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1. prize money, there are over 6000 betting shops in this country, if each betting shop takes just a tenner per race that amounts to £60,000 per race the actual figure is no doubt a lot higher, and yet most graded races are worth buttons.
tomorrows meeting at hove is a good example with all races worth less to the winner than pre christmas, a1 winner tomorrow earns £205 yet just last week a1 winner was £255 how on earth can this be with the revenue that's being generated, if the powers that be want to grow the sport then prize money has to be the first starting point, even bottom grade should be £300 to the winner rising to £500/£600 for a1 winner, this would generate interest and encourage new owners into the sport, it would encourage the greyhound breeding industry to breed more dogs leading to a bigger pool of greyhounds which wont have to race every 5 days, it would also allow trainers to increase their fees which would lead to better pay for kennel staff which again would encourage people to want to work within the sport, at this current moment and for as long as i can remember graded prize money is an absolute joke and that puts greyhound ownership as a hobby on a par with buying scratch cards or going to bingo, the gbgb bookmakers and sky should be ashamed and i'll bet sky are only involved with this pgr lark because they pay a pittance for the privilege.
2. bookmakers early prices, you cant get a decent bet on in any bookies and if you want a bet online forget it, you can have tuppence each way and that's your lot, in what other industry could you advertise something at a certain price and when someone asks for it you then decline them, if tesco are advertising mushy peas at 15p a tin they have to sell them at that price, bookmakers should not be allowed to advertise early prices on any greyhound race unless they are prepared to accept a bet either online or in shops.
3. bookmakers influence on race meetings, over the last 3 years or so the rise in 2 bend sprint graded races is alarming, just tomorrow alone there are 33 graded sprints taking place, this is shocking and only driven by greedy bookmakers, just a few short years ago there was no such thing as a graded sprint, if it was left to the bookmakers every race would be a sprint with no form available, just 6 dogs with numbers on their backs, just roll a phucking dice and take your pick just don't try and take the price you'll get knocked back, if scurlogue champ was around now he would never be discovered and would have been retired for being too slow.
tomorrows meeting at hove is a good example with all races worth less to the winner than pre christmas, a1 winner tomorrow earns £205 yet just last week a1 winner was £255 how on earth can this be with the revenue that's being generated, if the powers that be want to grow the sport then prize money has to be the first starting point, even bottom grade should be £300 to the winner rising to £500/£600 for a1 winner, this would generate interest and encourage new owners into the sport, it would encourage the greyhound breeding industry to breed more dogs leading to a bigger pool of greyhounds which wont have to race every 5 days, it would also allow trainers to increase their fees which would lead to better pay for kennel staff which again would encourage people to want to work within the sport, at this current moment and for as long as i can remember graded prize money is an absolute joke and that puts greyhound ownership as a hobby on a par with buying scratch cards or going to bingo, the gbgb bookmakers and sky should be ashamed and i'll bet sky are only involved with this pgr lark because they pay a pittance for the privilege.
2. bookmakers early prices, you cant get a decent bet on in any bookies and if you want a bet online forget it, you can have tuppence each way and that's your lot, in what other industry could you advertise something at a certain price and when someone asks for it you then decline them, if tesco are advertising mushy peas at 15p a tin they have to sell them at that price, bookmakers should not be allowed to advertise early prices on any greyhound race unless they are prepared to accept a bet either online or in shops.
3. bookmakers influence on race meetings, over the last 3 years or so the rise in 2 bend sprint graded races is alarming, just tomorrow alone there are 33 graded sprints taking place, this is shocking and only driven by greedy bookmakers, just a few short years ago there was no such thing as a graded sprint, if it was left to the bookmakers every race would be a sprint with no form available, just 6 dogs with numbers on their backs, just roll a phucking dice and take your pick just don't try and take the price you'll get knocked back, if scurlogue champ was around now he would never be discovered and would have been retired for being too slow.
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It seems appropriate to post this on this thread.
Henlow have announced that the meeting on Sunday January 21st will be the last at the Bedfordshire track. Racing there since 1927 it's the end of an era and very sad news indeed.
I was a regular there throughout the 90's and have very fond memories of the track and the greyhound community that embraced the unique track. Back then if you had an A4 dog there you had a very decent dog on your hands and a strong betting ring with 4 betting straight and Del Burrows without.
Henlow have announced that the meeting on Sunday January 21st will be the last at the Bedfordshire track. Racing there since 1927 it's the end of an era and very sad news indeed.
I was a regular there throughout the 90's and have very fond memories of the track and the greyhound community that embraced the unique track. Back then if you had an A4 dog there you had a very decent dog on your hands and a strong betting ring with 4 betting straight and Del Burrows without.
Henlow will close for greyhound racing following the meeting on Sunday January 21 writes Floyd Amphlett.
The decision was inevitable following a court decision last month, though the short notice will be disappointing to owners, trainers and greyhound supporters.
Promoter Kevin Boothby said: “The first point I should make is that I am absolutely gutted but we have reached the end of the road.
“We have been attempting to renew the lease over several years and felt we had a strong legal case, even though the judge disagreed. The recent court case has cost in the region of £150K and although we stand by that initial view, there is no guarantee that we would win an appeal.
“In terms of our local trainers, all are welcome at our other tracks. The majority are already indicating that they will transfer to Towcester where Graham Payne, one of the three Henlow on-site trainers, will have a new range in the stable block.
“Jason Bloomfield already has another kennel in March and I am still waiting to hear Steve Fletcher’s plans. I gather that a couple of the smaller kennels may want to run some at Suffolk Downs.
“We only have around 60-80 Henlow based graders anyway and many of the trainers already race at Towcester. There is no welfare issue.”
Boothby took over Henlow in October 2004 with the place on its knees. The running of the stadium had been briefly taken over by publican Jock McNaughton and when he couldn’t make it pay, the site owner Tony McDonnell attempted, and failed miserably, to make a success of it.
Although it was his first venture into track ownership, Boothby somehow managed to keep the track from closure, at one point being forced to remortgage his home.
He shared his time between Henlow and his other businesses to a point that he personally took charge of the track preparation (and learned some valuable lessons along the way).
He invested in a new restaurant which proved to be the saviour of the place though on at least one occasion in the lead-up to Christmas, they catered to a full restaurant of partygoers, with less than 35 greyhounds spread between 12 races.
The emergence of the media rights war gave the stadium a second chance with SIS seizing the chance to enlist of the tracks not wanted by the Greyhound Media Group (or them originally!).
Plans for 2024 had been dependent on the court judgement. Had things turned out more favourably, it was Boothby’s intention to re-open the restaurant, bring back major events including the Bedfordshire Derby and become a popular nightspot for the ever growing town which has quadrupled in size since he first set foot on the place.
Boothby said: “So we have three Sunday meetings to go and I hope many of the people who have enjoyed Henlow over the years will support us on those final meetings.
“Entries for this week close tomorrow (Thursday) and we are planning a bit of a wake for the final meeting with what has become a bit of a tradition, pizza and chips.
“We have to be off-site by April 5 and we will have to dismantle the whole stadium including the restaurant.
“I can’t tell you how sad this makes me, I love Henlow and I honestly think there is still a place in greyhound racing for a track like it.
“But we will move on and put all our energies into the other three.”
The decision was inevitable following a court decision last month, though the short notice will be disappointing to owners, trainers and greyhound supporters.
Promoter Kevin Boothby said: “The first point I should make is that I am absolutely gutted but we have reached the end of the road.
“We have been attempting to renew the lease over several years and felt we had a strong legal case, even though the judge disagreed. The recent court case has cost in the region of £150K and although we stand by that initial view, there is no guarantee that we would win an appeal.
“In terms of our local trainers, all are welcome at our other tracks. The majority are already indicating that they will transfer to Towcester where Graham Payne, one of the three Henlow on-site trainers, will have a new range in the stable block.
“Jason Bloomfield already has another kennel in March and I am still waiting to hear Steve Fletcher’s plans. I gather that a couple of the smaller kennels may want to run some at Suffolk Downs.
“We only have around 60-80 Henlow based graders anyway and many of the trainers already race at Towcester. There is no welfare issue.”
Boothby took over Henlow in October 2004 with the place on its knees. The running of the stadium had been briefly taken over by publican Jock McNaughton and when he couldn’t make it pay, the site owner Tony McDonnell attempted, and failed miserably, to make a success of it.
Although it was his first venture into track ownership, Boothby somehow managed to keep the track from closure, at one point being forced to remortgage his home.
He shared his time between Henlow and his other businesses to a point that he personally took charge of the track preparation (and learned some valuable lessons along the way).
He invested in a new restaurant which proved to be the saviour of the place though on at least one occasion in the lead-up to Christmas, they catered to a full restaurant of partygoers, with less than 35 greyhounds spread between 12 races.
The emergence of the media rights war gave the stadium a second chance with SIS seizing the chance to enlist of the tracks not wanted by the Greyhound Media Group (or them originally!).
Plans for 2024 had been dependent on the court judgement. Had things turned out more favourably, it was Boothby’s intention to re-open the restaurant, bring back major events including the Bedfordshire Derby and become a popular nightspot for the ever growing town which has quadrupled in size since he first set foot on the place.
Boothby said: “So we have three Sunday meetings to go and I hope many of the people who have enjoyed Henlow over the years will support us on those final meetings.
“Entries for this week close tomorrow (Thursday) and we are planning a bit of a wake for the final meeting with what has become a bit of a tradition, pizza and chips.
“We have to be off-site by April 5 and we will have to dismantle the whole stadium including the restaurant.
“I can’t tell you how sad this makes me, I love Henlow and I honestly think there is still a place in greyhound racing for a track like it.
“But we will move on and put all our energies into the other three.”
There are over 150 greyhound races a day, do you think that each race generates £60.000, if so that's nearly 10 million a day just from the shops.
Cannot see that myself
Cannot see that myself
hi noobile, when i said £60,000 i actually meant online bets as well.
just look at the turnover on betfair it's a nice few grand each race, tonight's 6.14 at monmore a wet and windy thursday there was £23,285 wagered on this race and i know a fair chunk of that will be traded money but lets assume £6,000 0f that is actual money that's bet, when you add in all the online bookmakers taking money on each race and then all the shops as well then i don't think my estimate of £60,000 per race is too wide of the mark.
Sad news I liked Henlow even with it its qwerky bend the racing was always worth a Watch and a better track than many others
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