Droopys Greg off for a further three months

16/03/2012

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Chipped wrist bone lays low the potential staying star...

WITH twelve wins from twice as many races - all of them opens - you could hardly say that Droopys Greg has been the unluckiest dog in the world, however the Gary Newbon-owned and Nick Savva-trained hound has suffered the second setback of his career, a chipped bone in a wrist picked up in a trial at Perry Barr this week.

Greg was on the comeback trail after being sidelined with a cracked hock sustained at Henlow last year - also in a trial - and trainer/breeder Savva says the dog will need a further three months off. “He’s damaged the left wrist, which at least has a better chance of healing more quickly, it’s usually the right wrist that gets damaged and they can take a while,” said Savva.

The trainer says there were no plans to run Greg in the Derby but that he and Newbon would concentrate on stayer races when he regains full fitness. To date the dog has had just one true stayer outing and that was in what proved to be his most recent race over the St Leger trip of 687 metres at Wimbledon in September.

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Just how good is that BAGS contract?

08/12/2011

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King to quit Swindon at end of month  

‘IT’S alright for those trainers who have a BAGS contract, they’ve no need to worry where the next penny’s coming from’ is the the sort of line trotted out only too often these days by trainers with no such contract and even more so by those with no track attachment either.

Being a greyhound trainer at present is not the most enviable of occupations, it’s pretty grim out there just now, and the big worry is that there is little sign of things turning round, no matter how much is thrown at the game in the form of prizemoney, such as in the ongoing BAGS Championship.

None of that money trickles down to the majority of trainers and it certainly was no incentive to Swindon trainer Steve King to change his mind about leaving the sport, despite the fact that he is attached to a BAGS track, Swindon.

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So long Lark, thanks for the memory

14/09/2011

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Owners pay tribute to a true champion... 

JUST what owning a greyhound is all about was captured in a wonderful epitaph published in the Racing Post on Wednesday written by Mike and Clare Davis, the owners of that wonderful hurdler, Kildare Lark, who has sadly died. 

If ever there was a fitting tribute to an old friend then this was it, with the Davis’s reflecting on the day they first acquired the dog, his tremendous career and right through to just the other day when they lost their champion after he was struck down by cancer.

They proudly posted Kildare Lark’s list of achievements, 31 wins from 57 races and a Grand National victory thrown in for good measure and the 23 wins from 32 races he rattled off for them in their ownership. The Lark was also voted the top dog on Sky during 2008 and twice won the GBGB hurdler of the year award. 
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Sheffield a shining light

07/06/2011

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FULL marks to Sheffield, who continue to push the boat out with their Tuesday night opens. 

Tonight’s card there takes in no fewer than 12 opens, with 10 of these carrying a winner’s prize of £200 and two others each worth £300 to the winner. 

If Sheffield are trying to dissuade owners and trainers from visiting their Owlerton Stadium then they sure have a funny way of doing it! 

And those owners and trainers should do the right thing by continuing to support the track in numbers, the Sheffield management deserve it, they have a number of other tracks running for cover and beg the question that if they can do it, why can’t the rest?
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Hove reap what they sow, so too do Sheffield

10/05/2011

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Proper prizemoney attracts the stars at Regency meeting...

GREAT stuff from Hove at Tuesday’s Coral Regency final meeting where nine of the supporting opens carried a winner’s prize of £750 and overall prizemoney of more than £1100, per race that is! 

It made a most welcome and refreshing change from some of the penny-pinching antics we’ve seen from one or two other promoters in recent times and no, we didn’t actually mention the GRA. 

As the saying goes, ‘you only get what you pay for’ and owners and trainers responded by providing the calibre of runners that collectively is rarely seen these days.

Well done to them and well done to Hove-cum-Coral, whose stadium, as ever, would have looked its usual picture on the night. No pun intended.
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More prizemoney cuts by the GRA, this time it's the Blue Riband

29/03/2011

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THE GRA have upped the winners’ prize for the series of Derby Trial Stakes at Wimbledon from £100 to £150 following criticism from trainers, Charlie Lister and Mark Wallis in particular (see elsewhere on here).

Lister was highly critical of the proposed ‘reward,’ describing it as an “absolute joke” while Wallis called it an “insult to owners and trainers.” While some might be pacified by the increase, Lister is still far from satisfied. “It is still not enough for Derby dogs,” he said.

“When I saw that the Derby Trial Stakes winners were running for just £100, I got straight on to the GBGB and had a right go at them but, give them their due, they said they would look into it,” said Lister. “The upshot is that the win prize has gone up 50%, that’s better than nothing I suppose.
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Top trainers slate Derby Trial Stakes prizemoney

24/03/2011

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JIM CREMIN was joined in his recent criticism of the scant financial rewards for open trainers by top trainers Charlie Lister and Mark Wallis, who have pulled no punches in their criticism of Wimbledon and the GRA over the win prizemoney for the Derby Trial Stakes at Plough Lane.

Winners will collect just £100, not even enough to earn a single point for Trainers’ Championship purposes, and like other Derby prizemoney, it is in free fall for yet another year.

“Do they honestly expect Derby dogs to run round there for just a hundred quid, it’s an absolute joke,” fumed Lister. “Tracks are just using owners and trainers and it’s no wonder new people are not coming into the game.
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Proper prizemoney the panacea for a vibrant greyhound industry

13/01/2011

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THE news last month that greyhound racing would be receiving only around £6 million from the off-course Fund levy from betting shops this year is sure to put pressure on prizemoney. However, cutting prizemoney has done much to damage the sport over the years. In fact, greyhound promoters need to change their mindset and priorities if greyhound racing is to move forward. Low prizemoney has driven fed up greyhound owners away from the industry and is destroying the fabric of the sport.
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