Derby going to Towcester

What a shame that the f'd up the track design. Straights are too short. It's all bends and there appears to be a significant track bias to the inside. (Trap "grading" may mask this, but it looks quite clear to the eye)

Towcester is also on Attheraces Saturdays 9 a.m from xmas eve.

This is a joke, the signs are the track is tough to work on, the wide runners are disadvantaged and the place is in the middle of nowhere.

Oh dear. All down to the GRA counts

Great news for the sport,it had to go there imo,we know the circuit isnt ideal but its a lot more "derby" than that goldfish bowl they were seriously considering.

its not perfect and there is plenty of work for them still to do

pushing the winning line closer to the 1st bend so that they can re-position the 500 traps away from the 4th bend
narrowing the bends, possibly bringing the inside rail out a little
better camera angles so we can see a more head on shot of them at the traps eg sunders, notts, don etc
3 sets of traps that are all the same (500 traps best imo)
a winning line

get started with these things ASAP please and then we can have a look at how open race dogs run the track from all trips and then they've got time to tinker again before the derby if necessary

but I am with pat on this it can be a positive for the sport IF they listen and act

races like the 9.56 last night just cannot happen at a derby standard track

as you come off the rail you are facked

*as soon as

Best news for the sport in decades. It was a no-brainer decision in the best interets of the long term
future of the sport. I cannot possibly see how anyone could argue otherwise.

Agree with everything you say wonders. I also would like to see alterations to the first bend etc and  everyone should continue to push Towcester to make continual improvements.

The blinkered pessimism and lack of long term view that many still hold towards Towcester is disappointing
but then again we did vote by a majority to all become considerably poorer and less tolerant last june in a referendum!

If Towcester succeeds there is then a business model for other companies to consider investing in a greyhound track. Would it be bigger than 10/1 that a kempton/sandown etc would consider adopting a similar model.

Towcester will bring in a more affluent crowd, many of whom will hopefully take up ownership. The image of the game will be improved dramatically. They are committed to welfare and crucially are not beholden to the major off-course scum of the earth betting firms.

Bring it on. They will put on a superb show, the Irish will be over in their droves and other major competitions and festivals may well be built/saved off the back of it.

everyone should continue to push Towcester to make continual improvements

Towcester will bring in a more affluent crowd, many of whom will hopefully take up ownership. The image of the game will be improved dramatically. They are committed to welfare and crucially are not beholden to the major off-course scum of the earth betting firm

excellent points, agree 100%

Why am I the only one that ever says "bank the bends" ?
When they did this at Harringay it made one hell of a difference.

Well Done Towcester

Well done Towcester!

I stopped reading when i came to the name Tom Kelly


Words fail me of this man...

The Envelopes must have arrived ...

Any news on when the track will be Rebuilt,because I will tell you this ,they may have one derby there in its current State ,they will never hold another .


The prize money will also Need to be very Attractive because the Irish will not Bother ...

A disaster for the Sport and for all lovers of Greyhound Racing

THE TRACK NEEDS TO BE REDESIGNED .. BEYOND BELIEF THAT IT HAS COME TO THIS

agree casemonry they have a chance to turn it into the best greyhound track in england if they don't do nothing to the track it will be the end of the greyhound derby

Donkey had it Right  when I was talking to Him  ,said 2 years Shef ,  Let TOW sort the track
then go to Tow ,would have been spot on .. If its fcked this year who is Going Back ?? No one Fck the Restaurants and camera Angles  They will not make up for an excuse for Racing .

Its just insane ..

Yeap need to move inside rail outwards a lot

Narrow the whole circuit straights and bends

Make the straights longer

Bank the bends

But if the management stick with the eight dog racing farce then I guess the track will be wider matt chapmans gob

Yes and saw them the 7 and 8 boxes off


I will actually Vomit if I have sit and Listen to HOBB going on about how fckin great it all is, and The restaurant Wine Menu are Excellant  ..

If its a top class Meal people are after Fck off to the Ritz imo

Doubt I'll go for any of the rounds to watch dots along the back straight. Lovely big screen yes, but can watch a screen in the local bookies. Might go for final, though

Give it a chance case.

The derby has been run for many years at a complete rotting cesspit. I was too ashamed to take my missus or friends outside of greyhound racing. The place stunk of impending doom and despair. It was symptomatic of everything bad about dog racing over the last 35 years.

For any chance of the industry progressing the derby had to go to the showpiece track in the country. I admit the track would benefit from improvements but that really isn't the most important thing at the moment.

Wembley was the iconic stadium for billions of kids obsessed with football in the 650/60/70/80's. The pitch was ****. The grass was too long, the pitch was too big, it was garbage but no one gave a shiiite.

If Walthamstow had the derby it would have been glorious despite the most ridiculous first bend in dog racing.

Please think about what position you hope dog racing to be in 10 years time. We may have another couple of classy horse/greyhound tracks. We may just have several million more coming into the industry from sponsors not currently involved/new owners/overseas media rights/increased betting turnover.

Otherwise we will have a derby held in some northern outpost for about £50k to the winner, in an underinvested decaying track. And the whole industry will be under the grip of bags/off course firms. The game would keep  retracting until it would be evebntually run in completely empty stadiums with dogs running without names.

Will the Derby be aired on ATR ??

Whoes knows maybe

The other thing to consider is I think ATR usually have repeats on the racing on sat morning but some of the time it's presenters talking about horse racing and footy

So wonder how much between race coverage the dogs will get

Unless do a red button two picture type thing

Great news...for once in this game the brown envelope brigade have got it right. As said before it isn't all perfect at Towcester but i have every confidence in this forward thinking management that they will listen and act unlike the other dinosaur managements that have let it all go...well done to them all in charge....!

Will Tom and The GBGB  boys be Moving to TOW, shirley there is office Space available and they can save our industry the Millions They have been wasteing on the City office space they have been renting ... They might even be able to put up a bit of Fckin Prize Money for the Great Event ...

It must be good news for the sport the GRA will no longer promote the Derby. The fact they did not consider Belle Vue or Perry Bar suggests those two venues are earmarked for disposal.  Towcester are keen supporters of the sport and will promote it well.  Surely its time for those within the sport to purchase those venues away from the GRA

Oh dear the irony.... "now for the sake of the sport we all need to get behind the chosen towcester "

Heard that somewhere before .... brexit referendum ? .... american president election ?

What a fecking joke ..... it was a democratic devision ?.... feck off ..... how much did it take to buy the gbgb mister kelly ?

*decision

There was about 10 very old men (who wanted to stay in the dark ages) and all the
off course firms who are scared of Towcester who wanted the derby to stay much as it has
been for the last 20 years. 

Thank the lord somehow - probably Fluin/Turner - have realised that for the sake of the sport
this was just about its only hope of steadying the decline to oblivion.

Just about every top class trainer in the UK and Ireland, plus just about every major owner support
the decision.

Whatever track people wanted or did not want the Derby to be run at is now immaterial and we all may as well get behind Towcester and hope the competition is a big success. I have never been to Towcester, have watched very few races there and have not bet there but i will be there on June 24th and i am sure it will be a great night and hopefully the whole competition on the track is a big success.

pf for your input which I was waiting as your absence was missed as you are a youngster I applaud your positivity I also believe that it will be promoted to an level on par with its irish counterpart lets just hope your trainers continue there support

THE same thought processes led to the hitler youth movement .
The assumption behind this move is that the lemmings will follow no matter what ..... this will kill the english derby.

irish you on drugs to compare this decision to the following of hitler youth dog racing is not politics as the dogs don't vote
probably too deep for you that one
suggest you carry on baiting woody
just remember no 2 dog tracks are the same

Just Remember we Knew it was TOW 3 months ago ,Big load of old fanny be fed to people ..



Wonder how much money has gone out of the GBGB budget regarding deciding on which track

Comical tbh

agree .greyhound racing no more for me

What we had after this years Derby was a competition with no sponsor and then shortly after that a competition with no track to run it at.

It was then asked for tracks who where interested in hosting the competition to put forward their interest, only 3 track did and we where ledt with either Towcester, Sittingbourne or Sheffield.

Since then Towcester have submitted their plans for hosting the competition along with the sponsorship they have for the competition. A far as i am aware neither Sittingbourne or Sheffield had everything that Towcester have in place so there was no decision, it had to go to Towcester.

As for this killing the English Derby, the English Derby a week ago was a competition with no sponsor or track to run at, it now has a home for whatever period they have got the contract for and it's got a sponsor. I would say it's saved the greyhound derby not killed it.

the.mad.dog.man
23 Dec 16 19:47
Joined: 11 Dec 01 | Topic/replies: 6,762 | Blogger: the.mad.dog.man's blog
agree .greyhound racing no more for me
punting or owning perspective

pf young man well said too many pessimistic punters on here as an owner I am glad we have a venue

pf has it nailed imo,we have a home for the derby,one we can all be proud of,on the dark side the mrs asked me can she come this year to the derby on hearing the news,fkin towcester,come back the floating logathon,all is forgiven

"Dog racing is not politics"

"Dog racing is not politics"

The reality is wedge the situation we where in could not have got any worse (nearly) so this has to be better news and a chance to make something good happen in the game.

Be plenty of Value on the Tow Graders EW imo ,Fully expect a Pagan Peguin 

here we have a track who WANT the derby,who WANT to make it the best race on earth,who WANT to promote it and indeed have everything in place to do so,if we've gotta put up with shorter straights etc to achieve this for the good of the sport,it has to happen imo and i will support it til my dying breath,lets be honest all the don had left was the track configuration and the surface was a fkin khazi the last 3 years,good riddance as bad as that may sound imo,it was nothing but a millstone around the sports neck of late,fk it off and take feltham with it.

Location, location, location.

The number one rule in business growth and profitability..... and it explains why hesketh has been selling bits of this estate off in the past. You can buy this estate if you want its been on the market as a going concern for the last eight years. I doubt if this "arrangement" will last that long.

Personally, I like to see the dogs racing close up, either that be at the start, finishing line or first bend, which is only a pipedream at Towcester. The race circuit itself is totally removed from the stand and spectators. Your only view is to watch the big screen as I've said before, you can do that in your local bookies. Yes, all very well maintained, great facilities and forward thinking management but this wont be a Derby spectacle at the track, if that's what youre expecting

PS Case, if it was a forgone conclusion months ago Towcester had the green light, I'm sure you had your mortgage on when Laddies recently priced up 10/11?!

was £25 max If you could get on Wood ,I stopped living a tent a few years Back

Hee hee. Well, think I'm signing off 'til at least Boxing Day now, so Merry Christmas everybody. Peace and goodwill to all men, the women can roast the turkey!

the brains trust of woody and irish have come together in their opinion which is shared by mad dog...case and dr a......I find it impossible to support their opinion......I have never been to the track but it was a no-brainer....get it out of the bookmakers control and showcase the final somewhere clean and modern where you would be proud to take someone outside the game......the racing will be resolved....the only thing negative for me is the distance changing to 500m which completely takes out the short speed runners who try to dominate and cling on....trials will tell us for sure but it would be sad to see the back of those type of greyhounds.....I have no problem watching the racing on screens.....every trial will be shown on youtube.....their enthusiasm was fantastic at the bags final which I also enjoyed without having a bet.....bring it on...

I'm not so sure, Winja. Although I like speed dogs, an extra 20 meters might not be make or break. True, trainer's could shy away with their out-and-out sprinters now (Geelo Vegas types) but still think the emphasis will be on early pace. Remember, lots of speedsters go for the Irish Derby and that's run over 503m

500 around towcester will not kill off the sprinting types imo as the straights are just not long enough

have I missed something thought the standard at towcester was 480

Short run up from 480m boxes not suitable for Derby?

It's definitely the best option if the track is altered

Has anyone found out yet if it's a non bookie sponsor or a rptv bookie effort

By surprised if it's the later as I suspect the whole bookie industry is so anti Towcestor

wedge...kevin ackerman said the derby trip would be 500m at the bags finals at Perry Barr........also there was mention of two sponsors on rpgtv....one had bookmaker support but had to be at Sheffield....the other was outside the bookmaking industry but had no preference of track.....so as its not Sheffield I assume its not bookmaker sponsored.....what is not clear however.....as the powers that be are so poor in communicating......is whether Towcester had their own sponsorship deal(third option?)as part of their application.....apparently the final elements of the framework resolves the image/broadcasting rights and corporate ownership......I just hope we get back to a normal meeting with a 10.00pm final and not some rushed card for the sake of the betting shops which you can be sure was part of the bookmaking deal.....RPGTV should have it.....show everything....get everyone involved.....

I've heard it'll be an 8 dog final going off at 9.45am in the morning.

Sponsored by Yippee Noodles

By Rail: There is no railway station in Towcester. The nearest stations are Northampton, 9 miles, and Milton Keynes, 11 miles. Northampton has direct connections with London Euston, and Birmingham New Street.

11miles = about £25 min fare for taxi in brum, I will have to thumb it!

Wasnt Benny Big Bollox of Star on about sponsoring it

The ejit that is winja
Let rpgtv have it
Pmsl
What the same rpgtv that you have been winging about for the last 5 years ?..... tw4t

We should have a good Look at tonights racing  ,Must admit watched 2 weeks back were a few dogs coming off the back ,could well be a bias as must be feezing there ,so we can forgive that if there is ...

if what the info at the kennels I happened to overhear today is half correct overseas investment will see next years derby massive
and I hope its true as the coverage will be unreal

I would prefer to see some of that money invested in the track itself.

Removing Matt Chapman from the commentary box might improve things too..

watching tonight

nice track

TOWCESTER has pledged a prize of £175,000 for the winner of the 2017 Greyhound Derby as part of its five-year £1.75 million package for the Classic.

The news came as the go-ahead track was officially confirmed on Thursday by the Greyhound Board as the new home of the Derby for the next five years, with the deal ranked as the largest prize-money fund in the sport.

The 2017 champion will pick up £25,000 more than Jaytee Jet, who triumphed in Wimbledon's final staging of the competition in June.

Towcester owner Lord Hesketh said: "To increase audience and betting share globally for greyhound racing requires the best quality racing accompanied by the best quality production and the best levels of prize-money.  This is an exciting opportunity for the sport to make real progress."

The track's chief executive Kevin Ackerman added: "We believe we will put on the greatest greyhound show in the world. Greyhound racing is one of the best attended sporting events in the UK and has been starved for decades of a venue to showcase the sport properly.

"We plan to change that next year and beyond. We have a state of the art stadium, which we believe ranks as one of the best in the world."

great news

now PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE get on with sorting the issues with the track

regardless of all the other things that go on at this place, it is nowhere near a derby standard circuit in its current state

Towcester ISN'T the future of the sport!  At least if you believed Paul "PHOATOAAAH" Lawrence when he spouted forth on Rpgtv 18 months ago, giving us all his bitter bile about how poor a concern it was and his "my trainer tells me that all his dogs come off sore after every race" line of krap.  He told the world that those who went on about it being the future were deluded.
Well Paul, hindsight?!

When that was happening works were undertaken and things improved. The issue now is dogs that check out wide are a million not greyhound safety.

I wish them all the best and no Doubting their intentions and Effort   ,Trainers Championship
will be a precursor . Not sure why that has been moved from Sitt tbh

Because Towcester is the centre of the universe!

Anyway, back to more important things like looking at tomorrow's Belle Vue BAGS card

Do they give the punters a Dice on the way in for the Graded

casemoney been looking at towcester videos for 6 weeks they can have that track it's not for me they are to good for me

Note the difference between the run ups at Towcester's 480m trip vs Wimbledon's. Towcester's 480m run up is shorter than Romford's 400m trip!


TOWCESTER
Track Circumference 426m
Dist Run-up
480m 64m
500m-84m

WIMBLEDON
Track circumference 414m
Dist Run-up
480m 77m

Romford
Track circumference 350m
Dist Run-up
225m 67m
400m 67m

Case, found a couple. 4.18 Thistlecrack (NB) and 5.17 Gabbys Darkside (NAP). Get on!

Crowding at 1st bend seems a problem  lot of races reduced to 2/3 dogs after 70 meters ,Wide and
no early ur evens on the floor unless complete miss and dive for rail 1st bend and Dogs
off the back seem to struggle to get into races ,even stronger dogs close up seem to fall in behind the leader when challenging ...

You have to wonder if a dog such as Westmead Hawk would have any chance of winning a Derby at Towcester.

sparrow
in short yes the dog was special as was rapid ranger

On Thistlecrack at 9/4, returned odds-on and won doing handsprings. Darkside drifted like a barge and ran accordingly

wedge1    04 Jan 17 18:43 
sparrow
in short yes the dog was special as was rapid ranger





Rapid Ranger's style of running suggests he would have had no problems with Towcester but Westmead Hawk is a different kettle of fish having to come from the back.

All will be revealed  ,Trainers champ will be interesting to say the Least ..