Greyhound racing crowds down sharply, but IGB believe worst is over

GREYHOUND racing crowds fell sharply by over 20% last year, but the Irish Greyhound Board believes that the worst of the decline may be over.

Announcing annual figures yesterday, the Board also confirmed a drop in its annual surplus from €5m to €1m, but said that was primarily due to the reduction in the Horse and Greyhound Racing Fund (by €1.6m) and redundancy costs (€1.4m).

There was a €3.9m profit from Tote betting operations, down 15% on 2008.