The draw for the 2015 Irish Laurels was made yesterday afternoon at Curraheen Park and, despite concerns of a lack of numbers, management have brought together 66 greyhounds for Saturday night’s opening round.

The semi-finals of the Connolly’s Red Mills Irish Laurels attracted a large crowd to Curraheen Park on Saturday night, and all who attended were treated to superb heats, in each of which the three qualifiers were covered by less than a length.

The calendar of major events for 2012, which has been just released by the Irish Greyhound Board, contains a number of changes that have already generated plenty of debate that is sure to continue for some time.

IN last weekend’s second round of the Pat Hennerty Sales Irish Laurels at Curraheen Park there weren’t any shocks that couldn’t have been predicted and the result is a quarter-final line-up that looks no easier to solve than at the first round stage.

I’M something of an optimist by nature but I can’t help but detect a number of very positive signs on the Irish greyhound front that provides renewed hope for the future of the industry.