Except for a few high profile absentees most of the big names will be chasing the €25,000 prize when the classic commences at Shelbourne on Saturday.

A MOST eventful year on the Irish greyhound front accelerates towards its end and it will finish as it began - with a flurry of top class open action all over the country.

ISN’T IT amazing how the greyhound world has changed in a relatively short number of years?

The general media world, which normally pays scant regard to the greyhound sector, suddenly discovered there is such a sport yesterday as a result of yesterday morning’s story in the Irish Examiner concerning the loss of meetings at Shelbourne Park this week due to the recent flooding problem.

GREYHOUND RACING: The cost of the January and December snow blizzards to the general greyhound has been enormous and there is no let-up with many tracks losing out this week as the snows returned with a vengeance. Tonight’s meetings at Galway, Mullingar and Drumbo Park have been called off.