Some top class fare on offer at Clonmel

It really has been the most amazing start to the greyhound year. First we had the freeze-up and no racing at Shelbourne Park and other venues for a full month. Now we have the situation that because of many of our leading dogs lack full fitness, a prestigious event such as the Joe Dunne Memorial Puppy Stake has had to be put back a week in order to attract sufficient entries.

A positive side to things would be the excellent crowd that turned out at Shelbourne on Saturday night last with the upstairs very well populated and a great atmosphere in the middle of January. It was proof positive that if the product is right, then recession or no recession there is a willing audience for our sport.

The fact that open racing at Shelbourne will continue to boast top class prizemoney should guarantee that the ‘cash cow’ of the sport continues to generate the revenue to keep the industry turning over nicely.