Irish Sports
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rambled down to hx tonight to partake of a once magnificent occasion , the puppy derby ..what i found was both sad and begged the question...why ....the crowd was smaller than usual for this unique race night ...plenty of young people enjoying good food and drinking plenty of beer ....the atmosphere was as you would expect on such a night ..filled with laughter and craic ....the biggest surprise though awaited me as i walked from the noise of the grandstand out to the betting ring ....low and behold as i arrived into what has always been the holy of holys ....i was stunned to see only two bookies in operation ...thats right two bookies at the 2nd biggest track in dublin....were there is room for 14 bookies all we had was two....the amazing thing was they were father and son ....thats right , on one of the biggest race nights of the week two bookies running the show ....monopoly or what , surely this situation should never been allowed happen....a sad way for greyhound racing , to have fallen to such depths , from a once great game , to this new low imo....
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only 3 standing last few years ,2 hegartys and farrell
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farrell not there tonight , so guess who's taken over ..a disgrace imo ..should never have happened and should be looked into right away ...a shameful way for irish bookmaking to end up....
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Used to go to HX in the early sixties when I was living in Dublin . Preferred Shelbourne and it was closer to where I lived so went there more often . Both tracks were busy then , have not been to HX since mid sixties , was in Shelbourne a few times in the eighties .
Hx sounds like it is going the way our tracks up here went in a downward spiral . Celtic Park used to have crowds of 10,000 plus regularly in the thirties and forties , second largest crowd ever at a greyhound meeting anywhere in the world , 42,000 there one night . Often wonder where they all stood . And there were 200 bookies "on the outside " . Plus those who took the real money inside . One bookie I knew was 3k up after the first 3 races one night ( my uncle clerked for him ) , a semi-d in Belfast cost £500 then . Dunmore was the best track in these isles at one stage , but never had as good crowds as Celtic . But falling crowds and economic forces were at work , and inevitably both disappeared , and the "Troubles" did not help . I was in Dunmore the night the off duty policeman was shot dead , friend of mine in the doggy scene , only there for the sport and the craic . Hastened the end . Sad to see these once iconic venues and their history going under , guess there are a lot of counter attractions nowadays , once upon a time the tracks were one of the few outlets for a bit of sport and a bet . |
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The game is in serious decline for the last 3 years.........you can ge
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The game is in serious decline for the last 3 years.........you can ge
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The game is in serious decline for the last 3 years.........you can ge
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The game is in serious decline for the last 3 years.........you can ge
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The game is in serious decline for the last 3 years.........you can ge
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The game is in serious decline for the last 3 years.........you can ge
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The game is in serious decline for the last 3 years.........you can ge
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The game is in serious decline for the last 3 years.........you can ge
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The game is in serious decline for the last 3 years.........you can ge
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sorry about that lads......key stuck.
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some good points kelly , a wake up call for greyhound racing , especially this track is badly needed ,i got out of the game myself a few years ago , having bred , owned , trained greyhounds , i felt the game had nothing to offer me in the end ...i sponcered races at both tracks as well , its a game for the big kennels imo ..the sad thing is the small man like myself , were often sacrificed to the big trainer , now its come back to haunt them ....looking at tonights attendance it was evident that the people who spent most of their lifes going to the dog track are now thinking twice about attending a track were only two bookies are standing , and like myself are now not bothered either way..a sad state of affairs ....
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ffs gant , stay of the drink mate , this is happening all to often now with you....
 .. please carry on you were trying to say...? |
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a lo of tracks the same now w/r.............galway 1 book............lifford 2 books...............drumbo 4 books some nights
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You can get a dog on every 2 weeks if you want...........Runner pools at an alltime low at tracks...........Dogs are getting faster and shelbourne is running 50/60 spots fast so it's best left to the big boys to race against themselves up there..........you would want a dog doing open times unrecorded to win an A6 in shelbourne.........
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More than 2 bookmakers at a track now is very rare.
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a5 competition wednesday nite
Race 1 - Dobbins @ Shelbourne A5 525 Final (Grade : A5) Flat 525 Video Available Pos. Trap Greyhound Prize Wt. Win Time By Going Est Time SP. Grade Comm. 1. Trap 6 DROOPYS CARL €400.00 69 28.65 Sand 28.65 1/5 AA0 Ld 1,drclr 2. Trap 4 SLIPPERY MICK €160.00 77 28.65 13L Sand 29.56 4/1 A4 EvAw,BBlk 1 3. Trap 1 TYRUR QUEVEGA €100.00 62 28.65 3L Sand 29.77 3/1 A5 EvAw,BBlk 1 4. Trap 3 TYRUR TESS €70.00 58 28.65 nk Sand 29.79 8/1 A5 EvAw,BBlk 1 5. Trap 2 REGARDS TO PADDY €70.00 71 28.65 1L Sand 29.86 5/1 A5 EvAw,BBlk 1 |
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gant , as a doggie man i was saddened at what i witnessed tonight , lots of people are turning their backs on this great game , the little man was for years the backbone of greyhound racing , but during the celtic tiger i think he was forgotten , now its payback time ..as you know gant lots of guys have give up breeding dogs , simply because it wasn't paying its way ..on the trackside of things...i think managment forgot who was the real power behind the wheel , and became shortsighted and played to the big lads ....now as i say , the arse has fallen out of it....
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There will be no books at some tracks soon... The strokes always went on, but when there was betting they went "un-noticed" for want of a better word. Stroker A had a touch while punter bcd... Still bet away unbeknownst to it.... Soon to be no bookmakers in some tracks IMO
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hard to believe alright ngu....
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Lads are turning their backs for financial reasons.........the hobby breeder is not there anymore.........the leisure money just isn't there.......The lads I know that don't race anymore aint got a new hobby.
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That dog did 29.62 in his first unofficial after been baulked.....he was well touted and owned by the great JBM.
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very little people buying pups anymore
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People are more selective........try get a pup out of a top brood and you will find they are spoken for.........you might get a bitch.
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problem is like horse racing the rush to attract the drunken student u25 type who have little interest in betting driving out the dedicated racing types who where the bread and butter of racing.the atmosphere now resemables a disco more than a racetrack.
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There are some great points made here but I feel a few are misguided.
The number of bookmakers are in decline due to a reduction in punters disposable income because of the difficult economy. Those tracks that shut simply failed to keep up with the times. Lots of people are turning their backs on this great game because other entertainment is more appealing. The buzz for most people who go (losers) is picking the odd winner not doing the bookies. We have RPGTV on in our local Friday nights, 1 euro sweepstake every race. It ain't the 5 euros you can win its the buzz of watching the dog win and cheering it home. I dont think managment can ever afford to forgot who was and still is the real power . The government here via the igb bales out greyhound racing, that's the real power. "rush to attract the drunken student u25 type" , has made the sport a social event, six packers (mugs to betting gurus) are keeping the sport going in the UK, restaurents are helping both here and over there. There are three stakeholders in terms of supporting the game here, those that do it for the sport (trainers, owners etc), those that go for the social event, and those that make money out of the betting (pro punters/bookies) and the track management (government puppets imo) have the devils own job trying to juggle the needs of all . The most fundamental difference however between here and the UK is that the government is fully supporting one of our basic traditions,and long may it continue, our sport has not yet succumbed to the rise of Allah as has happened over there through membership of local councils, communities, schools and churches. |
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irishone ,some of your points are indeed valid , my own take for what its worth is simply this ...re bookmakers at hx ...one family now control the betting , the s.p.etc ...they also have a notice at hx stating that a bookmakers maximum pay out on a midweek night is 1,000 euro....as inthemiddle says the strokes were part of the game and i'm sure still are... as i'm sure gant will confirm , you could be taking a dog out of the kennels and someone would tell you they fancied their dog ...or otherwise ..its part and parcel of the game ...prizemoney is so poor now when i looked at the card last night i was taken aback ....its worse than it was several years ago ...btw the bookie now standing was known in his day for landing to odd touch....as gant says the hobby breeder is no longer there either ....people want ups for little or nothing now a day...overall a sad day for a wonderful sport ..god be with the days of setting off to trial a few down the country ...waiting hours for your turn ...seeing the times yours returned , been elated as you headed back home dreaming of that stroke you you were about to pull...him not coming out of the box or worse been chinned on the line ..heady days indeed may they r.i.p....
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The buzz at schooling sessions is still there but the long wait for trials is gone........The game will survive and come good again.........dogs are faster nowdays and the crap is weeded out........Provincial tracks are trying hard as they always did......City tracks wanna get the finger out as they take the crowd for granted.........Shelbourne saturday nighters probably think we are telling porky pies.
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Would the fact Listowel is on have any bearing on the number of bookmakers standing?
It's not that long ago when a group of bookmakers chartered a helicopter and flew back from Listowel to attend Shelbourne Park,admittedly it was Derby final night. |
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3 bookies in Thurles most nights, and thats not the case in Waterford where you have just the one (Sharkey),he takes a decent bet though. Curaheen Park will be interesting over the next few weeks, LAURELS and I was told in Thurles last night that Curaheen could have 4/5 bookies for the duration of the Laurels ,(fancy Cuil Cougar),Youghal has one bookie and 2 maybe some Monday nights, so its the same all round.
Poor IGB management has a fair bit to do with it, but the current climate plays its part with money scarce everywhere especially with Fill Hogan and Noonan looking for all our bits of spare cash. Listowel was too much 7days  . I can see a few of the dog tracks closing within a few years as there wont be enough dogs to go around.The game is winding down though there is still a market for a good dog, witness The Kasco unraced at Thurles with at least 3 dogs sold, one to Charlie Lister. Also the Tyrur kennell cutting down to small numbers.The compass prefix rarely appears now, and its going to get worse. |
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sadly the answer is no wildmanfromborneo ,the staple diet at hx appears to be the two bookies ....i know some of them are having a hard time of it atm...i was talking to a bookie last night who wasn't standing , he told me that on derby night the only bookies to make money were the two backing w/o the favs ...the clever money is taking over at both horses and dogs ...if sidney keeps doing what hes doing they'll be only very small fish left to fry...who knows , the top trainer will kill the golden goose unknown to himself....
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Nobody really cares if 2 or 3 bookies stand at a meeting as long as they are prepared to take bets........I remember a bookie a few years ago and it was a night out for him.......he took his seed money out of the atm on the way to the track.....so he wasn't up to much for starters........he paid his 5 times the entrance fee and talked **** for the night.
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gant what dog tracks need bigtime is atmosphere ....now i'm no bookies advocate , but with 2 or 3 bookies the place is simply dead ...more choice is good for the punter ...nothing like two or three runners scouring up and down looking to lay off , while prices change at the drop of a hat ...sadly those days appear to have gone....
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When you think of the catchment area in Dublin it is extraordinary that Thurles can have four bookmakers,Enniscorthy eight bookmakers and a Dublin track is down to two and as you say operating a cartel.
Used to bet with Jim Mulligan and he always went from the races back to the dogs as did many others,days that are gone. |
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Sadly I don't remember that far back.........Very hard to generate atmosphere when the lads looking at the bookies have no money to punt or in most cases owe the bookie.
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Wildman.......Thurles can well have 4 bookies but they will take shag all especially with the hare driver marking the cards.
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