WHO says there is no money in greyhound racing just now, well maybe there isn’t, but tell it to those who attended the sale at Sheffield on Sunday when the 42 greyhounds knocked down on the bench went for a grand total of nearly 50,000 guineas.

Going back yonks and the traditional sales at Aldridges in London and the late lamented Hackney Stadium, some would have you believe that the days of greyhound auctions are numbered but last weekend’s sale, under the auspices of the British Combined Greyhound Sales organisation, suggested that they are still alive and kicking.

In terms of turnover the sale was nothing to write home about but the fact that so many dogs were sold – for an average of more than 1,000gns a piece – is encouraging and evidence that there are still plenty of owners out there prepared to dig deep in pursuit of a decent dog or two.

Just what class of greyhound you would get for a grand is anybody’s guess but make a note of Droopys Dino and Droopys Keith, both sent over from the Dunphy kennels in Ireland, who shared top price at the auction of 5,700gns each. 

...but truth is that breeding is still in decline... 

WHILE everyone lately is waxing enthusiasm over British breeding, thanks in no small part to the Dunham Greyhound Centre’s sponsorship of British-bred Derbys at Newcastle and Sittingbourne, the bottom line is that home production has never been at such a low ebb. 

The statistics are down, and still on the slide, both here and in Ireland with the trend across the pond brought on by the not so gradual decline of tracks in Britain.

Fewer tracks spells fewer meetings, with the inevitable knock-on effect that the demand for greyhounds has diminished considerably in recent years. Add to this the depressing economic climate, the price of fuel and everything else, and the upshot is that fewer people are in the market for dogs.