhound Racing supply the respective land-based operations of each brand, with the greyhound racing rights holder providing pictures from its British tracks to the operators' shops from the start of 2024.
Mark Kingston, Director of Premier Greyhound Racing, said: "As important as greyhound racing is to the betting industry as a whole, greyhounds have always been a fundamental part of the betting shop service. Signing up all major retail bookmakers to take the Premier Greyhound Racing service is therefore the biggest endorsement we could have for the content we will be providing from January 2024."
"This commitment from retail bookmakers also underpins the viability of the service as we look to drive a competitive betting product allied to the very highest welfare standards for the greyhounds racing at our tracks,” Kingston further commented on the partnerships.
According to Premier Greyhound Racing, its vision is “to unite stakeholders and become the global home of greyhound racing entertainment,” providing a seven-day-a-week schedule of greyhound racing on-screen. It also pledges to deliver “the market-leading greyhound racing product,” with increased welfare standards and investment to best serve racegoers, owners and trainers, with the ultimate goal of “revitalizing the sport in the process.”
Premier Greyhound Racing is a joint venture between Arena Racing Company (ARC), which owns horse racing courses; and major sports betting and gaming group Entain. Between them, the two companies own nine of the 20 licensed British greyhound tracks – Crayford, Hove, Monmore, Romford, Central Park, Perry Barr, Newcastle, Sunderland and Nottingham – and the media rights for five independent tracks (Kinsley, Pelaw Grange, Sheffield, Swindon and Yarmouth).
The new venture was launched in December 2021, “and is already in action.” Its parent companies have committed to invest in Open Racing prize money, across their nine stadia, exceeding a combined £2.5 million ($3 million). This includes sponsorship of a series of current £20,000-to-the-winner Open Races, including the Premier Greyhound Racing Regency, St Leger, Oaks and Eclipse competitions.
In addition to boosting prize money, Premier Greyhound Racing says it remains committed to delivering “industry-leading standards” for welfare. It has committed to contribute £100,000 ($123,173) towards research identified in the sport's governing body, The Greyhound Board of Great Britain's Welfare Strategy: A Good Life for Every Greyhound.
“Premier Greyhound Racing supports the GBGB's welfare strategies to ensure the long-term care of greyhounds both during, and after, their racing careers and has recently appointed leading animal welfare campaigner Clarissa Baldwin CBE to its Board,” the business noted.
www.yogonet.com/international/news/2023/01/24/65835-entain-and-arc-39s-premier-greyhound-racing-signs-rights-deal-with-major-uk-retail-betting-operators |
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Post by SALFORD GIRL on Oct 22, 2023 21:43:04 GMT
 MONDAY 23rd OCTOBER 2023
👉 By LORD LIPSEY....
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